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Super six to lead the Spark
A team of six athletes was last night named to
lead the Australian Spark's charge at next week’s 13th IAAF
world junior championships in Moncton, Canada.
Selected to the leadership group were Regan Lamble
(10,000m walk), Kim Mulhall (shot put, discus
throw), Brooke Stratton (long jump), Brett
Robinson (1500m), Sam Baines (110m
hurdles) and Steve Solomon (4x400m relay).
The six co-captains were selected by team staff for their strong
leadership capabilities and commitment to the team, and announced
to the 36-strong squad last night.
Since touching down in Vancouver late last
week Australian Institute of Sport race walker Regan Lamble has
wasted no time hitting top gear, the 18-year-old clocking a new
personal best time of 22:55.50 over 5000m on the second day of the
team's three-day warm-up campaign. With two IAAF World Race
Walking Cup representations under her belt (2008, 2010), Lamble is
a seasoned performer on the world stage.
Also travelling to Moncton with an impressive international resume
to her name is throws specialist Kim Mulhall, who placed fourth in
the discus throw at the 2007 world youth championships before
taking on both the discus (13th) and shot put (17th) events at the
2008 edition of the world junior championships. Mulhall will again
step out in both events at this year's meet in Moncton, setting
up what will be a busy few days for the aspiring Victorian.
Rounding out the girls’ leadership team is 17-year-old young gun
Brooke Stratton, who after contesting the long jump final at last
year’s world youth championships in Bressanone, Italy, returns to
the Australian squad for her second appearance on the world
stage.
Joining Lamble, Mulhall and Stratton as captains of the inaugural
Australian Spark team are Brett Robinson, Sam Baines and Steve
Solomon.
Robinson, who will take on the 1500m in Moncton next week,
represented Australia at last year’s IAAF world cross country
championships and has been hard at training since arriving in
Vancouver ahead of his turn in the international spotlight.
Last week Baines showed he has landed in Canada with form on his
side, setting a new Under 20 Australian record of 13.56 (w:0.0) in
his premier event, the 110m hurdles. Baines, now owner of both the
Under 18 and Under 20 national 110m hurdles records, took gold in
the event at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India, in 2008
and will no doubt be looking for another successful international
campaign in Moncton next week.
Also rewriting the record books since touching down on Canadian
soil was Steve Solomon, who lowered his lifetime best in the
one-lap event to 47.03m on Friday to prove he's in strong shape
ahead of his turn in the 4x400m relay at the IAAF championships.
Joining the sport only six months ago, Solomon is one of the most
exciting talents in Australian track and field and has been quick
to impress team coaching staff with his dedication to the
sport.
Athletics Australia congratulates Regan Lamble, Kim Mulhall, Brooke
Stratton, Brett Robinson, Sam Baines and Steve Solomon on being
named co-captains of the 2010 world junior championships
team.
At the end of its training and acclimatisation phase at the
University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the Australian
Spark will today travel east to Moncton, New Brunswick, where the
team will put its final plans in place for the world junior titles
in the lead-up to the start of competition next Monday, July
19.
For more from the 2010 world junior championships, click
here.
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