ATHLETICS: Home-town favourites Brandon Starc (NSW) and Dani Samuels (NSW) shone at the Sydney Track Classic, as David Rudisha (KEN) won the men’s 800m and Ella Nelson (NSW) surprised them all in the women’s 200m.
Improving his personal best for the first time since the Australian Athletics Championships in 2013, Glasgow 2014 finalist Starc was brilliant in the men’s high jump.
Soaring over a winning height of 2.30m after entering the competition at 2.09m, the performance saw the 21-year-old defeat the formidable Michael Mason (CAN, second, 2.28m), who has a career best of 2.31m, and Derek Drouin (CAN, third, 2.28m), who is the Olympic bronze medallist, and moves him in to the top-five Australians of all time.
“The Canadians being here pushed me the whole way, jumping against them gave me a little bit more, it helped me jump higher and I’m stoked I did. I hit it right today. In the past few comps it has been there but there have been things that are up and down but today I really nailed it,” Starc said.
“I’m not surprised by this. I was kind of expecting the qualifier either here or at Nationals, maybe not the 2.30, but I know I am capable of more. It’s a massive barrier to get through. Now that I have jumped it I want to get better at that height, and then be competitive and world class.”
Samuels relished the opportunity to throw in front of her home crowd, improving the meet record for the women’s discus with her best performance of 66.21m. The throw was also her second biggest ever in Australia behind her winning mark at the Australian Athletics Championships last year.
Opening with a foul, the Commonwealth champion settled to deliver an excellent series that also included throws of 63.54m, 65.36m, 62.14m and 61.97m.
“I was really happy to be back at home with (my coach) Denis this week and my family are here watching which is great. I’m happy with the consistency, to throw 65 and then 66 (metres) is better than this time last year at the Sydney Track Classic. Things are just moving forward and I’m looking forward to Nationals,” Samuels said.
Samuels will enjoy a weekend away from athletics next weekend, before competing at the 93rd Australian Athletics Championships in Brisbane (Qld). It is here that she can ensure her automatic selection to the Australian Flame team bound for the IAAF World Championships.
Collecting the bell in just over 51 seconds, Rudisha took over from his pacemaker Sammy Tangui (KEN) with 300m to go and was never truly challenged. Entering the home straight with a solid lead, the Olympic champion and world record holder bounded up the straight to cross and win in a time of 1:45.01.
The equal national record holder Alex Rowe (Vic, 1:47.38) was the second athlete across the line, and he will now return to his home base of Melbourne (Vic) to prepare for the IAAF World Challenge event at Lakeside Stadium next weekend.
In the upset of the evening, up and coming sprinter Ella Nelson (NSW) upstaged the national 100m record holder Melissa Breen (ACT, second, 23.39) and Olympic hurdles champion Sally Pearson (Qld, third, 23.44) to win the women’s 200m in a new personal best time of 23.24. A mere 0.04 seconds outside the qualifying mark for Beijing 2015, the result is something not even Nelson even expected here in Sydney.
“Did that just happen?” Nelson said.
“Today was all about attacking the bend harder and getting as close as we could to Mel and Sal coming off the bend, I thought if I did that I could get them. I thought this was in me. I love to come home strong and I knew that I set it up well.
“This hasn’t sunk in just set. I couldn’t be happier. Sally is an amazing athlete, and so is Mel, so to be even able to contend with them is just awesome.”
In other highlights from the Sydney Track Classic:
- Madeline Heiner (SA) won the Australian women’s 5000m title in a time of 15:21.09. Second placed overall behind Magdalene Masai (KEN, 15:10.46), Heiner shared the national championship medal dais with Victoria Mitchell (NSW, silver, 15:29.60) and Eloise Wellings (NSW, bronze, 15:45.72).
- Isis Holt (Vic), a 13-year-old who was recently reclassified as a T35 cerebral palsy athlete, improved the para-athletics world best for her class to 14.41 (w: +1.8) when she competed in the ambulant 100m.
- Keeping the crowd on the edge of their seat until the very last charge toward the finish line, Ryan Gregson (NSW) and Jeff Riseley (Vic) were neck-and-neck for much of the men’s 1500m until Gregson narrowly broke away to win in 3:36.51. Riseley clocked 3:36.87. Providing a great pre-cursor to what will be a hard fought race at the Australian Athletics Championships, both athletes were less than one second outside the qualifier for the IAAF World Championships.
- Sydney-sider Matthew Outzen (NSW) improved his personal best for a second time this season to win the men’s javelin. His furthest throw of 81.80m is just 20 centimetres away from the qualifier for the IAAF World Championships. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Hamish Peacock (Tas) was second with a 80.32m throw, and Stuart Farquhar (NZL) third.
- Nicholas Hough (NSW) ran his second ever fastest time of 13.55 (w: +1.5) to win the men’s 110m hurdles from his Glasgow 2014 teammate Sam Baines (Vic, second, 13.67). It is the second time in as many weeks that the IAAF World Junior Championships medallist has stopped the clock by less than a mere 0.1 seconds outside of the qualifying mark for Beijing 2015.
- Alonso Edward (PAN), the third fastest man across 200m in 2014, took line honours in the men’s 100m in a time of 10.29 (w: -0.3), as Josh Clarke (NSW) improved his personal best to 10.29 to cross second. National record holder Breen was first past the post in the women’s event in 11.43 (w: +0.9).
The Australian Junior Athletics Championships continue at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre tomorrow, with Jack Hale (Tas) to return to the track for the boy’s under 18 100m The girl’s under 20 800m high jump also features, with Commonwealth champion Eleanor Patterson (Vic) to start alongside four other athletes ranked amongst the top-15 in the world for their age group.
At a senior level, attention now shifts to the second of two Australian Athletics Tour Finals in Melbourne (Vic) next weekend. The first leg of the IAAF World Challenge series, the event will once again welcome Australia and the world’s best athletes before the 93rd Australian Athletics Championships.
ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA
