25.02.2008

Martin hails support as Olympic prospects firm

New Australian record holder Scott Martin was quick to acknowledge some important people after his mammoth throw at last week’s World Athletics Tour meet in Melbourne.

One of those was the man whose mark he passed, Justin Anlezark.

Thirty year-old Anlezark, one of this country’s most decorated throwers, has provided some welcome motivation for Martin despite battling a finger injury that has hampered his own success for close to three years.

Both athletes have regularly voiced their commitment to a two-pronged attack to bring the best out of each other in competition and, in that shared vision, they’ve become good mates.

Yes, the results fall in Martin’s favour but Anlezark appears to be making his move at the right time too.

He competed well on Thursday night and was there to witness all 21 metres and 27 centimetres of Martin’s heave.

“He gave me a big hug,” Martin said. “He knows what it’s like to throw those sort of distances and big breakthroughs.

“It’s a shame he’s not 100 percent because if he had have been 100 percent and I’d have thrown that two years ago, that might have spurred him on to throw similar distances. Hopefully he’s on the mend and by Beijing maybe we can have two guys throwing that far.”

Anlezark’s mark of 20.96m had stood since 2003, the year he finished fourth at the World Championships in Paris and fifth at the World Indoors in Birmingham.

A year later, he finished seventh at the Olympic Games, which is where he first injured the finger.

“He (also) won the Commonwealth Games in the shot put (in 2002), which no-one had done for a long time,” Martin confirmed. “The only problem is we have never competed together at a high standard.

“He got injured when I was well and when I’m injured he’s well. It’s a real shame. It’d be great if we can get us both going and I think we can both go top eight at the Olympic Games if he can get picked.”

The signs were good for Martin to break the record this summer, throwing a new personal best at January’s Sydney Track Classic (20.63m) after finding his touch at the Ron Clarke Classic and Zatopek meet in December.

Three weeks later, he nudged it at the Australian Athletics Cup in Brisbane with a 20.57m effort.

It continued a pretty steep progression for the Victorian who only two years ago won Commonwealth Games gold in the discus throw and bronze in the shot put.

A major foot injury halted his work in the turns, elevating the shot as his preferred discipline - which he took to last year’s World Championships in Osaka.

Martin admits that the injury rattled him, though he did well to persevere and threw an A-qualifier in Madrid in the lead-up.

Soon after, he had to deal with the illness of his coach Gus Puopolo, with who he shares a close bond.

As Puopolo continues his recovery, the sparkle has returned to Martin’s eye. Not that he’s ever been a pessimist.

Even after bowing out in the qualification rounds in Osaka, he was thankful for the experience and threw his support behind the rest of the team in his role as co-captain.

“2007 was a really hard year for me,” he said. “My coach had cancer, which was a big problem, my foot injury was a big problem but I think everything is clearing up at the same time.

“Because of such a downer we had in 2007, it’s good to have Gus back coaching again and maybe there’s something a bit extra in the motivation this year. Whatever it is it’s working and hopefully we can keep it rolling now.”

Martin should be buoyant in the knowledge that his new mark would have earned him a medal at any World Championships since 1991 and every Olympic Games since 1988.

At Athens 2004, Ukrainian Yuriy Bilonoh won gold with a throw of 21.16 metres.

Martin now has four A-qualifiers for this year’s Olympic Games, twice those required to make the flight to Beijing by default.

The other requisite is the national title, which the 25 year-old will contest at this week’s Australian Championships.

He missed last year’s meet thanks to the injury, leaving Anlezark to fight it out with visiting American Christian Cantwell.

“Now that I have achieved I don’t have to worry about going further than I’ve done before,” Martin said of the prospect of throwing in Beijing. “It’s just about reproducing.

“There’s a lot of good throwers out there. I don’t expect a medal but I’m certainly targeting a medal. Who knows, if I have a great night it could win a gold one too.

“Twenty-one will become a benchmark that I aim for that I know is inside me,” he added. “It’s a bit much to try to throw 21 at every competition and at different times we have to throw different distances. If I can get an average of about 20.50, which is round about my average this year, you give yourself a chance every competition to throw 21 metres.

“Even the No. 1 thrower in the world doesn’t throw 21 metres every week so I don’t expect to either. But if you can throw it more times than you don’t, then you’re a good chance to pick up some medals.”

Melbourne has been a rich playing field for Martin and he loves throwing there. His parents were in the stands on Thursday night too, celebrating their boy’s record in a throng of close to 10,000.

“(The national record’s) a huge confidence boost,” he said. “I’ve been training really well but to get it out on the board, at a big competition - the Melbourne Grand Prix - the first World Athletics Tour meet, is very exciting.

“Melbourne’s a special place.”

By Steve Lavell

The Selection Trials & 86th Australian Championships will unfold at the Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre in Brisbane from Thursday, February 28 to Saturday, March 1. Tickets are only available at the gate.