Middle distance runner James Preston has created history, breaking New Zealand's longest-standing athletics record - Sir Peter Snell's 800 metres mark set in 1962.
Preston recorded a stunning time of 1m 44.04s at Pfungstadt, Germany - 0.16s faster than Snell's time of 1m 44.3s.
In an outstanding display of middle-distance running, Preston, 27, claimed a dominant victory from fellow Kiwi Brad Mathas, wiping 0.83s from his previous personal best set at the 2024 New Zealand track & field championships at Wellington in March.
Set at the Merck Running Gala, Preston's mark was also comfortably below the Olympic entry standard of 1m 44.70s.
Snell's mark had been the longest-standing New Zealand athletics record in the books and was set on a grass track at Christchurch for a then-world record mark.
Preston is currently enjoying the best season of his career and he can look forward to some fantastic new competitive opportunities following this performance.
On a memorable day for New Zealand 800m running, Mathas clocked 1m 45.80s - within 0.05s of his lifetime best - to claim second.
