In his first major championship final Henry Frayne finished ninth in the triple jump, while the Aussies missed out on finals berths in the 4x100m relays on the closing night of the IAAF world championships in Daegu.
Henry Frayne (Qld) finished ninth in the triple jump, in his first major championship final on the closing night of the IAAF world championships in Daegu (KOR), while Jamaica set the only world record of the event in the 4x100m men's relay.
Having qualified for the triple jump final on his Flame debut, Frayne, opened with16.45m (-0.1) before maintaining a mid-level position thanks to a second-round effort of 16.78m (-0.1). Unfortunately he was unable to improve on his third attempt (16.60m, +0.1) to finish ninth overall, negating his opportunity for a further three jumps.
The 21-year-old said: “Tonight I just didn’t have it, those guys were a class above. Coming in I had the smallest personal best and so to make it though the top eight I would have had to get a PB or thereabouts and I just didn’t have it tonight.
“It’s been a great experience and it’s great to jump with all the top jumpers in the world. I will go away and get another year of training under me and I’ll be back.
“This season has been a bit of a break through, I finally made it over the 17 metre mark so I’ll just go back now, build up a bit more strength and a bit more speed and whole lot of work on my technique. I’m confident in myself, I don’t feel out of place out there and next year I think I’ll be much more competitive.”
“Congratulations to my training partner Mitch (Watt) who won a silver medal. We have a great set up with coach Gary Bourne and a really competitive training squad with Kane Brigg and Chris Noffke and we just push each other there, which will hopefully see us all step up even further next year. Having that sort of competition on adaily basis is only going to benefit all of us.”
American Christian Taylor won the event with a world lead of 17.96m (+0.1), as defending champion Phillips Idowu (GBR) claimed silver with a season best of 17.77m (0.0) and Will Claye (USA) bronze after a personal best leap of 17.50m (+0.1).
On the track the women’s 4x100m team missed out on a place in the final by less than three tenths of a second. Hayley Butler (NSW) started from the blocks and exchanged to Melissa Breen (ACT) on the second leg, before a less than clinical changeover with Charlotte Van Veenendaal (Qld).
New 100m hurdles world champion Sally Pearson (Qld) anchored the team home and did a fine job as she received the baton three metres down on Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s number one sprinter Jeanette Kwakye, but crossed the line well ahead.
Their time of 43.79 is equal third-fastest run by an Australian quartet at a world championships, however, it saw them finish 11th overall and out of the final, while the USA set an early standard as they were the only quartet to go sub 42 seconds.
Pearson said: “It was a bit disappointing that we stumbled on the second change but they’ve been awesome to train with and over the three weeks we’ve trained together I think they’ve done amazing and all come together really strong.
“Down to my leg I felt that I ran really strong. I was so pleased that I passed the Great Britain girl. We all went out there saying ‘let’s beat the Britons’ and we did!
“Last night was amazing, it was the most special night I’ve ever had and coming out tonight was even more incredible. I don’t get to experience this very often.”
Breen added: “ We haven’t competed at a worlds or Olympics since 2007 and we’ve got a great group of girls.
“We’ve spent three weeks together, which has been great and we’ve got a great bunch of girls. There’s a fast time in there for sure. Based on that performance I think we’ll be able to break the Australian record.”
The women’s 4x100m was won by an American quartet of Bianca Knight, Allyson Felix, Marshevet Myers and Carmelita Jeter in a world-lead of 41.56. Jamaica finished in second and Ukraine third.
The men’s 4x100m also missed out on qualifying for the final by a small margin, as they finished their heat in fourth place and 38.69. Anthony Alozie (Vic) exchanged with Matt Davies (Qld) before Aaron Rouge-Serret (Vic) handed over to Isaac Ntiamoah (NSW) for the home straight.
The final was won by Jamaica in world record time of 37.04. Easily prevailing in a race that saw America drop the baton, Jamaica’s team consisted of 200m world champion Usain Bolt, 100m world champion Johan Blake, Nesta Carter and Michael Blake.
Earlier in the morning Flame Jeff Hunt (NSW) was forced to withdraw from the marathon at the 30km mark with cramp.
The 29-year-old had been hoping to finish top 14 and claim an automatic spot for next year’s Olympic Games. However, cramp in his right calf forced him to withdraw from the race.
Kenya’s Abel Kirui successfully defended his title in 2:07:38, leading from the 25km mark. His compatriot Vincent Kipruto finished in second and Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa finished third.
Hunt ran through the first five kilometre mark at 16:14 and he maintained a consistent pace from thereon in with his split times reading 32:28 (10km), 48:41 (15km), 1:05:08 (20km), 1:21:56 (25km) and 1:39:25 (30km). And he moved steadily from 59th at the 10 kilometre point to 45th by the time he was forced to withdraw.
He said: “I’m pretty disappointed. I came here with the goal of a top 14 and automatic spot at the Olympics. I felt good half way and tried to roll on and get back from there.
“I started slowing down from about 25 (km) and then as I reached 30 (km) the cramp just started coming on in my right calf and my achilles. Then about 500m before 30 (km) it really started grabbing me and I slowed right down and there was no point continuing.
“It’s never happened like that before to me. It’s only my second ever DNF (did not finish) so I have a pretty good record of not-not finishing.
Earlier in Daegu consistent Jarrod Bannister finished seventh in the men's javelin. The 25-year-old opened the competition with 82.25m, his best throw of 2011.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games champion also finished sixth at the Beijing Olympics and fourth at the 2010 Continental Cup, making him one of Australia's most reliable performers at the highest level.
Germany's Matthias de Zordo won gold with a best throw of 86.27m in the opening round. Defending champion Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway was second with 84.78m and Guillermo Martinez of Cuba claimed the bronze with 84.30m.
Athletics Australia with AAP