10.12.2009

Birmingham, Willis headline Zatopek:10

Zatopek:10 returns to Olympic Park tonight, with a host of Australia’s finest athletics talent in action.
 
Zatopek:10 Men’s 10,000m – National championship (9:40pm)
With a berth on the Commonwealth Games team and a national championship up for grabs, there will be no holding back in the 49th running of the men’s Zatopek:10. Winners of this event in 2007 and 2008 respectively, Collis Birmingham and David McNeill appear the two front-runners for the 2009 race, as the duo look to place their names alongside the likes of Ron Clarke, Rob de Castella, Steve Moneghetti and Craig Mottram as multiple winners of the event.
 
In a breakthrough year, Birmingham recorded personal bests over five distances in 2009, including a new national record over 10,000m. Eclipsing Shaun Creighton’s 12-year-old mark, Birmingham stopped the clock at 27:29.73 at a meet in Berkeley, California (USA) in April this year. Placing second at the Great Australian Run two weeks ago, the Ballarat local appears to be showing no signs of fatigue in preparation for his last track outing for 2009.
 
Looking for a repeat performance from last year, David McNeill (VIC) will be out to defend his Zatopek:10 crown and upstage his more highly-credentialed domestic rival for the second consecutive year. A representative in the event at this year’s world championships in Berlin, McNeill placed second just weeks ago in the NCAA cross country championships, indicating that he’ll be in on the pace when it counts with the national title on the line. 
 
Major threats to McNeill and Birmingham’s title hopes include a list of past and current national representatives including Martin Dent (ACT), Mark Tucker (GLG), Michael Shelley (QLD) and Ben St. Lawrence (NSW).

Zatopek:10 Women’s 10,000m – National championship (8:16pm)
 
Undoubtedly the deepest and strongest field ever assembled in the women’s Zatopek:10, the Commonwealth Games A-qualifying mark (32:10.00) will be under threat from several of the field’s leading performers.
 
After an extended period in the athletics wilderness, Nikki Chapple (VIC) has started to realise the immense potential shown as a junior. Running the fifth fastest half marathon by an Australian woman ever to place third at the Great North Run (70:03) in September, 28-year-old Chapple dominated the elite women’s field at the Great Australian Run to claim the biggest win of her career two weeks ago. No stranger to the 10,000m distance, Chapple won the Victorian 10km road race championships in an impressive 32:28 in June and will be looking to better that time on the Olympic Park track.
 
Also amongst the title contenders is Australian record holder Benita Willis, who will be vying for her first Zatopek:10 crown. Setting her personal best (30:37.68) in the final of the 2003 world championships in Paris, Willis is the only Australian woman to break the 31-minute barrier for the event. Building back towards the form that won her the 2004 world cross country championship, Willis has the credentials and big race experience to win.
 
Olympic marathoner Lisa Weightman (VIC) is also expected to feature prominently at the front of the race, following an international campaign which saw her become Australia’s sixth fastest all-time female marathoner, with her 2:30.42run to place 18th at the world championships. With a sensational solo run to win the 5000m Victorian championship two weeks ago in a time just shy of her personal best (15:59.15), Weightman has blown out the cobwebs on the track and is ready to fire.
 
Benefiting from the presence of Willis, Weightman and Chapple, 2008 Zatopek:10 winner Lara Tamsett (NSW) will run without the usual weight of expectation assumed by the defending champion. Holding the fastest time run over the distance in season 2009 (32:27.23), 21-year-old Tamsett will also be looking to run a Commonwealth Games A-qualifier.
 
2007 Zatopek:10 champion Melinda Vernon (NSW) and 2008 City-2-Surf winner Rebecca Lowe (NSW) are also in the form to be title chances.
 
Women’s 1500m (7:20pm)
Kaila McKnight (VIC) will start firm favourite in the women’s middle distance event, following her silver medal-winning performance at this year’s World University Games in Belgrade. Twenty-three-year-old McKnight’s personal best (4:10.01) set in Sollentuna, Sweden in June, stands as the fastest time by an Australian woman in the event this year.  New South Wales duo Bridey Delaney (PB: 4:14.20) and Nikki Molan (PB: 4:16.26) will be close to the mark, with Victorian 800m specialist Kelly Hetherington an outside chance after posting a recent personal best of 2:05.85 for the two laps.
 
Women’s U20 3000m (7:28pm)
Fighting for the Lisa Ondiecki Trophy, Demi Wood (SA) and Lauren Parsons (NSW) are expected to be in the thick of things in the run for home in the women’s U20 3000m. Wood (9:48.78min) is the fastest entrant in the field this year, while Parsons was crowned U18 National All-Schools champion over the distance at the weekend. National U20 cross country champion Grace Thek (VIC) and 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games representative Linden Hall (VIC) will also be close to the mark.
 
Women’s triple jump (7:40pm)
Queensland’s Linda Allen is the feature performer in the women’s triple jump after her 13.55m jump in February this year launched her to second on the Australian all-time list for the event. From the remainder of the small five-person field, Meggan O’Riley (VIC- SB: 12.75m) and Carmen Finch (TAS – SB: 12.58m) appear the athletes likely of causing an upset.
 
