Wilson fifth, Stephenson ninth in heptathlon

Wilson finished the seven events with a total of 6005 points, and was pleased to pass the 6000 points barrier, though she felt she was capable of slightly more. Stephenson was ninth in the 15-strong field, with a tally of 5843.

The event was won by Northern Irishwoman Katharine O'Connor, who totalled 6569 points.

Both New Zealanders were relatively strong on the track, but struggled in the throwing events. In the final event of the second day, the 800m, Wilson ran a really competitive time of 2min 11.34s and Stephenson wasn't far behind with 2min 13.27s.

On the first day Stephenson was very good in the 100m hurdles and Wilson was outstanding in the high jump, where her clearance of 1.82m would have made her a contender in the high jump event itself.

Wilson said she'd enjoyed the whole two days and was particularly pleased with her 800m experience. 'We had to wait seven hours for that race. That's a long time to think about an 800m race, but everyone was in the same boat. It turned out really well for me. I ran a PB and to finish coming down the home straight with the others, a great sunset, running fast. It felt great.'