Toni Hodgkinson

Toni Louise Hodgkinson (born 12 December 1971) is a New Zealand former middle-distance runner. She represented her country at two Olympic Games and two Commonwealth Games, and currently holds the New Zealand woman's record in the 800 metres.

Toni Hodgkinson

Personal information
Born	(1971-12-12) 12 December 1971 (age 53) Tākaka, New Zealand
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight	62 kg (137 lb)[1]
Sport
Country	New Zealand
Sport	Track and field

Early life

Hodgkinson was born in Tākaka on 12 December 1971, the daughter of Sheralyn and Michael Hodgkinson. She was educated at Golden Bay High School, and went on to study at the Auckland School of Physiotherapy.^[2]

Athletics career

As a student at Golden Bay High School, Hodgkinson set many New Zealand track and field age-best times, several of which still stand, including 1500 metres in 4:29:50 at 13, and 2:04.31 at 17.^[3]

Hodgkinson represented New Zealand at both the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. At the 1996 Summer Olympics she made the final, placing eighth with a time of 2:00:54. At the 2000 Summer Olympics she competed in both the 800 m and 1500 m, making it through to the semi-finals in the 800m with a time of 1:59:84.^[4]

Hodgkinson competed at the 1990 Commonwealth Games as an 18-year-old, and again at the 1998 Commonwealth Games where she finished eighth in the 1500m final.^[5] In 1997, Hodgkinson was a finalist for the Halberg New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year.^[6]

Later life

After a decade of living in Auckland, Hodgkinson now lives in Motueka with her husband Alistair Smart and their children.^[7] Their daughter, Camryn Smart, is also a competitive middle-distance runner.^[8] In 2009, Hodgkinson competed for the Motueka Marvels in the TVNZ game show series Top Town. The Motueka Marvels made it into the finals as the Wild Card team and lost to Taupo in the semi-final.^[9]

Honours and awards

In 1990, Hodgkinson was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.^[2]

Personal bests

Outdoor:

Event	Time	Date	Place
800 m	1:58.25 NR	27 July 1996	Atlanta, United States
1500 m	4:06.23	2 March 2000	Melbourne, Australia
Mile	4:31.19	2 August 1998	Sheffield, England

Indoor:

Event	Time	Date	Place
800 m	2:00.36	9 March 1997	Paris, France
1000 m	2:36.96	6 February 2000	Boston, United States

^[6]

References

1. "Toni Hodgkinson Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at". Sports-reference.com. 12 December 1971. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
2. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 187. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
3. "NZSSAA Championships 2007, Cooks Gardens, Wanganui 2007 : Records" (PDF). Nzssaa.org.nz. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. ^{[dead link‍]}
6. "1990–1999 Halberg Award Winners". www.halberg.co.nz. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
7. ^{[dead link‍]}
8. Cowley Ross, Sarah (8 March 2021). "Camryn Smart's on track, chasing down Olympian mum". Newsroom. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
9. Paulin, Alastair (26 December 2009). "May the breezes be at our backs". The Nelson Mail. Retrieved 23 November 2011.