An emotional Nick Willis accepted his Olympic Silver medal on Saturday in front of friends, family and fans in a packed Wellington stadium. The medal ceremony was the highlight of a fundraising track meet organised to help the people of Christchurch after Tuesdays devastating earthquake. The fundraiser concluded with an all-star mile featuring top US miler Alan Webb, Britain's Lee Emanuel, sub-4 milers Will Leer and Brandon Bethke. Willis pushed through a strong Southerly wind to win the race in a time of three minutes 58.37 seconds. Its just phenomenal, said Willis as close to two thousand Wellingtonians filled the banks and stands at Newtown Park. Everyone in New Zealand knows someone involved in the earthquake and this is just a fantastic response. Its now 18 months since Willis was confirmed the winner of the silver medal in the Beijing 2008 mens 1500m. While the wait has been a long one, the opportunity to receive a newly minted Olympic silver in front of a home crowd was none-the-less meaningful for the runner. It was such an amazing experience in Beijing and it is good to be reminded of it here in Wellington. Its very special to be presented with the medal in front of my New Zealand friends, family and local fans. Its an extremely special day and, in light of recent events, a good reason to bring in the crowds and raise money for Christchurch. Fans were asked to donate money to the Salvation Armys Christchurch Earthquake Relief fund. Willis was presented his medal by IOC Member Barry Maister who said sport has the ability to bring people together and help those in needs. Sport, and particularly Olympic sport, is a positive force for good, he said. Seven-year old Christchurch boy, Quinn Motley, carried Willis silver medal to the podium as poignant reminder of the International Track Meet that had been indefinitely postponed following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Motley, caught up in the earthquake while at school, had been selected to carry the medal in the ceremony originally planned to take place at the ITM. He flew to Wellington especially for the fundraising track meet. Saturdays ceremony was the first time an Olympic medal had been presented in New Zealand. The fundraising track meet was organised by Nick Willis, the New Zealand Olympic Committee and a team of volunteers from the Wellington athletics community. The New Zealand Olympic Committee extends its thanks to all those who assisted in the planning and running of the event, in particular Nick Willis and his team of volunteers. The New Zealand Olympic Committee also thanks the athletes and people of Wellington who took part in order to help our friends and families in the Canterbury region. The New Zealand Olympic Committee would also like to thank the Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC) for their assistance and support with funding US$4000 for this medal presentation. ONOC felt this was an important event to support outside the normal funding the New Zealand Olympic Committee receives.
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