Tanner 6th in blistering 1500m final

Sam Tanner produced the run of his life to take sixth place in a super-charged men’s 1500m final.

Tanner clocked 3min 31.34s. Nick Willis is the only New Zealander who has run the 1500m faster.

To give some idea of how swift the race was, eight of the 12 starters recorded personal best times. Scotland’s Josh Kerr ran 3min 35.72s, a great time, and came 12th. 

The race was won by Australian Oliver Hoare, who came through late and from very wide and dipped on the line to pip Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot.

Hoare’s time of 3min 30.42s finally removed Filbert Bayi from the Commonwealth Games record books. Bayi’s record time was set in Christchurch way back in 1974, when he and silver medallist John Walker both went under the world record.

Tanner lingered near the back of the field for the first half of the race before moving forward. He was never dawdling, though – the pace never slackened.

The 21-year-old New Zealander said he decided to follow the example of great 1500m runner Nick Willis and try to stick to the inside line if possible.

“My goals were to stay relaxed through the race, and to be the last person to fire a shot. I wanted to have a bullet left in the gun right at the end.

“I achieved those goals and I’ve run a PB [by more than three seconds]. I must be the happiest sixth placegetter ever! When I crossed the line I saw the leading guys had run 3min 30s and I thought, ‘I wasn’t that far behind. I must have run fast.’ I was stoked to see my time.”

He said a key was to try to run a smooth race. “I just gradually picked it up and then into the straight I really put my foot down and I think I picked up ground on the guys up front.”

A goal for him now, he said, was to try to break Willis’ national record of 3min 29.66s, set in 2015.