Records
Vernie Toaolamai-Holden sets a new Cook Islands 100m record
Fifteen-year-old Vern "Vernie" Toaolamai-Holden has set a new Cook Islands national record in the men's 100m, running 10.74 seconds at the Athletics Canterbury Senior Interclub in Christchurch on Saturday 17 October.
He won the race with a legal wind and fully automatic timing. The previous Cook Islands record of 10.97 was set by Mark Sherwin in 1993, and had stood for 33 years. Vernie took 0.23 seconds off it, a big margin in a race this short.
It is Vernie's third Cook Islands record this year. At the Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin in May, he set the 200m record of 22.27 on his way to the Oceania under-16 100m and 200m titles, and ran the anchor leg as the Cook Islands senior men's 4x100m relay team set a new national record of 43.13.
His 10.74 also puts him among the top 20 under-16 sprinters in the world for 2026.
We're all very proud to have Vernie as part of the Cook Islands team.
Next up: NZ Secondary Schools in Whanganui
In December, Vernie heads to the NZ Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships in Whanganui (11 to 13 December), running as a junior with Team Cook Islands. He goes in as the defending junior 100m champion, and this year he is adding the 200m, chasing the sprint double.
With a 10.74 already on the board this season, he'll be looking to go after championship records too. It's a great test before the big year ahead.
The season ahead
After Secondary Schools, Vernie is working towards two big goals for the Cook Islands next year: the Pacific Games in Tahiti and the Commonwealth Youth Games in Malta. On the way:
- NZ Secondary Schools Championships, Whanganui, 11 to 13 December 2026, with Team Cook Islands
- NZ Track and Field Championships (Club Nationals), Auckland, 11 to 14 March 2027
- Australian Athletics Championships (open), Sydney, 1 to 4 April 2027
- Australian Junior Athletics Championships, 2027 (dates and venue still to be announced)
- Pacific Games, Tahiti, from 24 July 2027
- Commonwealth Youth Games, Malta, 29 October to 4 November 2027
Kia manuia, Vernie.