04.03.2010

Rudisha steals the show in Melbourne

Eight Commonwealth Games A-qualifiers were tonight posted at the IAAF Melbourne Track Classic as the nation’s top track and field athletes turned out in force at Melbourne Olympic Park on the final leg of the 2010 Australian Athletics Tour.

World champions Steve Hooker (pole vault) and Dani Samuels (discus throw) joined Kim Mickle (javelin throw), Ryan Gregson (800m), Liam Zamel-Paez (high jump), Jarrod Bannister (javelin throw), Chris Noffke (long jump) and Ben St Lawrence (5000m) in securing the coveted A-qualifying standard as the countdown to Delhi rolls on.

While the big-name Australians were out in force it was Kenyan superstar David Rudisha who stole the show in balmy conditions at Melbourne Olympic Park, clocking the fastest time over 800m ever recorded on Australian soil.

The fastest man over two laps in 2009 and fourth-fastest of all time posted a meet record 1:43.15 to eclipse the previous best time recorded on local shores of 1:43.97, set by fellow Kenyan David Lelei in 2000.

The 20-year-old Kenyan turned on a class performance at Melbourne Olympic Park to cross the line ahead of a fast-finishing Ryan Gregson, who clocked 1:46.04 to secure his first Commonwealth Games A-qualifying standard over the two-lap distance.

Rudisha said he had achieved just what he set out to do on his Australian debut.   

“I came to Australia expecting to run a fast time… I knew I was going to run 1:43 and that’s what I did. I did what I came here to do,” he said.

In a line-up billed as the best assembled in Australia since the 1956 Olympic Games and featuring both the reigning gold and silver Olympic 1500m medallists, local young gun Jeff Riseley stormed home to take line honours in 3:42.70.

While the time was almost ten seconds outside of his personal best, Riseley’s win over Beijing champion Asbel Kiprop (KEN, 3:43.33) and Beijing silver medallist Nick Willis (NZL, 3:43.67) was a highlight of the meet.    

The 23-year-old Victorian tore down the home straight to move ahead of Australian Flame teammate Jeremy Roff (3:43.06), Kiprop and Willis in the final stages of the race.

“Any time you beat the Olympic champion and the Olympic silver medallist is pretty phenomenal,” Riseley said.

“The slower pace of the race really suited me, I had a bit of an injury and couldn’t really do full training until January. It was a real championship-style race in the end.”

Commonwealth, Olympic and world champion Steve Hooker took out the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 5.65m, unable to take advantage of the ideal conditions at Melbourne Olympic Park and continue his campaign towards the magical six-metre mark.

Opening his account at 5.65m Hooker sailed over the bar on his first attempt but came unstuck when the bar was raised to 5.85m, missing all three attempts at that height.

The 27-year-old captain of the Australian Flame said he was disappointed by the result but would take positives away from tonight’s meet.

“Up until I was out of the competition I thought it was still going to be a big night so it’s just a bit of a shock but I guess that happens, I’ll have to spend a bit of time with (coach) Alex (Parnov) and look at the video and work out exactly what was going on because I felt like I should have been clearing those bars,” he said.

“I felt like I was running in and taking off much, much better than I was in Sydney so when that happens and you don’t get the result it’s sort of hard to understand what exactly has happened but I’m going to look at the positives out of this one, my run-up speed was good, my plant was better, I was taking off further out, all those things I wanted to do in this competition but unfortunately the result just didn’t come.”

“I still think it was a good trial run for world indoors, it was very still conditions so it’s a good opportunity to test the poles I’ll be needing, the run-ups I’ll be using indoors, so there’s a lot of positives to take out of it, just not a positive result.”

Hooker departs for the world indoor championships in Doha, Qatar, tomorrow.

In-form athlete of the season Ben Offereins took out the men’s 400m, claiming his second win over national champion Sean Wroe and reigning Olympic bronze medallist David Neville (USA) within a week, following his victory at the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday night.

In the field world discus champion Dani Samuels collected another win, her heave of 62.97m enough to seal victory in the women’s discus circle.

Chris Noffke took out the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.96m (w:0.2) ahead of world championships bronze medallist Mitchell Watt (7.89m, w:-0.6), US competitor Trevell Quinley (7.72m, w:0.5) and world titles fourth place-getter Fabrice Lapierre (7.65m, w:-0.2)

In other highlights:

- Australian Flame athlete Kim Mickle notched a Commonwealth Games A-qualifier in the women’s javelin throw, taking out the event with a best distance of 58.22m.

- Liam Zamel-Paez took out the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.25m, adding a second Commonwealth Games A-qualifier to the mark he notched in Brisbane last month.

- Beijing Olympian Jarrod Bannister continued his strong return to competition with a throw of 81.32m, adding to the Commonwealth Games A-qualifier he posted in Sydney on Saturday night. Former world champion Tero Pitkamaki (FIN) took out the event with a throw of 83.32m.

- In a race dominated by internationals, Ben St Lawrence posted his first Commonwealth Games A-qualifier (13:26.91) to finish in fourth place, just ahead of national 10,000m record-holder Collis Birmingham (13:33.44). Brit Andy Baddeley took out the event in 13:20.85 ahead of Jonathan Komen (KEN, 13:25.46) and New Zealander Adrian Blincoe (13:26.10).

Tonight’s Melbourne Track Classic brought to a close the 2010 Australian Athletics Tour, all attention now turning to the Go for 2 & 5 Australian Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games selection trials to be held in Perth from April 16-18.

Highlights from the Melbourne Track Classic will be broadcast on Network Ten on Sunday, April 25 at 1:30PM.