Hewitt continues welcome return

For all of the deserved excitement of another superb performance from track darling Sally McLellan, the re-emergence of experienced campaigner Lauren Hewitt has caught its share of eyes in recent weeks too.

After a stress fracture in her ankle destroyed close to all of her 2007 campaign, the 29 year-old has returned to the sport with a spring in her step.

Two weeks ago, at the Sydney Track Classic, she finished third to McLellan in a windy 100 metres (11.61) and second to New Zealander Monique Williams over 200 (23.67) in what was her first competition in close to 12 months.

At Saturday’s Canberra Athletics Classic, a popular haunt for Australian sprinters, Hewitt tightened up for promising performances over both distances yet again.

Sure, she was beaten by McLellan in the 100, finishing second, but held her own against a quality field that included the Northern Territory’s best athlete Crystal Attenborough and rising WA talent Jody Henry.

And the longer distance looked hers until a late charge from Fijian Makelesi Batimala beat her at the line, yet her efforts to that stage were promising.

“I’m taking it one week at a time,” Hewitt said, reasonably content with her afternoon. “My first race in a year was two weeks ago in Sydney…next time I step on the track I’ll try to crank it up and get closer to the A-qualifying time for the 200.”

The A-standard is 23.00, which she last cracked in 2004, however, it’s an older, wiser athlete that knows what is required.

“Because I have struggled with injuries in the last year and a bit, I just had to be careful and listen to my body,” she noted. “You get used to that over the last 12 years that I’ve been an athlete and you have to train a bit smarter. It’s not quite the same when you get a bit older.”

Then again, a lengthy stint on the sidelines did breed some unfamiliar feelings.

“It was really nerve-wracking but at the same time, I remember standing at the start line of the 100 and feeling like there was no other place that I wanted to be,” she said of Sydney. “I was really happy to be back and running fast, which I love to do.”

Current form should make the five-time national 200m champion’s next few weeks very interesting. She’s down to compete at the Australian Athletics Cup on February 2 and, beyond that, the business end of the summer beckons.

Not that the triple Olympian is thinking too far ahead of Sunday. While Hewitt has been polishing her individual performances, she is also committed to the 4 x 100m relay team that will compete in search of times good enough for the top 16 countries come Beijing.

With Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Korea poised to compete, day two of Canberra 2008 is the only opportunity for teams to secure IAAF-sanctioned times on Australian soil, giving the race even more importance.

Ironically, the first four finishers in Saturday’s 100m – McLellan, Hewitt, Attenborough and Henry will form that combination after some very pleasing preparations.

“I think the relay is looking very, very promising,” Hewitt said. “We had a really good training session on Thursday on the track. All of the changes are spot on, the girls are moving fast.

“I’ve run first before but never at a major championships so I’m looking forward to it. The girls really feel like it’s a strong team unit and we’ve all been getting a long really well.”

Hewitt will pass the baton to McLellan with Attenborough and Henry in the third and fourth legs.

All bar Henry competed in the bronze medal-winning team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and, with Hewitt’s experience and McLellan’s ever-soaring talent, can only think positive.