Home » News and Media » News » 2010 » February » Aussies star in weekend action
15.02.2010
A bumper weekend of athletics action in Hobart kicked off with two meet records and four Commonwealth Games A-qualifying standards at the Briggs Athletics Classic on Friday night, with national 10,000m record-holder Collis Birmingham (5000m), Ryan Gregson (1500m), Dale Stevenson (shot put) and Petrina Price (high jump) all hitting the Games mark.
A further eight athletes secured world junior championships qualifying standards at Hobart's Domain Athletics Centre, with Matt Turk (200m), Alex Rowe (800m), Jordan Williamsz (1500m), Kane Grimster (1500m), Brett Robinson (1500m), Kevin Batt (5000m), Sasha Alexeenko (400m hurdles) and 2009 world youth championships silver medallist Amy Pejkovic (high jump) all staking their claim for selection to the international meet in Moncton, Canada, in July.
Read the full meet review here.
The action continued on the Apple Isle on Saturday night with Round 1 of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge, a high-stakes hit-out that doubled as the national 20km race walking championships and Commonwealth Games selection trials.
Former world champion and world record-holder Nathan Deakes made his long-awaited return to competitive athletics after being sidelined from the Beijing Olympic Games and Berlin world championships through injury, but it was to be no fairytale finish for the 32-year-old Victorian, withdrawing from the race just after the halfway mark.
In the strongest race walking field ever assembled in Australia it was dual Olympic medallist Jared Tallent who stole the show along the Hobart waterfront, posting a personal best time of 1:19.15 to take out the men’s 20km event.
Twenty-five-year-old Tallent, who shored up his place on the Commonwealth Games team with his top-eight finish in the 20km walk at the world championships in August, will be joined in New Delhi (IND) by Luke Adams, Claire Tallent and Cheryl Webb, whose performances at the weekend secured their starts at the October meet.
Rising stars Dane Bird-Smith, Sean Fitzsimons, Regan Lamble and Beth Alexander all hit world junior qualifying standards in the Under 20 10km event.
Read the full meet review here.
Rounding out a huge weekend of athletics in Hobart, Victorian Stephen Cain and Queenslander Rebecca Robinson were crowned 2010 national decathlon and heptathlon champions respectively.
Across two days of competition Cain took top honours in three and posted season’s best marks in seven of the 10 disciplines contested, his wins in the pole vault, javelin and discus helping him to 7427 points and his second successive national decathlon crown.
Robinson took out the 200m, 100m hurdles, long jump and shot put events en route to her maiden senior national title.
In other action in Hobart at the weekend Athletics Australia's Under 19 Talent Squad came together for a four-day camp, taking part in a series of education sessions and competition opportunities as the nation's best emerging athletes continue along the road to the world junior championships and onwards to the senior stage.
In overseas results, Tasmania’s Ryan Foster lowered his own Penn State University indoor record over 800m with a time of 1:47.32 at the Husky Classic meet in Seattle (USA), just weeks after breaking the record with a run of 1:47.48 last month.
The run follows the Australian 1000m indoor record Foster posted in Pennsylvania (USA) last month, the 21-year-old clocking 2:19.60 to eclipse Commonwealth Games 15000m bronze medalist Mark Fountain’s time of 2:20.30, recorded in 2005.
Also in action at the Seattle meet at the weekend was Australian Flame athlete and All-American David McNeill of Northern Arizona University, who clocked a quick 7:47.52 to win the men’s 3000m race. The national-leading mark saw McNeill take the school indoor record previously held by former national 3000m indoor champion and US Olympian Lopez Lomong (7:49.74).
McNeill also broke the course record at the Dempsey Indoor facility set last year by Oklahoma State’s German Fernandez (7:47.97).
“Two weeks ago, I couldn’t even do 3km of tempo running,” an elated McNeill told Northern Arizona University writer Eric DeSalvo after his run.
"It would have been easy for me to say ‘I don’t want to come to Washington because I’m not prepared,’ but I knew that racing and training are different so I came here and gave it a go. It worked out I guess.”
McNeill was rapt to have stolen the 3000m indoor mantle from Lomong.
“I kind of feel bad for erasing such a legend’s name from the board but he still has a few other ones there, so I don’t feel too bad,” he joked.
“It’s special to be able to say that you have broken an Olympian and US flag-bearer’s indoor record. It is one of the career highlights for me.”
In Japan, seven-time world cross country championships representative Anna Thompson joined fellow Victorian Sam Crowther at the Chiba International Cross Country Meet.
Thompson placed 28th in the women’s 6km race in a time of 20:39, one minute behind local runner Misaki Katsumata (JPN) in 19:39.
In the men’s 12km event, high school student Bedan Karoki of Kenya clocked 34:52 to lead the field home, Crowther crossing the line in 28th place in a time of 36:45.
After three big weeks of domestic track and field action the 2010 Australian Athletics Tour now heads to Sydney for the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday, February 27, before continuing on to Melbourne for the Melbourne Track Classic on Thursday, March 4.
With big-name internationals David Neville (USA, 400m), David Rudisha (KEN, 400m/800m) and Trevell Quinley (USA, long jump) set to join a host of fellow overseas contenders and local stars in action, the stage is set for two scintillating nights of track and field.
Premium seats at the Sydney and Melbourne stopovers of the Australian Athletics Tour are selling fast so get in quick - click here to book your seats to the hottest show in town today!
