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Curtain closes on 2010 world junior titles
After seven days of hard-fought track and
field action, the 36 founding members of the Australian Spark today
bid farewell to Moncton, Canada, home of the 13th IAAF world junior
championships.
Departing Moncton on a high with one bronze medal and 11 top-eight
performances to its name, the Australian team ended its Canadian
campaign in 14th position on the placing table with a total of 32
points.
Led by team captains Regan
Lamble, Kim Mulhall, Brooke
Stratton, Sam Baines, Brett
Robinson and Steve Solomon, the Spark
turned on seven days of blistering track and field entertainment,
producing a highlights reel as long as it is impressive.
Leading the way for the Spark was Commonwealth Games nominee
Julian Wruck, who showed he is on track for a
stellar senior international debut in New Delhi (IND) this October
with a third placing in the men’s discus throw, his heave of 61.09m
taking him all the way to the podium.
Wruck was joined on the top-eight honour roll
by Spark teammates Sam Baines (fourth – 110m hurdles), Kim Mulhall
(fourth – discus throw), Dane Bird-Smith (fifth –
10,000m walk), Brooke Stratton (sixth – long jump),
Mitchell Tyose (sixth – 110m hurdles),
Patrick Fakiye (eighth – 100m), Regan Lamble
(eighth – 10,000m walk), Amy Pejkovic (eighth –
high jump), Brett Robinson (eighth – 1500m) and the women’s
4x100m relay team (seventh), who flew the
flag for Australia against the top junior athletes in the
world.
Across seven days of international action, six members of the
Australian Spark turned on personal best performances, with Dane
Bird-Smith, Kuey Diew, Regan Lamble, Rosie
Lawson, Adrian Plummer and Mitchell Tysoe
all lowering their career best marks on the track.
In one of the performances of the meet, 18-year-old Bird-Smith took
almost two minutes off his best time in the 10,000m walk to stop
the clock at 41:32.36 and take out fifth place, as fellow race
walker Regan Lamble posted a new career-low of 47:55.67 to place
eighth in the women’s event.
Two-lap talents Kuey Diew and Adrian Plummer showed they have what
it takes to make it on the world stage, clocking new personal best
times of 1:49.14 and 1:50.00 respectively in the early rounds of
the men’s 800m.
Also hitting top gear at Stade Moncton, Mitchell Tysoe set a new
personal benchmark of 13.72 (w:-0.8) in the heats of the 110m
hurdles and Rosie Lawson clocked a new best of 13.83 (w:1.8) in the
opening round of the women’s 100m hurdles.
Making history on the track was New South
Wales sprinter Patrick Fakiye, who became the first Australian male
to line up in the final of the 100m at an IAAF world junior
championships since Damien Marsh achieved the feat
in 1990, the 19-year-old crossing the line in 10.62 (w:-0.7) to
place eighth in the decider.
Also etching his name into the record books was hurdles gun Sam
Baines, who clocked a new junior national record of 13.56 (w:0.0)
in the 110m hurdles at one of two pre-championships meets in
Vancouver en route to the world junior meet.
Across the team's three-week Canadian charge, personal best
performances were also posted by Amanda Bartrim
(pole vault - 4.00m), Taryn Gollshewsky (discus
throw - 53.69m), Regan Lamble (5000m walk - 22:55.50) and Steve
Solomon (400m - 47.03) to round out a huge tour for the
Australians.
The Spark will now spend three days on tour at Niagara Falls before
touching down in Australia on Saturday, July 31.
Athletics Australia congratulates the 36 founding members of the
all-new Spark on their outstanding achievements at the 2010 world
junior championships and looks forward to continuing its support of
these athletes along the national junior development pathway.
To relive all the action from the 13th IAAF world junior
championships, click
here.
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