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Wruck on a roll with world junior bronze
Commonwealth Games nominee Julian
Wruck has shown his preparations for New Delhi (IND) are
on track with a bronze medal in the men’s discus throw on day six
of the 13th IAAF world junior championships in Moncton,
Canada.
On the penultimate day of competition at Stade Moncton 18 athletes
lined up for the Australian Spark, the team tallying two top-eight
finishes, a personal best and watching on as a further two athletes
moved through to the medal round on tomorrow’s seventh and final
day of the 2010 titles.
Headlining today’s action 19-year-old Wruck, who is based at Texas
Tech University in the USA, took bronze in the men’s discus final
with a best effort of 61.09m to claim the first medal for the
Australian Spark at the 2010 world junior meet.
Opening his account with a heave of 59.88m, Wruck hit the bronze
medal-winning mark in Round 2 of the competition before rounding
out his series with throws of 60.55m, a foul, 60.87m and
60.55m.
The Delhi-bound athlete said the result was a good stepping stone
along the road to his senior international debut at the
Commonwealth Games this October.
“It was pretty good, I didn’t really throw according to plan but it
could have gone a lot worse as well,” Wruck said.
“Today gives me a lot of confidence going into Delhi but I think
I’m going to attack the Commonwealth Games completely differently,
I think I can do well there and today was a really good experience
for the future.”
The junior national record-holder, who boasts a personal best of
62.61m, said bigger and better things were ahead.
“Ahead of Delhi I’m going to focus more on strength and a higher
throwing volume, there are a few things I need to fix up here and
there but I’ll figure it out,” Wruck said.
The gold medallist in the discus throw at the 2008 Commonwealth
Youth Games in Pune, India, will be joined by 2009 world
championships contenders Benn Harradine and
Scott Martin in the men’s discus event in New
Delhi.
The former Queenslander becomes just the second Australian to claim
a medal in the men’s discus throw since the inception of the IAAF
world junior championships in 1986, Victorian Werner
Reiterer claiming silver at the inaugural edition of the
meet in Athens, Greece, with a heave of 58.64m.
Reigning women’s discus world champion Dani
Samuels was the last Australian to win a medal in the
discus throw at a world junior titles, taking gold in Beijing (CHN)
in 2006.
Wruck joins Regan Lamble (eighth - 10,000m walk),
Patrick Fakiye (eighth - 100m), Kim
Mulhall (fourth - discus throw), Brett
Robinson (eighth – 1500m), Dane
Bird-Smith (fifth – 10,000m walk) and Brooke
Stratton (sixth – long jump), as well as the
women’s 4x100m relay team
(seventh), in posting top-eight performances for the Australian
Spark at the 2010 world junior titles with one day of competition
now remaining.
Posting the second top-eight finish of the day for the Australian
Spark, the women’s 4x100m relay team of Rosie
Lawson, Ella Nelson, Karlie
Morton and Caitlin Sargent placed seventh
in a time of 45.47.
“It’s awesome, especially to do it with these three girls, you
couldn’t ask for anything better,” Nelson said.
Lawson said the result was a big achievement for the four young
sprinters.
“It was such an honour to be out there, I
wanted to go for a lap of honour but these girls weren’t quite
feeling it so that’s alright, I was just really happy to have made
the final especially because it was so unexpected,” she said.
In other finals action on the track, Kevin Batt
placed a gallant 16th in the men’s 5000m in a time of 15:50.44, the
race predictably dominated by African athletes.
“It was just one of those days, I’m pretty sad but that’s
athletics, I’ll be back,” Batt said.
The pace was on early in the race as the field’s African leaders
moved through the first kilometre in 2:42.85, Kenyan victor David
Kiprotich Bett going on to clock 13:23.76 for victory.
In the field, New South Wales pole vaulter Amanda
Bartrim cleared 3.80m on her first trip down the runway
but was unable to overcome the next height of 3.95m to place equal
ninth overall.
Nineteen-year-old Bartrim will return home from her Canadian
campaign with a new personal best mark to her name after clearing
4.00m at a warm-up meet in Vancouver two weeks ago in the lead-up
to the world junior titles.
The finals action will continue for the Spark tomorrow with 110m
hurdlers Sam Baines and Mitchell
Tysoe set to feature in the sprint hurdles decider after
moving through today’s semi-finals.
Baines, the national junior record-holder in the event and a
co-captain of the Australian Spark, gained an automatic berth in
the deciding round after placing second in his semi-final in a time
of 13.66 (w:-0.9).
