Kiwi in crisis: World record holder evacuated after boulder hits
Kiwi Tony McManus, whose M60 season last year included a mile world record, survived the killer 6.3 quake that struck Christchurch on Feb. 22. “Life has changed dramatically for us,” he writes from Down Under. “No running water or electricity. Our house is livable; however, we have been evacuated due to a visitor—a boulder which came through our section missing the house by 5 meters. One of our top coaches and ex-runner Brian Taylor is missing. He was the director of the Language School in the CTV building that collapsed.” Tony says he was on track to break the M60 world record for 1500 following a 4.28.42 on Feb. 5—0.77 short of Ron Robertson’s record.
Quake sent this boulder crashing into Tony's New Zealand neighborhood.
“Unfortunately, our track is severely damaged and may be beyond repair,” Tony writes. “Not even sure if we have a track to run on or if in fact our track champs will be held this season.” He says he hadn’t planned to attend Sacramento worlds “due to cost.” But he said: “Might get to a world masters later in life — that is if I last that long!”
Wish someone with deep pockets could fetch him here.
In any case, let’s send out some healing vibes to a runner who knows almost no peer.
2 Responses
My thoughts are with Tony and all the NZ folks.
Is there anything we can do from here or anything you need?
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