Athletics Australia – News – Australian Flame put finishing touches on preparation

As Moscow puts the finishing touches on its preparations for the IAAF World Championships commencing this weekend, so too do the Australian Flame team of 46.
 
Arriving into the host city earlier this week and experiencing the cauldron that is Luzhniki Stadium for the first time yesterday, the team has now commenced the process of tapering and Australian Flame Head Coach Eric Hollingsworth is confident in how those set to compete have prepared for their opportunity on the world stage.
 
“We’re looking good. We’ve had a really great camp in Tonbridge for a bit more than the past week and things went well. It was a productive place, where athletes could train hard, relax a little bit and move into their phase of tapering. The people of the town are fantastic as well, the whole team, especially the new ones, quickly developed a sense of comfort there and the opportunity to run through important administrative things like naming the Flame captain and vice-captain was invaluable ahead of arriving here in Moscow,” Hollingsworth said.
 
Featuring 19 debutants, the Australian Flame team includes a crucial mix of youth and experience as it enters a new Olympic and Paralympic cycle, and with proven champions missing in 2013 it gives the athletics community an exciting look ahead to what the team could include on the road to Rio.
 
Making their debut with the Australian Flame here in Moscow are Kelly Hetherington (Vic, 800m), Jackie Areson (Qld, 5000m), Lara Tamsett (NSW, 10,000m), Jane Fardell (NSW, marathon), Nikki Chapple (Vic, marathon), Tanya Holliday (SA, 20km walk), Alex Rowe (Vic, 800m), Brett Robinson (ACT, 5000m), Shawn Forrest (Vic, marathon), Dane Bird-Smith (Qld, 20km walk), Rhydian Cowley (Vic, 20km walk), Ian Rayson (NSW, 50km walk), Brandon Starc (NSW, high jump), Hamish Peacock (Tas, javelin), Jarrod Geddes (NSW, 4x100m), Nick Hough (NSW, 4x100m), Alex Beck (Qld, 4x400m), Josh Ralph (NSW, 4x400m) and Craig Burns (Qld, 4x400m).
 
“It’s a very mixed group here in Moscow. With so many debutants, it is a delicate balance in terms of setting overall expectations for the team. The first indicator of success for us is that all, bar none, perform at a level the same or beyond what they did to qualify for this championship and I think that’s a reasonable expectation because we are not asking them to do anything that they haven’t done before. We simply want them to do it with a little bit of fire around them and the data shows that if a large portion of a team can do that then the results will follow,” Hollingsworth added.
 
“If it was the Olympic Games tomorrow I would say that it was a big hit not to have athletes like Mitchell Watt and Henry Frayne, or Alana Boyd, on this team. That said, given it is the start of the four-year cycle the changing of the guard if you like, with the new faces and new athletes, gives us a chance to see where we are as a team and how we will progress. You could look at it like a football team; some of the star forwards are out but because of that we have chance to play the draftee, see where they are at and how they can improve and that has long-term benefits for everyone."
 
Hollingsworth is also confident in the preparation of reigning champion Sally Pearson (Qld) despite her recent hamstring injuries, and looks forward to watching how the throws squad of Dani Samuels (NSW, discus), Kim Mickle (WA, javelin), Kathryn Mitchell (Vic, javelin), Julian Wruck (Qld, discus), Benn Harradine (Qld, discus) and Peacock perform after they have all enjoyed improved performances since a self-described less than desired performance at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
 
“I don’t think you ever make up the ground when you miss races like Sally has, but I can tell you that at the team camp we did sessions in exactly the same spot, with the same wind and hurdle setup, as we had last year heading into London and things haven’t changed. They are bang on what we did before she won gold which is great,” Hollingsworth added.
 
“I think she still deserves to start favourite here. Regardless of what everybody else has done, the American girls for example have stepped up, I believe the she still has the number on Dawn Harper. My thought process is that Sally is comfortable with where she is, she hasn’t ducked from a challenge this year, and championships are where she thrives.”
 
“I’m looking for someone like Kim (Mickle) to redress what happened last year. She has done the whole process of high performance since London last year and she should be commended for it. She has sat down and gone through all that went wrong, established a new means to get where she wants to go and has seen the results come. The gusto that she has gone at it with is great, she is now a consistent competitor and I’d be very surprised if she didn’t finish top-eight.”
 
“The throws group as a whole this year is strong, but for many of them the results here will come down to how they handle it. If you take Julian (Wruck) for example, all of his performances suggest he should finish nearer to the top, he is well prepared and a strong athlete, but it all depends on how he manages the environment.
 
"The whole throws crew is in some ways approaching a bit of a moment of truth where they need to establish if they can do it under pressure but we are confident they are capable. They were quite good in Daegu two years ago, they themselves say that London was a little under par and now we get the chance to see where they can finish and whether or not they challenge for medals.”
 
The 2013 IAAF World Championships will be held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow (RUS) on 10-18 August 2013.
 
The Australian Flame at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu (KOR) was 45-strong and placed 8th on the medal table with one gold (Pearson, 100m hurdles), one silver (Watt, long jump) and one bronze (Tallent, 50km race walk).
 
For more information on the 2013 IAAF World Championships, including athlete profiles and the eventschedule, please follow this link to the championship sub-site at athletics.com.au

Athletics Australia – News

 
WOMEN (18):
100m: Melissa Breen (ACT)
200m: Melissa Breen (ACT)
400m: Caitlin Sargent (Qld)
800m: Kelly Hetherington (Vic)
1500m: Zoe Buckman (ACT)
5000m: Jackie Areson (Qld)
10,000m: Lara Tamsett (NSW)
100m hurdles:Sally Pearson (Qld)
400m hurdles: Lauren Boden (ACT)
Discus throw: Dani Samuels (NSW)
Javelin: Kim Mickle (WA), Kathryn Mitchell (Vic)
Marathon: Jane Fardell (NSW), Lauren Shelley (WA), Jess Trengove (SA), Nikki Chapple (Vic)
20km walk: Tanya Holliday (SA), Regan Lamble (Vic), Jess Rothwell (Vic)
 
MEN (28):
200m: Josh Ross (Vic)
800m: Alex Rowe (Vic)
5000m: Ben St Lawrence (NSW), Brett Robinson (ACT)
10,000m: Ben St Lawrence (NSW), Collis Birmingham (Vic)
400m hurdles: Tristan Thomas (Tas)
Long jump: Fabrice Lapierre (NSW)
High jump: Brandon Starc (NSW)
Discus throw: Julian Wruck (Qld), Benn Harradine (Qld)
Javelin: Hamish Peacock (Tas)
Marathon: Shawn Forrest (Vic), Martin Dent (ACT)
20km walk: Rhydian Cowley (Vic), Dane Bird-Smith (Qld)
50km walk: Jared Tallent (Vic), Chris Erickson (Vic), Ian Rayson (NSW)
4x100m relay: Josh Ross (Vic), Tim Leathart (NSW), Jarrod Geddes (NSW), Andrew McCabe (Qld), Nick Hough (NSW), Isaac Ntiamoah (NSW)