Athletics Australia – News – CANBERRA TRACK CLASSIC

Round 3 of the Australian Athletics Tour sees the action head to the national capital for the Canberra Track Classic this Saturday 7 February at the AIS Athletics Track. 

We take a closer look at all the top athletes competing in our exclusive event-by-event preview. 

3:30 PM – Hammer Throw – Men
National Record: Stuart Rendell (ACT) 79.29m
World Championships Qualifying Standard: 76.00m
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 70.77m

The Lowdown:   Exciting junior thrower Matt Denny (Qld) opened his Tour campaign with a win in the men’s hammer throw competition at the Briggs Athletics Classic in Hobart two weeks ago.  Denny, a bronze medallist in the hammer at the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships, whirled and hurled his way to a new personal best distance of 67.62 on his final attempt of the competition to seal the win in Hobart.  In the process he denied Tasmania Huw Peacock, who had been leading the competition with a throw of 65.35m, a hometown victory. Both Denny and Peacock will line up again in Canberra and should fight it out for the Tour points.  Peacock, who was on the Australian team at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, has a personal best of 67.22 and should provide strong competition for 18-year-old Denny.

 

4:00 PM – 5000 metres Walk – Men & Women
National Record: Men – Jared Tallent (SA) 18:41.83   Women – Kerry Saxby-Junna 20:03.0
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: Women – 23:22.60

The Lowdown:  The walkers get their first crack at the action on the Australian Athletics Tour for 2015 when both men and women line up for a 5000m walk mixed event at the AIS Athletics Track.  The women’s field includes South Australian Sports Institute athlete Tanya Holliday, who led the national rankings over the distance on the track in 2014 with a best of 21.36.20. NSW athlete Nicole Fagan is also on the start list and was ranked third last year with a best time of 22.27.19. The presence of Victorians Jemima Montag (22.32.95 last year) and Rachel Tallent (22.45.39) as well as Queenslander Clara Smith (22.42.46) ensures a highly competitive and deep field. Also keep an eye on 17-yar-old Tayla-Paige Billington of Victoria, who was a member of the Australian Spark team at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships. New Zealander Alana Barber has a personal best over the journey of 22:11.52 and provides the international interest.

The men’s field includes one of Australia’s most decorated Olympians in Jared Tallent of South Australia.  Tallent owns two Olympic silver medals and one bronze in the walks, but as he specialises in the longer distances the pace here will test him.  Queenslander Dane Bird-Smith (personal best 18.56.96, number seven Australian all-time) led the national rankings over 5km on the track last year with his time of 18.59.51 and he will be on the start line in Canberra.  Also on the track will be recently crowned 50km national champion Chris Erickson of Victoria, who has a PB of 19.24.85 over the shorter distance which ranks him number 11 on the Australian all-time list.  Fellow Victorian Rhydian Cowley has a career-best time of 19.30.57 to his name and should also be in the mix. 

 

4:30 PM – Long Jump – Women
National Record: Bronwyn Thompson (QLD) 7.00m
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  6.70m
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 6.00m

The Lowdown:  Victorian Brooke Stratton is the early leader in the Australian Athletics Tour points score race after taking the victory at the season opener in Hobart.  Stratton leapt to a distance of 6.42m to notch the win, ahead of Corinna Minko of Victoria, who registered a wind-assisted 6.18m best distance in Hobart.  Stratton’s effort was even more impressive as it marked her return to top competition since injury forced her to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games team last year. Both Stratton and Minkow will be pounding the runway in Canberra but they will have more competition than they faced in Hobart.  Local ACT favourite and former national champion Jessica Penney will be making her 2015 Australian Athletics Tour debut on Saturday.  Penney set her personal best of 6.54m on this track last year and should be a contender. NSW multi-eventer Alysha Burnett has a personal best in the long jump of 6.34m and the 18-year-old is also worth watching here. Para-athletics star Jodi Elkington of NSW, who took gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the T37/38 long jump, is also scheduled to compete.