Placing third in the opening semi-final of the day, Tysoe snuck
into the final eight with a time of 13.77 (w:0.4).
Also starring for the Spark on day six were 800m contenders
Kuey Diew and Adrian Plummer, who
lined up in the semi-finals of the two-lap race.
Taking on the first of three semi-finals, Diew ducked under the
1:50-barrier for the first time in his career, clocking a new
personal best time of 1:49.14 to place fifth in his race and 11th
overall.
Sitting right with the leaders as they moved through the first lap
in a quick 52.13, Diew hung on as the lead runners started to pull
away and stormed down the front straight to take out fifth
place.
“I’m happy, I made the semi-finals and I ran a
PB and I’m glad I’m not going away without that time,” Diew
said.
“If I didn’t get a PB I wouldn’t be happy but there’s always
something you’ve got to take out of it and that’s probably it, I’m
unlucky I missed out on the final but they were the better racers
on the day, it was an awesome pace."
The 17-year-old Queenslander has now set his sights on the gold
medal at the 2012 edition of the world junior titles in Barcelona,
Spain.
“I’m going to go back to training and come back to world juniors in
two years’ time and get the gold there, that’s my goal,” he
said.
Fellow 800m runner Adrian Plummer placed seventh in the quickest
semi-final of the day, clocking 1:52.25 in a fast-paced race that
was taken out in 1:46.91.
In touch with the leaders for the opening 200m, Plummer fought to
hold his ground as the field strung out in the race for home and
finished strongly to pick up a place down the front straight, the
18-year-old Queenslander placing 18th overall.
Capping the penultimate day of competition in Moncton, Australia’s
women’s 4x400m relay team finished its heat in fifth place in a
time of 3:39.64 (ninth overall), the men’s team crossing the line
fourth in 3:11.19 (11th overall).
All-round sprinter Caitlin Sargent opened the women’s campaign
before handing the baton to relay specialist Louise
Maybury, the Queenslander chasing down the field to put
the team in touch at the 200m-mark of the second leg and fifth at
the change, Shannon Smith running gallantly before
world junior 400m semi-finalist Anneliese Rubie
brought the team home.
“It was a lot of fun, the crowd was insane and I just gave it the
best I could today. It was a long time in the making and I don’t
think that we’re ever going to lose our friendship,” Smith
said.
Rubie said the vocal Australian audience in the stands at Stade
Moncton helped her to the finish line.
“Down the back straight you could hear Australians the whole way
and it really pushes you along,” she said.
“I actually felt like I ran a better 400m than I did in my heat and
semi-final which I guess you can expect, as soon as you get a baton
in your hand you just go berserk sometimes.”
Maybury said she would take renewed self-confidence out of her
debut appearance on the world stage.
“We knew it was going to be a tough race but for me it was hard to
believe I was finally out there and racing for my county, it was a
pretty awesome feeling,” she said.
“Self-belief is probably one of the most important things I’ll take
out of today, I never really believe in myself as much as I should
so that’s what I’m going to take out if it.”
In the men’s heats, Spark co-captain
Steve Solomon opened the Australian account before
handing the baton to Joel Bee, the gutsy Victorian
putting in a stellar home straight after blowing his hamstring 100m
from home.
In the absence of relay specialist Johnny Rayner,
ruled out following a devastating hamstring injury sustained just
days before his scheduled appearance on the world stage, 400m
hurdles gun Sasha Alexeenko picked up the third
leg before anchor Grant Billingham brought the
team home.
Solomon said the team would take valuable experience out of today’s
run.
“It wasn’t a great time that we ran but heads up, for a lot of the
boys it’s their first international meet including myself, so we’ll
take a lot out of it,” he said.
“The call room was quite the experience and just the hype of the
world championships, everyone gave it their best and I guess it
just wasn’t our day.”
Billingham said the loss of Rayner was unfortunate timing for the
in-form runner.
“It was all over in a flash, I wish we could have raced for longer
but it was a lot of fun and I’ve learned heaps so I’m looking
forward to smashing the next one,” Billingham said.
“It was pretty unfortunate for Johnny because he was running so
well but credit to Sasha for stepping in.”
Tomorrow reigning world youth championships silver medallist
Amy Pejkovic (high jump) will join Baines and
Tysoe in finals action on the closing day of competition of the
13th IAAF world junior championships.
For all the action from day six in Moncton, click
here.
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