26.02.2010

World champions headline star field set for Sydney Track Classic

World champions Steve Hooker and Dani Samuels will tomorrow night lead 26 members of the Australian Flame into action at the Sydney Track Classic, where close to $100,000 is up for grabs in the penultimate stopover on the 2010 Australian Athletics Tour.

Twenty-seven-year-old Hooker will make his debut appearance on the 2010 national circuit this weekend in what will be his first major competition since taking out the world pole vault title in Berlin in August.
 
Hooker returns to the main stage following an all-conquering run in 2009 that saw the inaugural captain of the Australian Flame raise his career-best mark to 6.06m at the Boston Indoor Games in February and triumph over adversity to claim his maiden world crown in August. In a stirring show of Aussie spirit and determination, Hooker overcame a serious tear to his adductor muscle sustained just 10 days ahead of his world championships campaign to take out pole vault gold in Berlin.

Now on the road to the world indoor championships in Doha, Qatar, next month and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, in October, Hooker will be out to get his 2010 campaign off to a flying start in Sydney this weekend and will, as always, have the world record in his sights.

The world and Olympic pole vault champion, who for the last two years has opened his season with a new personal best leap, said he would be hoping to start his season on a similarly strong note in Sydney tomorrow night.

“I’m looking forward to competing tomorrow, it’s the first real competition for the season at a real meet and the first competition for the year is always an exciting one and normally a good one for me,” Hooker said.

“Traditionally, the last two years I’ve jumped personal bests in my first competition of the year and it would be lovely if that could happen tomorrow and hopefully it does but once again, I’m not really putting any pressure on myself for that, what I’m looking for is a good technical competition.
 
“This is one of two competitions I’m going to have before the world indoor championships in a few weeks’ time so for me it’s a very important competition because they’re my last opportunities to get everything right before I go to a world championship. In that sense this is a very important competition and I’m taking it very seriously.”

Fellow world champion Dani Samuels, who in August became the youngest world discus title-holder in history, will also step onto the field, the home crowd advantage sure to see her turn on a big performance this weekend.

The women’s track action sees Olympic silver medallist Sally McLellan make her return to the national circuit from a back injury that threatened to derail her world championships campaign in August. The pocket rocket is one of the most competitive athletes on the national circuit and despite a lengthy layover, has a competitive streak that will see her take it right up to ACT rival Melissa Breen over 100m and world championships 4x400m relay runner Jody Henry over 200m. 

But in what is building as the feature event of the night, the men’s 400m is set to bring Sydney Olympic Park to a standstill as world championships 4x400m relay bronze medallists Joel Milburn, Ben Offereins and Sean Wroe join 2006 Commonwealth Games representative Chris Troode and international challengers David Neville (USA), the bronze medallist over 400m at the Beijing Olympic Games, and David Rudisha (KEN), the fastest man over 800m in the world in 2009, for one hot lap.

While Offereins enters the meet as the in-form local contender after his personal best and Commonwealth Games A-qualifying performance of 45.32 at the Australia Cup meet in Canberra last month, it will be a fast and furious race for line honours on Saturday night.

Also shaping up as a must-see race is the men’s 1500m, which sees world championships representatives Collis Birmingham, Ryan Gregson and Jeremy Roff join Beijing Olympian Mitch Kealey and 2006 Commonwealth Games contender Nick Bromley in a star-studded field. The women’s 1500m will be fought out by a similarly strong line-up that features national 10,000m champion Eloise Wellings.

In the jumps pit the action will be led by world championships long jump bronze medallist Mitchell Watt, who will line up alongside US big man Trevell Quinley and Australian challengers Chris Noffke, Robbie Crowther, Shaun Fletcher and Henry Frayne in a huge night on the runway. With Australian Flame teammate Fabrice Lapierre a late withdrawal through illness, Watt will be looking to make Sydney Olympic Park his own tomorrow night as he continues the chase for Jai Taurima’s national record of 8.49m.

In other events to watch tomorrow night:
- Beijing Paralympians Evan O’Hanlon and Heath Francis will go head-to-head in the 100m AWD event.
- Visiting US sprinter Rodney Martin will take on Australian Flame athletes Matt Davies and Patrick Johnson over 200m.
- Australian Flame athlete Madeleine Pape will take on Ekaterina Kostetskaya (RUS) over 800m. As the girlfriend of Steve Hooker, Kostetskaya may be in line to represent the Flame in future years.
- Athens Olympics silver medallist Danny McFarlane (JAM) will take on world championships representative Brendan Cole in the men’s 400m hurdles while 15-time national champion Tamsyn Lewis will resume her battle with ACT athlete Lauren Boden in the women’s event.
- Australian Flame athletes Luke Adams, Chris Erickson, Adam Rutter, Jared Tallent, Claire Tallent and Cheryl Webb will headline the 5000m walks fields.
- Beijing Olympian Jarrod Bannister will continue his return from injury when he takes on former world champion Tero Pitkamaki (FIN) in the javelin throw.
- The women’s high jump will see Wollongong’s Petrina Price, en route to the world indoor championships in Doha, Qatar, next month, aim to raise the bar against fellow New South Wales athlete and world youth championships silver medallist Amy Pejkovic.
- World champion Valerie Vili (NZL) will headline the women’s shot put.
 
The Sydney Track Classic is the penultimate stopover on the 2010 Australian Athletics Tour before the action heads to Melbourne for the Melbourne Track Classic next Thursday, March 4.
 
Sydney Track Classic: Sydney Olympic Park – Saturday, February 27
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Melbourne Track Classic: Melbourne Olympic Park – Thursday, March 4
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