 

4:30 PM – High Jump – Men
National Record: Tim Forsyth (Vic.) 2.36m
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  2.28m
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard:  2.09m

The Lowdown: Australia’s men’s high jumpers get their first turn to shine on the Tour in Canberra this Saturday, and a five-man field is slated to grace the fan.  Leading the way should be Brandon Starc of NSW, whose personal best height of 2.28m not only ranks him equal eighth on the Australian all-time list, but also gives him a good 4cm advantage on the next highest PB in the field.  Starc jumped 2.25m in 2014 to rank second in the nation and made the final at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games to finish in eighth position overall. His main Australian competition in Canberra looks set to be 42-year old seven-time national champion Nick Moroney of NSW.  Moroney cleared 2.10m last season but you don’t get to win seven national crowns without being able to pull out big performances on the big stage.  Malaysian high jumper Nauraj Singh Randhawa should provide the stiffest competition to Starc on Saturday, with a personal best of 2.21m set last year. 

 

4:30 PM – 110 metres Hurdles – Men
National Record: Kyle Vander-Kuyp (Vic.) 13.29
World Championships Qualifying Standard: 13.47
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 13.82

The Lowdown:  Four of the top six Australian high hurdlers from 2014 will line-up at the start of the men’s 110m hurdles race in Canberra.  Leading the charge will be reigning national champion and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games fourth-place getter Nicholas Hough of NSW.  Hough started this season right where he left off in 2014, winning the men’s 110m hurdles at last weekend’s Hunter Track Classic.  Whilst his time was a modest 14.27, he was racing into a -2.7 headwind and he did beat the number one ranked hurdler in 2015 – Jack Conway of Queensland.  Conway, who has a time of 14.21 to his credit this year, came fourth in Newcastle in a time of 14.62 and will be looking for redemption against Hough in Canberra.  Also likely to feature in Canberra will be Justin Merlino of NSW, who ran 14.29 to finish second behind Hough in Newcastle last week.  Merlino has a PB of 13.55                , which is actually superior to Hough’s own lifetime best of 13.57, but was set quite some time ago in 2007. Victorian Ben Khongbut may also play into contention in Canberra. 

 

4:38 PM – 100 metres Hurdles – Women
National Record: Sally Pearson (Qld.) 12.28
World Championships Qualifying Standard: 13.00
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 13.73

The Lowdown:  With her 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games teammates Sally Pearson and Shannon McCann absent from the opening round of the women’s 100m hurdles for 2015, NSW athlete Michelle Jenneke should be the one to beat in Canberra.  With a personal best of 13.23 set last March, the 21-year-old ‘Dancing Hurdler’ has the credentials to take the mantle of pre-race favourite. The former finalist at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships has set a new personal best in the 100m already this season, indicating she is in the right sort of shape.  Jenneke’s teammate on that 2012 World Junior Championship team, Abbie Taddeo of NSW, should however be more than capable of pushing her.  Taddeo has the second fastest time in the country for 2015, with a 13.60 in mid-January which was a new personal best. 

 

5:14 PM – 400m (Wheelchair) – Men
The Lowdown:  The men’s wheelchair 400m event in Canberra appears to have a deep field, with numerous Paralympic representatives set to roll to the start line.  London T53 400m bronze medallist Richard Colman of Victoria is in the start list and should be a contender.  2012 London silver medallist in the T34 100m and bronze medallist in the 200m Rheed McCracken (Qld) is also set to compete, as well as T54 100m London representative Matt Cameron (Qld.).   Sam McIntosh (Vic.) was ninth in the T52 100m final in London and is also one to watch, as is Victorian Jake Lappin.  T54 competitor Richard Nicholson of the ACT should also have plenty of local fan support. 

 

5:26 PM – 100m Ambulant – Women
The Lowdown:  There is also a class field of talented young para-athletes in the women’s 100m Ambulant race in Canberra. T35 competitor Carly Salmon of NSW finished fifth in her classification at the 2013 IPC World Championships in Lyon and could start as favourite.  Jodi Elkington, a T37 400m finalist at the 2012 London Paralympic Games as well as gold medal winner in the T37/38  long jump in Glasgow, will also double-up with the earlier long jump event to compete here.  Local ACT athlete Erin Walters, who was a finalist in the T35 100 metres in London, is also scheduled to appear.  Ella Pardy (WA), who competed with Elkington in the long jump in Glasgow, is another to keep an eye on.

 

5:30 PM – Javelin – Women
National Record: Kim Mickle (WA) 66.83m
World Championships Qualifying Standard: 61.00m
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 50.10m

The Lowdown:  Whilst the late withdrawal of Glasgow 2014 gold medallist and 2013 IAAF World Championships silver medal winner Kim Mickle was a blow, the women’s javelin in Canberra is still set to be one of the highest quality events on the card.  It isn’t often that you can say that an event features two of the top 12 in the world for their event, and both just happen to be Australian.  The Canberra crowd will undoubtedly be cheering on local star Kelsey-Lee Roberts.  The 23-year-old snared a bronze medal in Glasgow behind Mickle, and registered a personal best throw of 63.92m last season that saw her ranked 12^th in the world.  Yet despite this, she will likely enter the Saturday’s event as only the second favourite. Victorian thrower Kathryn Mitchell will be the one to beat, courtesy of her world number seven ranking in 2014 and her personal best throw of 66.10m.  There will also be some international interest with a pair of Chinese throwers scheduled to participate in Canberra.  Huihui Lu was a finalist at the 2012 London Olympic Games and is the current Asian record holder with a best of 65.62m.  Her compatriot Lingwei Li has thrown 65.11m and was a finalist at the 2013 IAAF World Championships as well as a former Asian Championships gold medallist.

 

5:32 PM – 100m Ambulant – Men
The Lowdown:  There are four standout prospects in the men’s Ambulant 100m in Canberra, ensuring a high quality race.  Gab Cole of South Australia was a silver medallist at the 2013 IPC World Championships in Lyon in the T46 100m as well as a member of the London 2012 team.  West Australian sprinter Chad Perris was fifth in the T13 100m in Lyon and has a sub-11 second personal best time of 10.97. T42 para-athlete Scott Reardon was a silver medallist in the 100m at the 2012 London Paralympic Games and won gold at Lyon in 2013 in the 100m final.  Sean Roberts (SA) also made a strong major championship debut last year as he crossed sixth in the last round of the T38 100m final. 

 

5:48 PM – 100 metres – Men
National Record: Patrick Johnson (ACT) 9.93
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  10.16
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 10.74

The Lowdown: The men’s 100m for able-bodied athletes in Canberra features an even field which could well translate to a blanket finish.  Isaac Ntiamoah of NSW is ranked second in the country for the New Year courtesy of his 10.41 set in Sydney last month.  He has a personal best of 10.35 and was a member of the men’s 4x100m relay at the 2012 London Olympic Games.  Jake Hammond (NSW) was ranked fourth in the country last year with a time of 10.38 and has already run a 10.58 this year.  Queenslander Alex Hartmann has a 10.48 to his name in 2015 which is a new personal best and should be amongst the contenders.  The fifth ranked male sprinter in the country last year over the distance, Jung Jin Su of NSW, is also lining up and ran 10.51 last month.  Kiwi athlete Joseph Millar could well be the favourite here, courtesy of his personal best of 10.32. 

 

5:58 PM – 100 metres – Women
National Record: Melissa Breen (ACT) 11.11
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  11.33
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 11.83

The Lowdown: This is the race that everyone has been waiting for.  Almost a year to the day since Melissa Breen (ACT) set a new national 100m record of 11.11 and, in the process, recorded her first ever win over Queenslander Sally Pearson, the pair will face off again on the fast AIS track.  With a sunny forecast of 30 degrees for Saturday, the conditions should be perfect for a fast time and hopefully the pair can push each other to the line.  Both are playing down a potential new national record being set, as it is very early in their season and they are coming off heavy training loads, but the race will nonetheless be absolutely fascinating.  Breen ran a nation-leading 11.50 in Canberra in mid-January but Pearson is yet to race over the distance this year.  The Olympic 100m hurdles champ clocked a time of 11.27 last year and has a personal best of 11.14 (which ranks her number three Australian all-time in the event).  Pearson also showed her supreme competitive spirit after the loss to Breen last year by going on to win the national 100m title over her rival in Melbourne two months later.  Whilst all the focus has been on Pearson and Breen in Canberra, there are other quality athletes in the rest of the field as well.  Ella Nelson of NSW has run 11.72 already this year, which is just .01 off her personal best.  Exciting Victorian youngster Hana Basic has a personal best of 11.64 and will have benefitted from her experience at last year’s IAAF World Junior Championships.  All eyes will however be on the Breen-Pearson showdown when the starter raises his gun on Saturday.

 

6:00 PM – Triple Jump – Women
National Record:  Nicole Mladenis (WA) 14.04m
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  14.20m
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 12.85m

The Lowdown: The favourite for the women’s triple jump in Canberra is likely to be Ellen Pettitt of Victoria.  Pettitt was ranked third in the nation last season with an annual best of 13.54m.  Whilst it is obviously early in the season, Pettitt also currently has the national lead with a 13.49m effort recorded in Bendigo over the Australia Day weekend.  She will be challenged however by New Zealander Nneka Okpala, who jumped 13.55m last season to set a new personal best.  Josie Nichol of NSW has registered a leap of 12.92m so far in 2015 in Canberra, and has a PB of 13.25m so is another to watch.

