17.12.2007

Mickle surprises in stadium swan song

Perth girl Kimberley Mickle made her contribution to the Perry Lakes farewell on Saturday, launching the javelin for a new personal best and Olympic B-qualifier of 59.26m.

The 22 year-old, who has been battling stress fractures in her back since June and hadn’t run into a throw for a number of months, entered the Drug Free Track and Field Classic because she couldn’t bear the thought of watching from the stands.

Her previous mark of 58.56m was bettered by Saturday’s very first throw, but that was topped yet again with her next.

“Every PB is just an awesome one,” she said, “I had no idea what I was going to do. I literally just thought ‘I’ll go out there’ because the other two girls, Laura (Cornford) and Kathryn (Mitchell), came all the way over and I knew if I was watching in the stands, I’d just be sitting there thinking ‘I wish I’d just signed up and stood out there with them and not really thrown too much.’

“I was thinking I was going to throw around the 50 mark or something like that…I was hoping for the 50 mark. When I went out there and started to throw, it felt easy. That’s the first time a throw’s ever felt easy to me and I just put some speed behind it and it just clicked. It was an unbelievable feeling.

“When I finished and saw my mum up in the grandstand, they were probably more rapt than what I was. It was probably the best feeling you can get from thinking ‘my back’s probably still crook and I won’t be throwing too far’ to throwing a PB.”

It was a sentimental occasion for the three-time Australian champion, who - along with a number of luminaries including Commonwealth gold medallists Trevor Bickle (pole vault) and Phil May (triple jump) - said goodbye to a stadium purpose-built for the 1962 Empire Games.

“Perry Lakes is just an awesome place,” Mickle said. “We do need a new track but it is really sad to see it go. It was pretty bad weather there which probably stopped a lot of people coming (on Saturday).

“We had a lot of the old champions there with a presentation for them all and that was really cool. I think we’re doing a few local comps there still so it doesn’t really feel like it’s the end of an era but I’m sure when it starts to get bowled down, it will be sad.”

While a new facility will be constructed with 2009 in its sights, Mickle - buoyed by Saturday’s effort - is very much focused on the summer and her prospects in an Olympic year.

“I’m going to go straight back into doing what I was doing before and taking those little baby steps,” she said. “I think out of the 20 steps I need to take, I’ve only hit about four of them. I’m going to jump right back to the beginning and literally start again, going walk, walk and impulse throw and just getting all the things I was working on to get right.

“I really think that my throw on Saturday was only half-baked which was great to see I could throw a PB being half-prepared for it. My strength and everything is pretty good, so that’s not an issue, it’s just literally technique and my mum and my coach Grant (Ward) are working together as a team on weird and wonderful ways to get me to throw better. February will be the next one and I’m not thinking of a qualifier, I’m thinking bigger and beyond right now.”

Other highlights of the day included a win to Ben Offereins in the men’s 400m, his 46.13 well clear of second-placed youngster Kieran King (47.99).

Australia’s premier heptathlete Kylie Wheeler was impressive with a 6.40m effort in the long jump, Olympian Oliver Dziubak won the men’s javelin in 72.93m, World Youth gold medallist Vicky Parnov triumphed in the pole vault (3.90m) and Steve Tucker took the 100 metres in 10.56.

New Zealander Andrea Miller won the 100m/100m hurdles double with 11.63 and 13.46 respectively; Jody Henry (11.74) and Fiona Cullen (13.97) were her closest competition.

Western Australia’s Lauren Miller led the women’s 800m in 2.10.06 while another WA athlete, Emma Knight, won her second triple jump in as many days following victory at Thursday’s Zatopek Classic. This time she produced 12.76m.

For Commonwealth Games representative Ellen Pettitt, who won the women’s high jump in 1.86m after recently equalling her personal best of 1.91m, it wasn’t the end to the calendar year she was hoping for.

“I would have liked to end on a bigger jump for the year but it will only make me hungrier for the first competition next year,” she said. “I guess it’s always good to win still.”

In the day’s other results, Courtney Carter (8.22.84) claimed the men’s 3000m, Greg Eyears tackled the 110m hurdles in 14.12, World Youth representative Blake Lucas cleared 4.80m in the pole vault in the illness-forced absence of former world No. 1 Steve Hooker, WAIS athlete Kyle Rasti posted 7.39m in the men’s long jump and Sean Fitzsimons won the mixed 3000m race walk in 13:36.8.

Wheelchair athlete Bryan Stitfall took the 200m/seated shot put double in 32.63 and 10.18m while Toni Phillips (51.50) won the mixed 400m handicap and Nicholas Peters was the victor in the mixed 800m wheelchair event in 2.14.18.

Sixteen members of Athletics Australia’s Jump Start to London Indigenous squad competed as a team at the Perth meet, sweetening an educational camp that included media training, discussions with Hooker, Wheeler, her coach Lyn Foreman and Fremantle footballer Des Headland. Olympian Kyle Vander Kuyp also made the trip.

Though all of the athletes didn’t compete, Rodney Blair jumped 7.05m in the men’s long jump after a tiring All Schools campaign and Liam Gander won the 100m B final (10.97) in his first race of the season.

Casey Narrier narrowly missed 1.80m in the women’s high jump and Jamal Idris - forced to throw in his trainers after his luggage didn't arrive in time from Sydney - finished third in the men’s javelin.