The past month was all about milestones on the marathon journey to London 2012. The 500-days-to-go mark flew by on March 15th as the Brits completed construction on their new Olympic stadium. The Australian Olympic Committee opened a “mini AIS” in Italy, launched a new corporate website and completed Team Processing of one third of the London 2012 Prospective Team.

Our track cyclists dominated the World Championships, Jana Pittman-Rawlinson returned to the track and Australia’s swimmers started their domestic battles for a place on the World Championship Team.

With quota places and Olympic selection resting on the starting blocks of many events this year, the road to London is shaping up to be almost as exciting as the Games themselves.

In March the hum of the Dutch velodrome in Apeldoorn gave an emphatic warning to the world that come 2012, the Aussies are coming. At the 2011 World Championships the Australian track cyclists were unstoppable, collecting a record 11 medals (eight of them gold) from the 19 races contested. Triple-gold medallist Anna Meares swept the women’s sprint medals and is confident these blistering results will have a “snowball” effect on the cycling team leading to London.

South Australia hosted a smorgasbord of national events this month. On the waters of Adelaide Ken Wallace took the first steps to completing “unfinished business” in London. Wallace won the national K1 1000m title- the race he wanted gold in at Beijing, as well as the non-Olympic K1 500m title. Alana Nicholls won the women’s K1 200m – K1 500m double, with Beijing K4 bronze medallist Hannah Davis finishing second in both races.

Across town the Beach Volleyball Nationals proved a mouth-watering appetiser to the battle for London 2012 qualification that will take place over the next year. The showdown between Australia’s women’s teams will continue through to London, with former Junior World Champion partners and former Olympic beach and indoor volleyball teammates now facing off across the net. Nat Cook is in the mix eyeing off her fifth Olympic appearance- which would be a female Australian record. First stop on the World Tour for Aussie beach spikers is the home of the sport – Brazil.

Also hoping to rewrite the history books is triple Olympian Drew Ginn with his perfect record of gold medals from each Olympic appearance. At the National Rowing Championships in West Lakes, Ginn and 22-year-old Josh Dunkley Smith won the men’s pair and then combined with Duncan Free and James Chapman to win the men’s four over an Olympic-class field. Free declared the standard of Australian rowing as strong as ever  and the battle for Olympic places will be fierce with World Championship Selection Trials coming up in Sydney (April 15-24).

Queensland hosted a stunning triathlon in Mooloolaba for the first race of the World Cup Series. Young sensation Brendan Sexton bolted home to claim silver behind compatriot Brad Kahlefeldt, with fellow Beijing Olympian Courtney Atkinson also finishing in the top ten. In the women’s race Emma Moffatt finished a gallant second in tough conditions and as the first Australian across the line wrapped up the national title. The world's best triathletes now tackle the first 2011 World Championship race on April 10th in Sydney.

In shooting, Athens 2004 fourth place finisher Lauryn Mark secured Australia’s first shooting quota place in women’s skeet at the ISSF World Cup event in Sydney. Falling one target short of qualification in men’s double trap, husband Russell Mark will look to other 2011 events to try to qualify for his sixth Olympic Games.

No month is complete without news of our winter athletes soaring to new heights. Nathan Johnston became the first Australian to win two World Cup titles in one season after taking out the overall freestyle snowboard trophy and the halfpipe title. Johnstone's win came days after Vancouver Olympian Alex Pullin took out the snowboard cross World Cup title.

As we are also accustomed to reporting, another athlete announced a "mini-comeback" in March. Jana Pittman-Rawlinson returned to home soil to train for the London Olympics. Rawlinson competed in Australia for the first time since winning the 2006 Commonwealth Games to wrap up an epic Australian Athletics Tour. The smoking performances of Sally Pearson, Dani Samuels, Mitchell Watt and Lachlan Renshaw throughout the Tour set up a sensational meet for Nationals in Melbourne (April 15-17).

Friendly rivalries will be the focus of the Australian Swimming Championships in Sydney (April 1-8) as our best vie for world championship selection. Selection for the rowing World Championships will then take place in Sydney (April 15-24).

Also in April the Hockeyroos will be contesting a test series against reigning World Champions Argentina in Canberra (April 2 & 5) and Sydney (April 8-9), Melbourne hosts the Australian Open Badminton Grand Prix (April 5-10) and the Australian BMX Championships will be hosted in Cairns (April 26-May 1). The NBL basketball finals series begins at home (April 20- May 1) while the Australian sailing team will be competing in World Cup Regattas in Spain (April 2-9) and France (April 22-29).

Tickets for the London Olympics are available in the first ballot round until April 22, 2011. But the race to London is a marathon, not a sprint. Get out and support Australia’s best athletes today on their journey to London 2012.


Taya Conomos
AOC