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Weightman, Hunt take victory on the Gold Coast
Another long-standing record was broken
when Victoria’s Lisa Weightman smashed an 18-year
mark in the 2010 ASICS Half Marathon at this morning’s Gold Coast
Airport Marathon.
The Victorian flyer and 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games
representative covered the flat, windless 21.1km Gold Coast course
in 1:09:00 to steal over half a minute from Midori Fumoto’s 1992
record of 1:09:38.
It was the second long-standing best race time set this weekend
after Michael Shelley’s obliteration of a 14-year
mark in yesterday’s Southern Cross University 10km Run.
And it’s the third time Weightman has taken the race in four years
and the second year in a row she’s tasted victory with personal
bests.
Brisbane’s Cassie Fien was second with her own
personal best of 1:11:45 while Adelaide’s Jessica
Trengrove surprised herself on debut with a podium finish
in 1:12:48.
Weightman, who pocketed a $3000 bonus for setting the new high bar,
said she enjoyed her run.
“This place is amazing, I’ve ran PB’s every year…I was on the pace
that I wanted to be on so I was lucky enough to have a nice pack of
boys around, they fluctuated within the pace I wanted to run,” she
said.
Fien said she simply remained positive throughout the journey while
Trengove, who had never competed over 12km before, declared future
full marathon aspirations.
I’ve been training for the distance, but I just wasn’t sure what
pace I could maintain today,” Trengrove said.
“It’s still early days yet but I would like to think I can take on
the marathon in a few years.”
And in good news for the nation’s Commonwealth Games hopes in
October, Weightman’s sub-continent-bound team mates Jeff
Hunt and Martin Dent took first and
second place respectively in the men’s event ahead of Japan’s
Hironori Arai.
Hunt, who relied on the power of positive thinking, said he was
also happy with his 1:03:18 run.
“I kept telling myself I was feeling good the whole way through,”
Hunt said.
“At about 16k it started to pick up and we just kept getting
quicker and quicker the last few stages, the last couple of
kilometers.
“Just before the turn into the home stretch, with about 200m to go,
I just went for it,” he said.
Dent (1:03:21) said he was more concerned with a comfortable run
than a win.
“I was on a pretty relaxed pace for the first 16k and I wasn’t
worried about running first today,” he said.
Arai said the crowd support helped him achieve the time he had
aimed for.
“I gained a lot of strength and support from the people around me
cheering, I am really grateful for that,” he said.
“I was aiming for 1.03 and I did 1.03.24 so I’m happy to have
reached that goal.”
Top 10 results will be issued following the finish of the Gold
Coast Airport Marathon.
Results from the ASICS Half Marathon:
Men: Jeffrey Hunt (NSW) 1h03m18s 1, Martin Dent
(ACT) 1h03m21s 2, Hironori Arai (Japan) 1h03m24s 3, Yuki Moriwaki
(Japan) 1h03m53s 4, Masaya Fujita (Japan) 1h03m55s 5, Yoshihiro
Hinomoto (Japan) 1h04m01s 6, Tomoya Shirayanagi (Japan) 1h04m07s 7,
Ryohei Nakano (Japan) 1h04m27s 8, Anthony Haber (ACT) 1h04m35s 9,
Tsubasa Akagi (Japan) 1h04m42s 10.
Women: Lisa Weightman (VIC) 1h09m00s 1, Cassie Fien (VIC)
1h11m45s 2, Jessica Trengrove (SA) 1h12m48s 3, Melinda Vernon (NSW)
1h13m03s 4, Maria Bridgette Bentley (QLD) 1h16m54s 5, Lisa Flint
(NSW) 1h17m16s 6, Leise Smith (QLD) 1h18m03s 7, Jackie Fairweather
(ACT) 1h18m34s 8, Sarah Klein (VIC) 1h18m51s 9, Kylie Dick (VIC)
1h19m20s 10.
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