ATHLETICS: Sally Pearson (Qld.) has surged to victory in the women’s 100m hurdles to open her 2015 international athletics season at the IAAF Grand Prix meet in Kawasaki (JPN), recording her second fastest time of the year in the process.
Competing at the Todoroki Athletics Stadium as part of the IAAF World Challenge series of global events, Pearson ran 12.66 (wind +0.9) to be only a fraction behind her best time to date for 2015 of 12.59, set in her last competition when she took out the Australian national title in late March.
Australia’s reigning Olympic champion held off a quality field that included Queen Harrison of the United States, who finished second in a time of 12.75.
Pearson, who has already been named to the Australian Flame team for the 2015 IAAF World Championships to be held in Beijing (CHN) in August, easily bettered the IAAF’s world championship qualifying time of 13.00 with the win.
Meanwhile, in the women’s 400m hurdles race at the same meet, fellow Australian Lauren Wells (ACT) finished first in a time of 56.19. Wells comfortably beat local Japanese runner Manami Kira (57.73) into second place.
Wells, who like Pearson has already been selected for the world titles in Beijing, crossed the finish line in a world championship qualifying time to equal her 2015 best mark set at the IAAF Melbourne World Challenge in March earlier this year.
Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallist Hamish Peacock (Tas.) led the men’s javelin throw after the first round, recording a first-up effort of 80.84m. He later improved with a best throw of 81.36m but finished fourth behind the winning effort of 85.13 by Jacub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic.
Australian women’s 100m national record holder Melissa Breen (ACT) also ran in Kawasaki in the short sprint, finishing in fifth place in a time of 11.49 (+1.2m wind) behind victor Tianna Bartoletta (USA), who won in 11.26.
Brandon Starc (NSW, high jump) cleared 2.15m in the men’s high jump but could go no higher, finishing in eighth place in a competition won by Bohdan Bondarenko of the Ukraine, who sailed over 2.37m.
Earlier in the meet, Brooke Stratton (Vic.) came third in women’s long jump with a distance of 6.46m (wind +0.7). In the women’s 1500m, Heidi See (NSW) finished in eighth position in a time of 4:19.49.
Middle distance runner Jeff Riseley (Vic.) was forced to withdraw from the men’s 800m race in Kawasaki after contracting a bout of the flu on the trip over to Japan.
ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA
