29.09.2009

Birmingham at his best in the Big Apple

Collis Birmingham has recorded a new personal best mark and distance running great Benita Willis has taken out the famous Lidingo Loppet cross country event in Stockholm, Sweden at the weekend.

Lining up in New York's Fifth Avenue Mile, Birmingham shaved .4 off the 3:54.30 he recorded in London in July to stop the clock at 3:53.90.

The new mark continues an impressive run for the 24-year-old world championships representative, who in 2009 has recorded new personal best times over 1500m (3:35.76 in Rieti, ITA) and 5000m (13:14.53 in Oslo, NOR) and in April set a new national 10,000m record of 27:29.73 in Berkeley (USA).

At the world championships in August he placed 16th over 5000m in a time of 13:55.58, following his withdrawal from the 10,000m in the late stages of the race. Earlier this month he placed third over the mile at the Great North City Games in Newcastle, northern England, stopping the clock at 4:04.  
 
World championships 1500m semi-finalist Andy Baddeley (GBR) took out the event in 3:51.80 ahead of Birmingham in sixth.

Across the Atlantic, Benita Willis overcame an 80m deficit at the midway point of the Lidingo Loppet 10km cross country event in Stockholm to take out the race in course record time.

In the lead from the 6km mark, Willis stormed home to cross the line in 34.19 and better the previous course mark by five seconds.

“I'm overjoyed,” the 30-year-old Victorian said.

“When (second place-getter) Isabellah (Andersson) disappeared I thought, 'oh well, I'll be No. 2 again'. I've finished second four races in a row so I really wanted to win today.”

In September alone Willis, who divides her time between Melbourne, London and the USA, has placed second to Scotland's Freya Murray at the 10km Great Yorkshire Run and again at the 5km Great Capital Run in London before posting a third runner-up finish, this time over two miles, at the Great North City Games in Newcastle.

Willis' run is the quickest time ever recorded by an Australian at the Lidingo Loppet event, bettering Anna Thompson's time of 34.37 set in 2006.
 
Closer to home, St Kilda's Rhys Stanley has taken out the 2009 AFL Grand Final sprint. Catch all the action from the Melbourne Cricket Ground on that one day in September here.