16 Dec 2016

World athletics returning to NZ

4:41 pm on 16 December 2016

A new International Athletics Series hosted in New Zealand next February will see the country's Rio Olympics stars in action against some of the world's top athletes.

Olympic medallist Eliza McCartney

Olympic medallist Eliza McCartney Photo: AFP

The series will be run over three days, stretching throughout the second to last week of February.

Men's shot put bronze medallist Tom Walsh, women's bronze medal pole vaulter Eliza McCartney and double paralympic champion Liam Malone will all be in action around the country.

Walsh will try and get one back over American Ryan Crouser, the man who beat him to gold in Rio, when the two compete in the men's shot put in Chrischurch.

Meanwhile, McCartney will trade the track for the train station when she vaults at Britomart's Atrium in downtown Auckland.

She'll compete against some of North America's top pole vaulters as well as Olivia McTaggart, the teenager who broke McCartney's under-17 New Zealand record.

Malone will be in action in the Auckland Track Challenge, where he'll run against able-bodied athletes in the 400m race.

-RNZ