Commonwealth Games gold and silver medallists Jared Tallent and Luke Adams are set to reignite their rivalry at the Australian 50km Road Walking Championships this weekend as the athletics community descends on Fawkner Park, Melbourne, for the annual Australian title race.
Commonwealth Games gold and silver medallists Jared Tallent and Luke Adams are set to reignite their rivalry at the Australian 50km Road Walking Championships this weekend as the athletics community descends on Fawkner Park, Melbourne, for the annual Australian title race.
Tallent, the silver medallist in the event at the 2008 Olympic Games and gold medallist in New Delhi (IND) in the shorter 20km event, will start favourite for the 50km race but is set to face stiff competition from Australian Flame teammate Luke Adams, who crossed the line in second place in New Delhi after stumbling on a raised section of concrete on the final lap. After seeing his shot at gold disappear in Delhi, Adams will be out for redemption when competition gets under way this Sunday.
On what is building as a big day out for the nation’s top race walkers, former 50km world record-holder Nathan Deakes will also line up in Fawkner Park, the athletics veteran to take to the start line in the men’s 20km walk.
Forced to withdraw midway through the 20km national championships in Hobart in February and missing out on selection to the Commonwealth Games team, Deakes will be looking to get his 2010/11 season off on the right note with a strong showing this weekend.
Deakes will be joined in the field by recently returned New Delhi representative Chris Erickson, 2009 IAAF world championships athlete Adam Rutter and the young gun of the field, 2010 IAAF world junior championships representative Rhydian Cowley.
In the women’s 20km event, New Delhi rivals Claire Tallent and Cheryl Webb will be reunited on the road, Tallent to start favourite in the race after claiming silver at the Commonwealth Games in a time of 1:36.55.
The pair will be tested by one of the emerging stars of the race walking community in world junior titles athlete Regan Lamble, who enters the meet in outstanding form and looking to cap a big year on the world stage.
Headlining the junior 10,000m walk events will be Queensland young gun Dane Bird-Smith, who placed fifth at the world junior titles in Moncton (CAN) in July, and Rachel Tallent, the younger sister of Jared hoping her strong family pedigree holds her in good stead along the course this weekend.
Athletics Australia
