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Australian 400m hurdles champion Lauren Boden has this afternoon begun her 2011 international campaign in style by winning the women’s 400m hurdles at the Shizuoka International Meet in Japan. Stopping the clock at 56.71, Boden, who placed 4th in the same event
Athletics Australia – News – Boden wins as Allen sets new PB in Shizuoka
Australian 400m hurdles champion Lauren Boden has this afternoon begun her 2011 international campaign in style by winning the women’s 400m hurdles at the Shizuoka International Meet in Japan.
Stopping the clock at 56.71, Boden, who placed 4th in the same event at the Commonwealth Games last year, battled on despite residual quad soreness after running on grass at the Stawell Gift and now heads to the Kawasaki instalment of the IAAF World Challenge this weekend full of confidence.
In the men’s event, Boden’s training partner and Commonwealth Games 4x400m relay gold medallist Brendan Cole clocked 49.81 for 4th.
Taking to the track in Shizuoka as a warm up for the Japanese leg of the IAAF World Challenge again this year, Cole’s time is his fastest result in 2010 and sets him up perfectly for the 49.40 IAAF world championships qualifier.
In other track results:
– Melissa Breen moved into less familiar territory by running the women’s 200m. All part of her preparation for both a 100m and a 4x100m relay run this weekend, she took victory in her heat (23.75, w: +0.4) before placing 5th in the final (23.87, w: -0.7).
– James Gurr continued his steady progress at 800m finishing second in a time of 1.47.38. Gurr proved his ability to run a tactical race in what was a competitive affair across the two laps.
– Matt Davies missed the final of the men's 200m by a single spot after finishing 4th in 21.09 (w: -0.5) in the most competitive of the three heats.
– Commonwealth Games 4x400m relay gold medallist Kevin Moore (47.68) ran strongly early but faded to finish 8th in his division of the men's 400m.
Meanwhile in the field, Victorian Linda Allen has continued her good form on the Japanese circuit by placing third.
Soaring a personal best 6.27m (w: +0.6), Allen missed out on the silver medal spot on a count back, with her result today following a victory in the women’s triple jump (13.33m, w: +1.8) at the Hiroshima International Meet only days ago.
Allen was joined on the runway by Canberra’s Jessica Penney. Experiencing difficulty with her run up, Penney unfortunately missed today’s final by a single spot with a best of 5.62m (w: -0.3).
Competition in Japan now moves to Golden Grand Prix in Kawasaki this Sunday, May 8 with the event doubling as Round 3 of the IAAF World Challenge.
With thanks to Brian Roe in Japan
Athletics Australia – News
