27.08.2009

Flame still burns at close of world titles

With the curtain now closed on our most successful world championships campaign in the 26-year history of the meet, it’s time to reflect on the achievements of the Australian Flame at the 12th IAAF track and field titles.

A team of 46 athletes, 26 of them on debut, donned the green and gold in Berlin, banding together as the Australian Flame for the first time in national athletics history and launching what is hoped will become a long and proud tradition of national representation in the sport.

Led by courageous captain Steve Hooker, the team descended on Berlin for nine days of hard-fought track and field action against the world’s top athletes, and by the close of competition had well and truly asserted its presence on the world stage.

With defending world champions Nathan Deakes (50km walk) and Jana Pittman-Rawlinson (400m) ruled out of the championships through injury, Australia’s fate was in the hands of the next generation of track and field hopefuls. 

On day seven of the championships it was New South Wales young gun Dani Samuels who stood up when it counted, securing the Flame’s first gold medal of the meet and the first world title in the field by an Australian female.

At just 21 years of age Samuels, already a world youth, world junior and World University Games gold medallist, became the youngest world discus champion in history and will arrive home on Australian shores with not only a world title to her name but a new personal best mark of 65.44m, almost three metres ahead of the 62.95m with which she entered the meet.

Battling a race against time to take to the start line due to an adductor injury sustained five days before the commencement of the championships, Steve Hooker backed up his Beijing win by taking out the men’s pole vault crown with a leap of 5.90m.

Two more medals – bronze to Mitchell Watt in the men’s long jump with a leap of 8.37m and to the men’s 4x400m relay team (Ben Offereins, John Steffensen, Tristan Thomas, Sean Wroe) in a season’s best time of 3:00.90, rounded out the Flame’s podium finishes.

Finishing just outside the medals a further five athletes secured coveted top-eight places on the world stage: injured 100m hurdles star Sally McLellan in fifth (12.70), long jump gun Fabrice Lapierre (8.21m) fourth, dual Olympic medallist Jared Tallent a gallant sixth in the men’s 20km walk (1:20.27) and seventh over the 50km distance (3:44.50), and fellow walker Luke Adams with a new personal best time of 3:43.39 to finish sixth in the men’s 50km event.

Eight more performances made the world’s top-16 with the men’s 4x100m relay team (Anthony Alozie, Matt Davies, Aaron Rouge-Serret, Josh Ross) just missing out on the final in ninth (38.93), the women’s 4x400m relay team (Jody Henry, Tamysn Lewis, Caitlin Pincott and Pirrenee Steinert) in 11th (3:30.80), Sean Wroe 13th (45.32) and John Steffensen 14th (45.50) in the men’s 400m, Justin Anlezark 14th in the men’s shot put (19.94m), Tristan Thomas 15th (49.76) and Brendan Cole 16th (49.92) in the men’s 400m hurdles and Collis Birmingham 16th in the men’s 5000m (13:55.58).

After steering Australia to its most successful championships ever, Athletics Australia high performance manager Eric Hollingsworth said the team’s success was due largely to the new and exciting generation of athletes moving through the ranks.

“It’s ended up a really great championships, obviously we started off a little bit slow but our top guns came through late,” Hollingsworth said.

“Hooker was unbelievable, one of the best things I’ve seen at a major championships ever and Mitchell Watt, a new guy, a new face coming through, only competing in the last year and producing a medal was another fantastic performance.”

The large team selected for Berlin is part of Hollingsworth’s four-year vision to introduce a large number of athletes to the international stage in the lead-up to the London Olympics in 2012, where Australia will again be expected to step up its track and field presence.

At the end of nine days of top-class action at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, Hollingsworth has high hopes for Australia’s future in the sport.

“I’m surprised a little bit (by the results) but also very hopeful and was optimistic before the championships,” he said.

“People like Mitchell have competed consistently on the European circuit and so has Fabrice (Lapierre). Dani basically only lost once in the lead-up so we just hoped they could cope with the pressure and that was one of the main things I was looking for from the Australian athletes, to be able to cope with the pressure and a lot of our athletes have really stepped up in that way.”

And step up they did.

Of the 32 countries featured in the final medal count Australia finished 10th behind the USA, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, Poland, Germany, Ethiopia, Great Britain and South Africa. On the placings table, which takes into account both medals and top-eight finishes, Australia placed 11th of 62 nations behind the USA, Russia, Jamaica, Kenya, Germany, Ethiopia, Great Britain, Poland, Cuba and China.

Still riding high on the success of their world titles campaign, Australia’s top athletes will now look to the last remaining events on the European calendar before the season-ending World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki, Greece, from September 12 to 13.

A revised Flame outfit will again don the green and gold to take part in the inaugural test match against England, to be held on the streets of Newcastle on September 19.

With plenty of action still in store for athletics fans right through to the launch of the Australian domestic season, stay tuned to athletics.com.au for all the latest news and events from around the world.

Congratulations to all members of the Australian Flame for your hard work, dedication and outstanding results at the 12th IAAF world championships in Berlin.

Re-live all the action from the world track and field titles here.