02.09.2009

Bown, Tallent take winter walks titles

South Australia’s Darren Bown and world championships representative Claire Tallent have been crowned national winter road walking champions for 2009 after recording emphatic victories at Parramatta Park at the weekend.

In the absence of world championships quartet Luke Adams, Chris Erickson, Adam Rutter and Jared Tallent, Bown dominated the men’s event to secure his first national 20km title.

Bown crossed the line in 1:27.16, well ahead of World University Games representative Ian Rayson in 1:32.45, to add 20km honours to the two 30km titles he secured in 2002 and 2007.

Bown, who represented Australia in the 50km walk at the 2001 world championships and has contested four editions of the Race Walking World Cup (1999, 2002, 2004, 2006), led a small field of walkers from the gun to shore up the title at Parramatta Park.

The women’s 20km event was played out in similarly emphatic style, Flame athlete Claire Tallent in control of the race from the gun.

The South Australian, who placed 27th over the same distance in Berlin in a time of 1:38.12, cut almost three minutes off her world championships result to cross the line in 1:35.58.

Tallent stormed the field to take out the winter title, 15 minutes clear of second place-getter Nicole Fagan (NSW), who stopped the clock at 1:50.40.

The title is Tallent's second national crown over the 20km distance, her first etched into the history books in 2007. The 28-year-old also boasts two 10km titles, secured at the winter championships of 2002 and 2004.

In the U20 events, rising stars Dane Bird-Smith (QLD) and Rachel Tallent (VIC) were the first Australians home over the 10km course.

Bird-Smith, who placed eighth at the world youth championships in Italy in July in a time of 43:53.62, posted a comfortable win over Western Australia’s Sean Fitzsimons, second at Parramatta Park in 45:14. Rhydian Cowley (VIC) was third across the line in 45:23.

Rachel Tallent, the younger sister of dual Olympic medallist and recent world championships representative Jared Tallent, crossed the line behind a trio of Korean racers to take out the national U20 winter title in a time of 51:18, three minutes behind race winner Yeong Eun Jeon in 48:36.  

Internationally, the race walking season is fast drawing to a close for 2009 with the final of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Saransk, Russia, just weeks away.

At events from Chihuahua to Berlin, the world’s best race walkers have battled it out for the right to compete in the season-ending final and race for their share of over US$200,000 in prize money in the Russian city on September 19.

At the end of the points race, Jared Tallent is the best placed of the Australians in sixth (28 points), just ahead of countryman Luke Adams in ninth (22 points). Berlin 20km bronze medallist Eder Sanchez (MEX) ends the season at the top of the leaderboard with 44 points tallied across five races.

For full results from the winter edition of the Australian road walking championships, please visit the event page here.