Willis kick's not enough | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Olympic silver medallist Nick Willis had to settle for another second place when he opened up his Olympic season in Wanganui last night.

The 28-year-old was beaten by his training partner, American Will Leer, over a mile at the Cooks Gardens Classic meeting.

But New Zealand's 1500-metre record-holder was not worrying about placings - his time of 3 minutes 58.81 seconds was enough to put a smile on his face.

"That was a shock to the system, but I'm happy with a time around 3m 58s," he gasped trackside.

Leer won from the front in 3m 58.49s, holding off the Kiwi's attack down the home straight.

Wellington Scottish prospect Hamish Carson was third in 3m 59.11s - his first sub four-minute mile - with Britain's Lee Emmanuel (3m 59.69s) next and Christchurch's Malcolm Hicks (3m 59.87s) also dipping under the four-minute mark.

Willis, Leer, Emmanuel and another American, Brandon Bethke, form a tight-knit training group, basing themselves in Willis' Lower Hutt homeland for their Olympic preparation.

"It's very early in our training and I'm just happy the other guys dragged me round," said Willis, who won his silver in Beijing four years ago.

"Without my training partners I wouldn't have broken four minutes.

"I've had a tough couple of years with injuries but we are in New Zealand to do 85 to 90 miles a week, and the next four months are crucial to our preparation."

Cooks Gardens is one of Willis' favourite tracks and he recalled his successes there, including a NZ junior record as a 17-year-old and the fastest mile at the Wanganui track - 3m 52.75s on his last visit in 2006.

Last night's mile also had an historic significance as it marked 50 years to the day that Peter Snell, aiming to become the first man to get under four minutes on New Zealand soil, ran a remarkable 3m 54.4s at Cooks Gardens to break Aussie Herb Elliott's world mile record.

The triple Olympic gold medallist - whose statue stands proudly by the main stand at Cooks - is now 73 and rarely travels from his home in Texas. He sent his good wishes.

However, the man who came second to him on that epic night of January 27, 1962, Briton Bruce Tulloh - a sprightly 76 - was present to hand out the prizes to the modern-day milers.

Willis told the crowd the 50-year anniversary mile had been on his radar a few years: "There's was no way I wasn't going to be part of it."

It was a good night for him - a first race of a hugely important season; a chance to see what sort of racing shape he was in; and a way to pay tribute to Snell, a man who has always supported Willis' bid to follow in his footsteps.

With NZ junior 800m champion Brad Mathas setting the pace, Willis was happy to tuck in at the back for the first lap. Leer kept Mathas in his sights and took the lead when, at the end of lap two, the pacemaker stepped aside. Willis moved up to fourth, with Emmanuel and Hicks between him and Leer.

They stayed that way through the bell before Carson made a move off the back, moving up to third. Willis went wide and kicked on the home run, but Leer showed his steel with just enough acceleration off the front to take it.