ATHLETICS: Australia’s Olympic champion Sally Pearson (Qld.) has stormed to victory in her first 100m hurdles race of the season, recording a time of 12.74 (wind +0.3) to win at the 2015 Queensland Track Classic at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre in Brisbane.
Pearson opened her 2015 campaign by taking a clear victory against a quality field that included Michelle Jenneke (NSW) and Abbie Taddeo (NSW). The 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games champion won by approximately four metres from Jenneke, who clocked 13.18 in second, with Taddeo third in 13.51. The performance also gave Pearson a qualifying time for the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing (China).
Despite the clear victory, Pearson said she had hoped to run faster.
“I was expecting faster,” Pearson said. “I’m in shape to run faster, but … yesterday morning I arrived back from Orlando. Not the best preparation. I had food poisoning on Tuesday when I was over there. I’m out here because I wanted to be and I’m happy. So I guess considering all those factors, it’s pretty good.
“I’m in better shape than that but the journey I took yesterday wasn’t ideal, I still got out here and, considering that, it’s a good trot.
“I’m fine now. Next week it’s back into training again and then I head to Sydney on Thursday, Pearson said.”
In the women’s discus, Commonwealth champion Dani Samuels (NSW) easily surpassed the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships of 61.00m for the second time in as many meets. Samuels opened with a throw of 61.61m before recording her winning throw of 64.14m in the second round. She had already recorded a qualifying mark on the previous stop on the Australian Athletics Tour when she threw 65.20m at the Adelaide Track Classic two weeks ago.
“I was just trying to get a feel for the circle and didn’t feel that connected tonight,” Samuels said after the win. “I felt a bit disconnected but I’m happy with 64 and a couple of 62s. The consistency is there. If I can walk away from any competition with a 64m throw, that will usually get me into the final and hopefully a top eight so we can build on that.
“Sydney’s my next comp, so I’m going to go back to Sydney and do a week of training with my coach in the lead-up to that, so I’m really looking forward to that, and then nationals afterwards. And then we’re into Europe already, so it’s gone really quick but I love competing in the Australian season.”
In the men’s 110m hurdles, 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games fourth-place getter Nicholas Hough (NSW) set a new personal best and a New South Wales state record when he ran 13.52 (wind: +0.1) to win his event. Hough became the second fastest Australian in the event of all-time with the run, which was also the fastest time by an Australian since National record holder Kyle Vander-Kuyp ran 13.50 in July 1999.
In the men’s discus throw, Julian Wruck held off fellow Queenslander Matthew Denny to claim the victory. Wruck had all six of his throws hit over the 62m mark, winning the competition with a fifth round throw of 63.40m. All six of Wruck’s throws would have been good enough to win the competition but 18-year-old Denny still made him work for the victory. Denny cracked the 60 metre barrier for the first time in his career, setting a new personal best with his first round throw of 60.46m before extending his PB to 61.55m in the fourth round.
Glasgow Commonwealth Games women’s pole vault gold medallist Alana Boyd (Qld.) recorded her second win of the 2015 Australian Athletics Tour, clearing 4.40m to take out the women’s competition. The Australian record holder came in at 4.30m and recorded a first-time clearance. She again required just one attempt to clear 4.40m, clinching the win after Nina Kennedy (WA), Liz Parnov (WA) and Jamie Scroop (SA) all failed to improve on their clearances of 4.30m. Boyd then had three attempts at an IAAF World Championship qualifying height of 4.50m but was unsuccessful.
“It’s the best that I’ve jumped this season in competition but it’s still not the mark that I need for World Champs,” Boyd said. “I think I’m just a little frustrated at the moment because I feel that I am in better shape than the heights that I’m jumping at the moment. Now it’s back to training for the next two weeks before the IAAF Melbourne World Challenge and then nationals. Obviously there are two more competitions in the domestic season, and I don’t think it’s too far away.”
Boyd said the decision to hold the Queensland Track Classic in conjunction with the Queensland Open Championships was a good one which was reflected in the strong crowd.
“I think it’s a really good idea having it combined with the state titles. I was amazed when I walked in here tonight to report. I was thinking ‘wow, this is probably the biggest crowd we’ve had at a Queensland track meet in a long time.’ The atmosphere is great,” said Boyd.
In a closely contested women’s 800m race, Brittany McGowan (Qld.) took the win in the fastest time recorded over the distance by an Australian woman this year. She clocked 2:03.34 to hold off Selma Kajan (NSW), who finished second in 2:03.65 just ahead of Kelly Hetherington’s (Vic.) 2:03.95) in a blanket finish.
In other results:
- Robbie Crowther (Qld.) won the men’s long jump with his first round leap of 7.74m (+0.8);
- Damien Birkinhead (Vic.) once again flirted with the 20-metre barrier, winning the men’s shot put with a hurl of 19.68m;
- 17-year-old sprinter Trae Williams highlighted the continued emergence of Australia’s young sprinters by winning the men’s open 100m race in a time of 10.40 (+0.3).
The Queensland Track Classic was the last of the six preliminary meets of the 2015 Australian Athletics Tour, with the focus now shifting to the first of the two Finals – the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday 14 March. The meet will be held in combination with the 2015 Australian Junior Athletics Championships, which will be held next week from Wednesday 11 March to Sunday 15 March inclusive at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre.
Earlier in the day, some of the best para-athletes from around the country and the region took part in the first ever IPC Grand Prix meet held in Australia, which was he.
One of the highlights of the Grand Prix meet was Kobie Donovan (Qld.) throwing 16.32 in the women's ambulant discus to set a new world record in the F40 classification.
F37 Discus thrower Guy Henly (NSW) also threw a new personal best and an IPC World Championships qualifier of 33.61m to take out the ambulant men’s event.
For full results from the Queensland Track Classic and IPC Grand Prix meet please click here.
To watch the full Live Stream video coverage of the Queensland Track Classic click here.
To read more about the 2015 Australian Athletics Tour and Championship event click here.
Athletics Australia
