ATHLETICS: A number of breakout performances at the 2015 World Athletics Championships has ensured Australia can build towards the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with plenty of optimism.

High jumper Eleanor Patterson became the youngest ever Australian athlete to advance to the last round of competition at a world title event, Brandon Starc soared into the men's high jump final and a young walker announced himself as a genuine Rio 2016 threat.

Rising star of race walking and son of dual-Olympian Dave Smith, Dane Bird-Smith fought it out for an impressive eighth place in the men’s 20km walk.

A contender for much of the race, Bird-Smith, who recently won gold at the World University Games, sat comfortably in the lead pack of more than ten walkers until well into the middle stages of the long distance event.

Bird-Smith then tumbled over at the 12-kilometre mark after being infringed by a fellow competitor, before recovering to cement his place in the top-ten as Zhen Wang (CHN, silver, 1:19:29) made a break with just over four kilometres go.

Wang was overtaken by the European champion Miguel Lopez (ESP, 1:19:14), the eventual gold medallist, as Bird-Smith also moved up the ranks to finish strongly in a race that he described as challenging. His time was 1:21:37.

“I’m happy to have fought it out to the end. I came home with the big man Ding Chen in the last 300 (metres), it was a ripper finish. That was not fun. It was a tough one,” Bird-Smith said.

“The pace was on. I was OK with it initially, but I came around one of the turns and I went over the flower beds with two other walkers. That was a real bungle. But I fought through it. I’ve come eighth though, I’m definitely not unhappy.”

Bird-Smith followed in the footsteps of his father when made his debut for the Australia at the IAAF World Championships in 2013 in Moscow. Competing on the same course as his father had 33 years prior, Bird-Smith finished 11th in one of the performances of the meet.

He has since won the national title for the 20km walk in 2014 and been crowned the world university champion after a stunning effort at in Gwangju (KOR) earlier this year.

Bird-Smith will now turn his attention to qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

olympics.com.au & Athletics Australia