ATHLETICS: The Australian Athletics Tour Final will descend on Sydney (NSW) this Saturday 14 March, with some of the world’s best athletes set to duel with our very own track and field stars at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre.
Arguably headlined by the men’s 800m, where world record holder David Rudisha (KEN) will duel with the equal fastest ever Australian Alex Rowe (Vic), the jam-packed program also includes national record holder Melissa Breen (ACT) versus Olympic champion Sally Pearson(Qld) in the women’s short sprints, Commonwealth Games finalist Jeff Riseley (Vic) on track alongside Ryan Gregson (NSW), Andrew Wheating (USA) and Jeff See (USA) for the men’s 1500m, the Commonwealth champion Dani Samuels (NSW) in the women’s discus throw, and no less than 34 other green and gold charges from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Rudisha’s start in the men’s 800m marks his first competitive outing Down Under since the year he broke the world record in London (GBR) to win Olympic gold. Determined to reclaim the world title again in Beijing (CHN) later this year, the dominant force in men’s middle distance running has returned to the Australian Athletics Tour to launch his season against a burgeoning group of talent that includes Rowe and IAAF World Junior Championships representative Luke Matthews (Vic).
On the hunt for a time that challenges the 1:44.40 national record he set in Monaco (MON) last July, Rowe starts with the IAAF World Championships qualifier already under his belt after a strong 1:45.38 to take victory at the Canberra Track Classic.
Breen and Pearson start in the women’s 100m and 200m, and it will be their first meeting since both stopped the clock quicker than the Beijing 2015 qualifier at the Canberra Track Classic. At that same meet, the national hurdles record holder Pearson also improved her 200m personal best to 22.97. Joining them on the start line are their Glasgow 2014 relay teammates Ella Nelson (NSW) and Ash Whittaker (Vic), as well as the Japanese record holder Chisato Fukushima (JPN) and Commonwealth Games finalist Toea Wisil (PNG).
The men’s short sprints will welcome IAAF World Championships medallist Alonso Edward(PAN) in the 100m, with the challenge to beat him being led by rising stars Rohan Browning(NSW) and Trae Williams (Qld) and Australian Flame athletes Isaac Ntiamoah (NSW) and Alex Hartmann (QLd).
Competing in the men’s 110m hurdles, the Australian champion Nicholas Hough (NSW) will have Beijing 2015 on his mind. The 20-year-old will compete brimming with confidence after his impressive 13.52 run to win at the Queensland Track Classic last weekend moved him to second on the Australian All-Time List behind only the great Kyle Van Der Kuyp.
“I was incredibly happy with my race on Saturday night. It was one of the cleanest races I’ve had this year over the hurdles, and I executed my race plan right from the start. The ability to execute your plan is exactly what you need when you are trying to meet a selection time, and that will hopefully be the secret to gaining the qualifier when I peak for the big races in the next few weeks,” Hough said.
“The performance makes Beijing more of a reality, being only 0.05 off the standard. There are plenty of components in my race that I have managed execute in training but did not last weekend, and all I will need to do is get them right in one of my next races to get the clock stopped at somewhere below 13.47.
“Kyle has always been an idol for me as a young hurdler, and so to be ranked second only to him is incredibly humbling. It is certainly one of my goals to try and close in on the record, as the time is one which would make very competitive on the international stage. I am confident I have the ability to match that time in the coming years.”
A graduate of the Kings School in Parramatta and now a student at Sydney University, the IAAF World Junior Championships medallist Hough was born and raised in Sydney. He hopes that his home track is the catalyst for both another new personal best performance and his first qualification standard for the IAAF World Championships.
“Hopefully it comes this weekend. Getting the qualifier on my home track would be incredibly special, and Sydney certainly has the potential to provide the perfect ingredients for making this happen. I tend to run my best races in bigger races with great atmosphere and quality competition, and the Sydney Track Classic always manages to deliver that,” Hough added.
Lining up alongside Hough in the sprint hurdles is his Glasgow 2014 teammate Sam Baines(Vic). Coached by Ash Mahoney, the same coach as Pearson, Baines appearance in Sydney follows his second place behind Hough at the Queensland Athletics Championships last weekend.
Also set to compete in the hurdles this weekend is Lauren Wells (ACT), with the London Olympic semi-finalist to duel with Cassandra Tate (USA) and her Glasgow 2014 teammate Jess Gulli (Vic).
Wells clocked 56.21 to win at the Canberra Track Classic last month, with the time a mere 0.01 seconds away from the qualifier for the IAAF World Championships. Tate, who has a personal best of 54.70 from the USA Athletics Championships last year, will provide strong competition for Wells to cross below the barrier for Beijing 2015.
Riseley will arguably start as favourite for the men’s 1500m victory having already clocked a strong 3:39.77 to reign supreme at the Hunter Track Classic in Newcastle (NSW) in February. The challenge will come from the Australian record holder Gregson, who launched his season with a 1:49.21 run in the shorter 800m at the Auckland Track Challenge.
Boasting personal bests of 3:30.90 and 3:35.21 respectively, Wheating and See deliver the international challenge Julian Matthews (NZL) and Brenton Rowe (AUT). Sydney-sider JeremyRoff (NSW) and IAAF World Junior Championships representatives Jack Stapleton (NSW) andZak Patterson (NSW) will also compete.
In the longer women’s 5000m, a very strong field including Australian Flame Eloise Wellings(NSW), Jess Trengove (SA), Genevieve LaCaze (Qld), Madeline Heiner (SA) and Emily Brichacek (ACT) will compete for the Australian Championship.
At the Sydney Track Classic in 2014, Samuels threw a then personal best of 65.84m to improve on her biggest ever mark for the first time in four years. She went on to improve across the course of the year to a massive 67.99m, less than one metre shy of the Australian record, before taking gold in the women’s discus throw at the Commonwealth Games.
She’ll be joined in the thrower’s circle by her Glasgow 2014 teammates Christie Chamberlain(NSW) and Taryn Gollshewsky (Qld), while in the men’s javelin Hamish Peacock (Tas) and Matt Outzen (NSW) will take to the runway.
The women’s long jump feature the IAAF World Championships qualified Brooke Stratton (Vic), with her season best of 6.73m enough to stake her claim for Beijing 2015 selection. She will compete alongside para-athletics gold medallist from Glasgow 2014 Jodi Elkington (NSW) and IAAF World Junior Championships representative Naa Anang (Qld).
Olympic bronze medallist Derek Drouin (CAN), who has a personal best of 2.40m, will compete in the men’s high jump alongside Commonwealth Games finalists Nik Bojic (Qld) and Brandon Starc (NSW).
The Sydney Track Classic will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre this Saturday 14 March. The main program commences at 6:00pm AEDST and tickets are available at the gate.
For more information on the Australian Athletics Tour Final, or the Australian Junior Athletics Championships which commenced last night, please click here.
Athletics Australia