Sydney Track Classic: Sydney Olympic Park – Saturday, February 27
Ticket details: Click here
Buy tickets now: Click here
Melbourne Track Classic: Melbourne Olympic Park – Thursday, March 4
Ticket details: Click here
Buy tickets now: Click here
News
Aussies star in weekend action
Australia’s top athletes have turned on a huge weekend of track and field performances all over the world as attention now turns to the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday, February 27.A bumper weekend of athletics action in Hobart kicked off with two meet records and four Commonwealth Games A-qualifying standards at the Briggs Athletics Classic on Friday night, with national 10,000m record-holder Collis Birmingham (5000m), Ryan Gregson (1500m), Dale Stevenson (shot put) and Petrina Price (high jump) all hitting the Games mark.
A further eight athletes secured world junior championships qualifying standards at Hobart's Domain Athletics Centre, with Matt Turk (200m), Alex Rowe (800m), Jordan Williamsz (1500m), Kane Grimster (1500m), Brett Robinson (1500m), Kevin Batt (5000m), Sasha Alexeenko (400m hurdles) and 2009 world youth championships silver medallist Amy Pejkovic (high jump) all staking their claim for selection to the international meet in Moncton, Canada, in July.
Read the full meet review here.
The action continued on the Apple Isle on Saturday night with Round 1 of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge, a high-stakes hit-out that doubled as the national 20km race walking championships and Commonwealth Games selection trials.
Former world champion and world record-holder Nathan Deakes made his long-awaited return to competitive athletics after being sidelined from the Beijing Olympic Games and Berlin world championships through injury, but it was to be no fairytale finish for the 32-year-old Victorian, withdrawing from the race just after the halfway mark.
In the strongest race walking field ever assembled in Australia it was dual Olympic medallist Jared Tallent who stole the show along the Hobart waterfront, posting a personal best time of 1:19.15 to take out the men’s 20km event.
Twenty-five-year-old Tallent, who shored up his place on the Commonwealth Games team with his top-eight finish in the 20km walk at the world championships in August, will be joined in New Delhi (IND) by Luke Adams, Claire Tallent and Cheryl Webb, whose performances at the weekend secured their starts at the October meet.
Rising stars Dane Bird-Smith, Sean Fitzsimons, Regan Lamble and Beth Alexander all hit world junior qualifying standards in the Under 20 10km event.
Read the full meet review here.
Rounding out a huge weekend of athletics in Hobart, Victorian Stephen Cain and Queenslander Rebecca Robinson were crowned 2010 national decathlon and heptathlon champions respectively.
Across two days of competition Cain took top honours in three and posted season’s best marks in seven of the 10 disciplines contested, his wins in the pole vault, javelin and discus helping him to 7427 points and his second successive national decathlon crown.
Robinson took out the 200m, 100m hurdles, long jump and shot put events en route to her maiden senior national title.
In other action in Hobart at the weekend Athletics Australia's Under 19 Talent Squad came together for a four-day camp, taking part in a series of education sessions and competition opportunities as the nation's best emerging athletes continue along the road to the world junior championships and onwards to the senior stage.
In overseas results, Tasmania’s Ryan Foster lowered his own Penn State University indoor record over 800m with a time of 1:47.32 at the Husky Classic meet in Seattle (USA), just weeks after breaking the record with a run of 1:47.48 last month.
The run follows the Australian 1000m indoor record Foster posted in Pennsylvania (USA) last month, the 21-year-old clocking 2:19.60 to eclipse Commonwealth Games 15000m bronze medalist Mark Fountain’s time of 2:20.30, recorded in 2005.
Also in action at the Seattle meet at the weekend was Australian Flame athlete and All-American David McNeill of Northern Arizona University, who clocked a quick 7:47.52 to win the men’s 3000m race. The national-leading mark saw McNeill take the school indoor record previously held by former national 3000m indoor champion and US Olympian Lopez Lomong (7:49.74).
McNeill also broke the course record at the Dempsey Indoor facility set last year by Oklahoma State’s German Fernandez (7:47.97).
“Two weeks ago, I couldn’t even do 3km of tempo running,” an elated McNeill told Northern Arizona University writer Eric DeSalvo after his run.
"It would have been easy for me to say ‘I don’t want to come to Washington because I’m not prepared,’ but I knew that racing and training are different so I came here and gave it a go. It worked out I guess.”
McNeill was rapt to have stolen the 3000m indoor mantle from Lomong.
“I kind of feel bad for erasing such a legend’s name from the board but he still has a few other ones there, so I don’t feel too bad,” he joked.
“It’s special to be able to say that you have broken an Olympian and US flag-bearer’s indoor record. It is one of the career highlights for me.”
In Japan, seven-time world cross country championships representative Anna Thompson joined fellow Victorian Sam Crowther at the Chiba International Cross Country Meet.
Thompson placed 28th in the women’s 6km race in a time of 20:39, one minute behind local runner Misaki Katsumata (JPN) in 19:39.
In the men’s 12km event, high school student Bedan Karoki of Kenya clocked 34:52 to lead the field home, Crowther crossing the line in 28th place in a time of 36:45.
After three big weeks of domestic track and field action the 2010 Australian Athletics Tour now heads to Sydney for the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday, February 27, before continuing on to Melbourne for the Melbourne Track Classic on Thursday, March 4.
With big-name internationals David Neville (USA, 400m), David Rudisha (KEN, 400m/800m) and Trevell Quinley (USA, long jump) set to join a host of fellow overseas contenders and local stars in action, the stage is set for two scintillating nights of track and field.
Premium seats at the Sydney and Melbourne stopovers of the Australian Athletics Tour are selling fast so get in quick - click here to book your seats to the hottest show in town today!
Sydney Track Classic: Sydney Olympic Park – Saturday, February 27
Ticket details: Click here
Buy tickets now: Click here
Melbourne Track Classic: Melbourne Olympic Park – Thursday, March 4
Ticket details: Click here
Buy tickets now: Click here
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