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Spark on track for Moncton
With the 13th IAAF world junior championships
now less than a week away, the 36 members of the Australian Spark
are hard at work on the training track in Vancouver, Canada,
finalising their preparations for the meet.
After a successful three days at the Kajaks International Track
Classic and Trevor Craven Memorial meets, the team has bunkered
down at its base at the University of British Columbia to put the
final plans in place for the IAAF titles in Moncton from next
Monday, July 19.
Touching down in Vancouver last Thursday, the 36 founding members
of the Australian Spark have wasted no time in finding their form
ahead of next week’s titles, with a new national record, a meet
record and five personal best performances already on the board in
just five short days.
Leading the way for the Australian Spark in the first week of its
international campaign are Sam Baines,
Kuey Diew, Steve Solomon,
Taryn Gollshewsky, Regan Lamble
and Amanda Bartrim.
On Sunday Baines shaved .04 off the Under 20 Australian 110m
hurdles record, clocking 13.56 (w:0.0) to eclipse Daniel
Martin’s time of 13.60 and etch his name into the record
books.
Also keeping the statisticians busy across the team’s three-day
hit-out in Vancouver was 800m athlete Kuey Diew, who smashed the
Trevor Craven Memorial Meet two-lap record by almost three seconds
to cross the line in a time of 1:50.95.
With personal best performances to one-lap wonder Steve Solomon
(47.03), discus thrower Taryn Gollshewsky (53.69m), race walker
Regan Lamble (22:55.50) and pole vaulter Amanda Bartrim (4.00m) on
the board, the team will arrive in Moncton full of confidence for
the week-long IAAF titles.
After training yesterday morning many of the 36 members of the team
took some time out from the track to check out downtown Vancouver
but it was back to business this morning, as athletes hit the gym,
jumped into the pool and took to the track to continue the
all-important countdown to the IAAF championships.
Tomorrow the team will bid farewell to Vancouver and fly across the
country to Moncton, New Brunswick, home of the 13th IAAF world
junior titles. On Friday the team will be joined by parents,
coaches and supporters at the official Spark lunch before the
worldwide meet is formally opened next Monday night.
First to hit the track for Australia on Tuesday, July 20 will be
2007 world youth and 2008 world junior representative Kim
Mulhall on what will be a big day out for the Victorian,
who will take on the qualifying rounds of both the shot put and
discus throw and could then line up in the shot put final on a huge
day of competition in Moncton.
Joining Mulhall in action next Tuesday will be Brett
Robinson and Todd Wakefield in the heats
of the 1500m, Anneliese Rubie in the heats of the
400m, Patrick Fakiye and Caitlin
Sargent in the heats of the 100m, Rosie
Lawson in the heats of the 100m hurdles and Taryn
Gollshewsky in the qualifying rounds of the discus throw.
With just five days to go until the opening ceremony of the 2010
world junior titles, the Australian Spark is firing up for its turn
on the world stage.
Profiles of all 36 athletes bound for the
world junior championships can be found
here.
To send a message of support to the team, click
here.
For photos of all the action from the Kajaks International Track
Classic, click
here.
Photo courtesy of Jodi Lambert
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