Women’s discus throw (7:40pm)
Australian discus world champion Dani Samuels (NSW) will return to domestic competition for the first time since claiming gold in Berlin and will be hard to beat in the women’s discus. With a personal best of 65.44m set in the world championships final, Samuels will be looking for consistency in her first competitive outing since inscribing her name in sporting history. Victorian world junior championships representative Kim Mulhall heads the list of local challengers, with a season’s best of 55.50m.
 
Men’s discus throw (7:40pm) 
Tasmanian Graham Hicks produced a Commonwealth Games B-qualifying throw (57.53m) at the weekend, indicating he’ll be the one to watch come Thursday night. With the Commonwealth Games A-qualifying mark set at 60m, 31-year-old Hicks will be searching to meet the Dehli benchmark with one of his attempts. Victorian Andrew Peska is a cut above the remainder of the field, and will be looking to improve on his season best of 55.89m as he searches for the Commonwealth Games B-standard (57.00m) and a win over Hicks.
 
Women’s 400m hurdles (7:44pm)
A favourite of the Victorian athletics fraternity, Tamsyn Lewis (VIC) will return to Olympic Park hoping for a strong performance in front of her home crowd. With a personal best of 56.27 set at the national championships earlier in the year, Lewis has shown great consistency in her racing at local club meets this summer. A 15-time national champion, Lewis is a cut above the field, with locals Jessica Gulli (VIC) and U18 National All Schools champion Felicity Black (VIC) expected to lead the fight for the minor placings.
 
Men’s 100m (8:04pm)
Arguably the most open race of the meet, a blanket finish is likely in the men’s sprint. Daniel Martin (VIC) and Jacob Groth (VIC) are the best performed of the starters, with season’s bests of 10.54 and 10.58 respectively. 2006 Stawell Gift winner Adrian Mott (VIC) is also expected to feature amongst the podium challengers, as will emerging talents Simon Greig (VIC) and Liam Gander (VIC).
 
Men’s 800m (8:09pm)
Western Australian Chris De Boer placed fifth to Olympian Jeff Riseley on his last visit to Olympic Park in March this year, but will enter the men’s two lap event as one of the favourites at Zatopek:10. With a recent best of 1:48.26 for the event, De Boer’s greatest challenge will come from Queenslander Fraser Cross (SB: 1:48.40) and Victorian Simon Fitzpatrick (SB: 1:50.21).
 
Men’s shot put (8:50pm)
Dale Stevenson (VIC) registered a Commonwealth Games A-qualifying performance at the weekend, and with national champion Scott Martin (VIC) a late withdrawal through injury, will be hard to beat in the men’s shot put at Olympic Park. 
 
Setting a new personal best of 19.66m, nearly a one metre improvement on his previous best (18.67m) set in September, the 21-year-old now sits third on Australia’s all-time list ahead of former national record holder and six-time national shot put champion John Minns.

Leading the challenge will be Geelong-based junior Damien Birkinhead (PB: 16.97m), who has holds a swag of state and national underage throwing records, and has proven equally adept with the senior weight at recent club meets. Andrew Peska (VIC) is also expected to feature prominently with a season best of 16.20m.
 
Men’s triple jump (8:55pm)
Following national team representation at the world championships and World University Games this year, Alwyn Jones knows how to jump under pressure. With a season best of 16.83m, Jones was a bronze medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in the triple jump. National champion in the event for the past three years, 24-year-old Jones will commence his domestic jumping season at Zatopek:10, with Queenslander Josh Lumley likely to provide the greatest competition. Lumley’s season best stands at 15.84m.
 
Men’s 1500m (8:57pm)
A world championship and Commonwealth Games representative over the 1500m, New South Wales’ Jeremy Roff is the class performer of this men’s field. Setting a personal best (3:34.39) at the Berlin IAAF Golden League meet in June, Roff sits seventh on Australia’s all-time rankings for the distance, ahead of Australia track great Herb Elliott. Also expected to feature prominently in the chase for home will be Olympians Mitch Kealey (QLD) and Lachlan Renshaw (NSW), while Brad Woods (NSW) and Nick Bromley (NSW) are ranked in the top 10 nationally for the event this year.
 
Men’s 3000m steeplechase (9:06pm)
The second fastest Australian of all time in the event, Olympian Youcef Abdi (NSW) could go close to a Commonwealth Games A-qualifying performance (8:27.00) over the steeples at Zatopek. With a season’s best of 8:30.76 – some seven seconds clear of the next best Australian this year - Abdi will take some catching. Likely challenges to come from Victorian duo Matthew Johnsen and Ryan Christian.
 
Men’s U20 3000m (9.20pm)
In one of his last opportunity’s to break his own national record for the event, Ryan Gregson (NSW) will be on a mission tomorrow night to run inside his time of 7:57.45 set in March this year. In a breakout year for the 19-year-old, Gregson placed fourth at the World University Games in the 1500m before making his senior debut at the Berlin world championships.
 
Standing in Gregson’s way will be world youth championships representative Kane Grimster (VIC), and last year’s race winner James Nipperess (NSW). Grimster was impressive in Hobart at the weekend, running a scintillating 2:31 minute final kilometre to take victory in the U18 3000 metres at the National All Schools championships, while Nipperess set a new personal best (8:18.60) at the New South Wales 3000m championships last month.
 
Tickets to Zatopek:10 can be purchased through Athletics Victoria (www.athsvic.org.au or (03) 9428 8195). Adults - $10 and children - $5.