11.09.2009

Four to fire in season final

Four Australians will line up in the World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki, Greece, this weekend as the 2009 European track and field season draws to a close.

Dani Samuels (discus throw), Fabrice Lapierre (long jump), Kimberley Mickle (javelin throw) and Sean Wroe (400m), all members of the recent world championships team, will fly the flag for Australia when the action gets under way tomorrow night at the Thessaloniki track.

The season-ending final will feature the seven athletes with the highest number of points in each discipline from across the European season, with their best five results (four for throws) qualifying for each event of the season-ending meet.

It is a condition that athletes have scored points in at least three meetings, and in the case of a tie for qualification for the World Athletics Final, the athlete with the best seasonal performance will be qualified. The IAAF will extend invitations, at its discretion, upon receipt of refusals or cancellations.

Leading the Australian charge will be Dani Samuels, who at just 21 became the youngest world discus champion in history with a personal best throw – and the second furthest of the year – of 65.44m to secure the gold medal in Berlin.

In what is shaping up as a repeat of the world titles decider, Samuels will enter Sunday night's event in line for a second podium finish. Berlin finishers one through five are all expected in Thessaloniki, and all have a strong shot at victory.

Challenging Samuels for the title will be reigning World Athletics Final title-holder and world silver medallist Yarelis Barrios (CUB), bronze medallist Nicoleta Grasu (65.20 SB) of Romania, Poland’s Zaneta Glanc (63.96m SB), fourth in Berlin, fifth placer Aimin Song (64.83m SB) of China and Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton, who boasts the world leading mark of 66.21m.

Reigning World Athletics Final title-holder and Berlin fourth finisher Fabrice Lapierre enters the men’s long jump on the back of a stunning European season that has seen the New South Welshman take his personal best mark out to 8.35m and leap to No. 3 on the Australian all-time list.

With wins at the Athens and Madrid Grands Prix to his name, Lapierre will arrive in Thessaloniki hopeful of another big result when competition gets under way on Sunday night.

On the runway he will meet Berlin gold medallist Dwight Phillips (USA), who after a trailblazing season that has seen him win eight of his 10 competitions and produce five of the year’s seven longest leaps, will start as a strong favourite to collect a third World Athletics Final victory.

Also in contention are African record-holder Godfrey Mokoena, the silver medallist in Berlin and Greek hope Loúis Tsátoumas, 11th at the world titles.

Also in action in the field is Western Australian javelin thrower Kimberley Mickle, 15th in Berlin with 57.46m.

Mickle has pulled together an impressive year, claiming her fourth national javelin title in March and going on to win the Osaka Grand Prix in May. Throwing over the 60m-mark on at least eight occasions in 2009, Mickle posted 11 consecutive victories before defeat at the Lausanne Super Grand Prix in July at the hands of German Steffi Nerius. She went on to record further wins in Switzerland and Finland before making her world titles debut.

Mickle will again face up to Nerius in Thessaloniki on Saturday night, with reigning Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova, Maria Abukamova (RUS) and Christina Obergföll (GER) also expected to contend.

The sole Australian hitting the track will be Sean Wroe, who lines up in the 400m on Saturday night. A hectic year has seen Wroe place third in the Osaka Grand Prix in May (45.32) and take a sidestep from the one-lap event to run the 100m-200m sprint double at the World University Games in Belgrade, finishing eighth in the semi-finals of both events.

Returning to the one-lap event at the London Grand Prix Wroe challenged dual Olympic gold medallist Angelo Taylor down the final straight but faded in the dying stages to place fourth in 45.63.

Last month Wroe advanced to the semi-finals of the 400m to place 13th overall, then teamed with fellow Flame representatives Ben Offereins, John Steffensen and Tristan Thomas to claim bronze in the men’s 4x400m relay in a season’s best time of 3:00.90.

Wroe will again be up against Taylor in Thessaloniki, as well as world championships gold medallist LaShawn Merritt and fellow Berlin finalists Chris Brown (BAH), David Gillick (IRL) and Michael Bingham (GBR).

View the complete World Athletics Final timetable here