 

6:07 PM – 400 metres Hurdles – Men
National Record: Rohan Robinson (Vic) 48.28
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  49.50
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 52.22

The Lowdown: Look for international athlete Michael Cochrane of New Zealand to be the front runner when the men’s 400m hurdlers take the track in Canberra.  Cochrane ran 50.95 in Hobart at the Tour opener to finish first and has a personal best time of 49.72 which is significantly better than anyone else in the field.  Finishing behind Cochrane in Hobart in third place was Raymond Smith of NSW, who set a new lifetime best mark of 52.01 in the process.  Smith will line up against Cochrane at the AIS Athletics Track on Saturday and could be the best local hope for victory. Canadian Tait Nystuen was fourth in Hobart in 52.19, but has run 50.45 in his career and should also be worth keeping an eye on. Leigh Bennett of NSW was ranked third nationally in this event in 2014 with a time of 51.78 and may well also be in the mix down the home straight.  He recently ran a new personal best in the 200m of 21.98, so is in fast form.

 

6:10 PM – Shot Put – Women
National Record: Gael Martin (Vic.) 19.74m
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  17.75m
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 16.54m

The Lowdown:  A compact field of three will take on the women’s shot put on Saturday.  Chelsea Lenarduzzi of NSW took out the opening women’s shot competition of the Tour in Newcastle with a best throw of 13.86m and has also reached 13.65m this year.  She will be the hot favourite to take her second Tour win of 2015 here.  The other athletes competing are Nicole Harris of NSW and local ACT para-athlete Katherine Proudfoot.  Harris has a personal best of 11.30m while Proudfoot has been to the past two Paralympic Game and won bronze in the F35/36 women’s shot put at the 2013 IPC World Championships with a throw of 10.16m.  She also took out the 3kg para shot competition at the Briggs Athletics Classic with a throw of 9.47m.

 

6:15 PM – 400 metres Hurdles – Women
National Record: Debbie Flintoff-King (Vic) 53.17
World Championships Qualifying Standard: 56.20
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 60.60

The Lowdown:  Seven-time national 400m hurdles champion Lauren Wells of the ACT will be the unbackable favourite to win her pet event in Canberra.  Wells cruised to victory in Hobart, recording a time of 56.74 to open her season and winning by a full 3 seconds from her nearest rival.  Running before her home crowd on her home track, Wells should have more than enough to handle all comers.  If a challenge is to arise, it will likely come from Victorian hurdler Jess Gulli.   Gulli came third at the national titles last season in a time of 57.60 and has a personal best time of 57.30 to her credit.  Sarah Klein of NSW was second to Wells in Hobart and should also be amongst the front runners. 

 

6:36 PM – 800 metres – Men
National Record: Ralph Doubell (Vic.) & Alex Rowe (Vic.) 1:44.40
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  1:46.00
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 1:50.70

The Lowdown:  All eyes will be on the man who equalled the men’s national 800m record last year, Alex Rowe of Victoria, when the athletes line-up for the two lap race in Canberra.  Rowe ran 1:44.40 in Monaco last July to improve his best time by more than a second.  He never got the chance to compete at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as a hamstring injury sustained at training forced him to withdraw.  Rowe has recovered however and ran a time of 1:46.96 at the Zatopek:10 meet in December to win his first race back.  That was a second-and-a-half quicker than he has ever opened his season, and points towards a good year ahead.  He will have competition though as the winners of both men’s 800m races from the first two rounds of the 2015 Australian Athletics Tour will be on the start line in Canberra.   

In Hobart, Jared West of NSW took the win in a time of 1:49.58, while in Newcastle last weekend it was Timas Harik of Victoria breaking the tape first in 1:49.22 (the fastest time in Australia in 2015).  Harik finished second behind West in Hobart as well so is clearly in consistent good form.   The presence of both Harik and West should help push Rowe and hopefully create a fast race in Canberra.

