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'Sub-10' and '6 plus' the key numbers for World Athletics Tour Melbourne
Will Asafa Powell be the first man to break 10 seconds and will Steve Hooker be the first to jump six metres in Melbourne when the 2009 World Athletics Tour kicks off at Olympic Park tomorrow night?
Hooker, the Beijing pole vault gold medallist, and 100m hurdles silver medallist Sally McLellan are set to continue their blistering form alongside a stellar cast of domestic and international stars.
In fact six reigning Olympic champions will be showcased at Melbourne Olympic Park tomorrow night.
Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell of Jamaica headlines an exciting international sprint contingent. The 26-year-old has never broken 10 seconds in Australia, in fact the feat has never been achieved in Melbourne, and it is anticipated that the world’s second fastest man will chase his 49th sub ten second time.
Olympic Park will take on a new flavour when Australia’s hottest DJ Grant Smillie mixes it up trackside alongside the world’s best athletes in what promises to be an action-packed night of world-class sport and entertainment.
For the majority of Australian athletes, the World Athletics Tour Melbourne will form an integral part of their preparations for the world championships in Berlin.
Here’s why you should secure yourself a seat at Melbourne Olympic Park tomorrow night:
Men’s 100m – 8.25pm
Athletics fans are licking their lips at the thought of Asafa Powell breaking the ten second mark for the first time on Australian soil tomorrow night.
There have only ever been four sub-10 100m performances in Australia, all in Sydney, and the feat has never been achieved in Melbourne - Maurice Greene’s 9.87 at the Sydney Olympics, Frankie Fredericks’ 9.94 in 1999, another by Greene (9.99) in 1998 and the other by Ato Boldon (9.99).
Powell’s last nine races over 100m have all been sub-10, with seven of those under 9.9.
After surviving a punishing 400m in a personal best time in Sydney on Saturday night, Powell is fired up and has declared that he is confident he can produce a sub-10 second performance. The second fastest man in the world, along with the expected 10,000 plus crowd, will all be keeping a one eye on that clock and the other on the wind gauge, given Olympic Park’s fickle headwinds.
Men’s Pole Vault – 7:55pm
Born and bred in Melbourne, Olympic pole vault champion Steve Hooker is expected to receive a resounding reception when he competes for the first time in his home city since that historic night at the Bird’s Nest.
Steve Hooker’s outstanding 2009 campaign has been well-documented – six victories from six competitions, the second-highest jump of all time in Boston (6.06m) and twelve 6.16m attempts at Sergey Bubka’s long standing world record.
The crowd in Melbourne will have to raise their stare six metres in the air to witness the world-class battle which will feature Hooker, Russian Olympic silver medallist Yevgeniy Lukyanenko, 2004 Athens Olympian Tim Mack, Australia’s Paul Burgess and Mexico’s Giovanni Lavaro.
Whilst Powell may face a wall of wind in the 100m, that may suit Hooker who will have it at his back. With favourable weather conditions at Olympic Park tomorrow night, the sky’s the limit.
Women’s 110m Hurdles (7:45pm) and women’s 100m (8:33pm)
In January, Sally McLellan broke the Australian record for 60m at the Boston Indoor Games and has predicted that Melinda Gainsford-Taylor’s long standing national 100m record of 11.12 is in grave danger this Australian summer.
McLellan clocked 11.39 in Sydney, and 11.26 at the Queensland titles two weeks ago, and that national record is still in her sights.
In her pet event, the 100m hurdles, McLellan will line up on the blocks alongside Commonwealth Games champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton.
The Jamaican met McLellan eight times last year, the Australian defeating the more experienced Jamaican on five occasions, including the Olympic final in which the 34-year-old finished sixth.
Men’s 400m Hurdles – 8:50pm
In-form athlete of the season Tristan Thomas had the Sydney crowd on its feet when he defeated Beijing bronze medallist Bershawn Jackson (49.06) and Commonwealth Games champion LJ van Zyl (50.02).
The Tasmanian’s time of 48.87 was the second-fastest ever run by an Australian in that event, eclipsed only by Rohan Robinson’s time of 48.28 in 1996.
The trio will face off again in Melbourne, and given the form Thomas is currently in, the 22-year old’s future looks extremely promising.
Women’s Discus Throw – 7:45pm
Australian young gun Dani Samuels (62.21m) caused a major upset to defeat Olympic champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton (61.72m) in Sydney on Saturday night.
The towering American will not want to leave Australia with two losses on the board, and Samuels, who was only a whisker off her PB of 62.95m last weekend, can expect a fight on her hands tomorrow night.
Other burning questions which will be answered tomorrow night:
- Leaving Sydney with their pride wounded after being defeated by Asafa Powell, how fast will 400m specialists Joel Milburn and John Steffensen come out and run in Melbourne and can they chase down Sydney winner Sean Wroe?
- Can Beijing 110m hurdles bronze medallist and ‘shoulders of steel’ David Oliver eliminate Colin Jackson’s meet record of 13.24?
- Taking on Olympic 400m hurdles champion Melaine Walker (JAM), will Tamsyn Lewis produce another A qualifier over 400m, following her stellar run in Sydney?
- Who will be crowned the men’s Australian 5000m champion for 2009? Can Collis Birmingham hold off rising young star Ryan Gregson?
- Will American Xavier ‘X-man’ Carter, who holds the fourth-fastest 200m time in the world, claim the Peter Norman 200m in his comeback year?
Live audio of the stadium commentary will be available at www.athletics.com.au.
The action will also be broadcast live on Melbourne radio station SEN 1116.
As there are other events on at Rod Laver and Hisense Arenas on Thursday night, the MCG car park will be open.
The 2009 edition of the IAAF World Athletics Tour kicks off in Melbourne. The series of 25 one-day athletics meetings travels the globe, before wrapping up in Thessaloniki, Greece in September. The Melbourne leg joined the World Tour in 2007, but began its life in 1988.
Event: World Athletics Tour - Melbourne
Day: Thursday March 5, 2009
Time: Action kicks off at 7:30pm
Where: Melbourne Olympic Park, Olympic Boulevard
Tickets: Available from Ticketek on 13 2849 or www.ticketek.com.au
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