 

6:44 PM – 400 metres – Men
National Record: Darren Clarke (NSW) 44.38
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  45.40
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 47.63

The Lowdown: The men’s 400m in Canberra features a pair of talented Queenslanders in Craig Burns and Alex Beck.  Burns was ranked number two in the country over the distance last season behind only Steve Solomon after running a new personal best time of 46.21 in Perth.   He has opened 2015 with a 46.58 run in Brisbane last month which is more than half a second faster than his nearest rival.  Beck is yet to race over 400m this year, but finished 2014 ranked third in the country over the quarter mile after running 46.33.  Both Beck and Burns were teammates at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games on the men’s 4x400m relay team and should be highly competitive.  The favourite in the race is however probably going to be Tristan Thomas of Tasmania.  Thomas, a 400m hurdler who has been a regular in the men’s 4x400m team in recent years, was selected for the quarter sticks in Glasgow as well as the relay but forced to withdraw due to injury.  He is the owner of a personal best time over the flat 400m of 45.86 and if he is in reasonable shape he should probably cross the line first.   Victorian Sam Reiser has a personal best of 46.94 and was a Semi Finalist at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships in Oregon and, after a sub-par run in Hobart, should also be worth keeping an eye on.

 

6:54 PM – 1500 metres – Women
National Record: Sarah Jamieson (Vic) 4:00.93
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  4:06.50
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 4:22.80

The Lowdown: A stellar field will assemble at the AIS Athletics Track on Saturday to compete in the women’s 1500m race.  Two of the three athletes that represented Australia in the event in Glasgow will be in the field, with Victorians Melissa Duncan and Kaila McKnight both on the start list.  Duncan ran a new personal best of 4:05.76 in Glasgow which ranks her as the sixth fastest Australian of all-time over the distance. McKnight has twice won the Australian women’s 1500m national crown (2010 and 2012) and her time of 4.06.06 in Glasgow saw he ranked third in the country over 1500m last year.  She has a lifetime best time of 4:05.61, which sees her just above Duncan on the all-time list at fifth.  It won’t just be a two-person race in Canberra however as the deep field also includes Madeline Heiner of New South Wales, who took out the 1500m in the opening round of the Tour in Hobart.  Also on the start list is 2014 IAAF World Junior Championship 800m bronze medallist Georgia Wassall (NSW), Glasgow 2014 800m representatives Brittany McGowan (Qld.) and Kelly Hetherington (Vic.) and 4.13.16 runner Selma Kajan (NSW).

 

7:04 PM – 200 metres – Men
National Record: Peter Norman (Vic.) 20.06
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  20.50
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 21.55

The Lowdown:  Last weekend, Queensland sprinter Nick Boylett clocked a nation-leading 200m time of 20.84 in Brisbane, and he looks to be the one to beat in the men’s race in Canberra.  Boylett has a personal best time of 20.67 and is clearly close to that form currently. He will likely see his greatest challengers be Joshua Clarke of NSW and Alexander Hartmann of Queensland.  Clarke took out the men’s 200m in Newcastle last weekend in a time of 21.29 into a -1.3m headwind and has a personal best of 21.24. Hartmann ran 21.64 in Newcastle to finish in fifth but clocked 21.02 in January and has run sub-21 seconds before (20.92 last year).  New Zealander Joseph Millar is also worth keeping an eye on, as he has a PB of 20.81 over the distance.

 

7:12 PM – 200 metres – Women
National Record: Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (NSW) 22.23
World Championships Qualifying Standard:  23.20
World Youth Championships Qualifying Standard: 24.00

The Lowdown: Speed queens Sally Pearson (Qld.) and Melissa Breen (ACT) are both scheduled to line-up in the 200m in Canberra as well as the 100m.  Both have previously won a national title in the longer sprint event, Pearson in 2011 and Breen in 2012.  Pearson led the national 200m rankings in 2014 with a run of 23.18 in Adelaide and has a lifetime best of 23.02.  She has however also clocked a windy 22.66 in Canberra before.  Breen’s best over 200m is 23.12 and she ran 23.37 last year to rank third in the nation at the distance.  The woman who split the pair on the national rankings list in 2014 was Ella Nelson of NSW.  Nelson clocked 23.26 in Sydney in March and went on to win her first senior national title in April, taking the 200m crown in Melbourne ahead of Breen in a time of 23.47.

Nelson also has the benefit of her experience at the 2014 IAAF World Relays under her belt and should make sure that Breen and Pearson don’t have it all their own way. Victorian Monica Brennan currently has the fastest time on the board for 2015 with her 23.95 set in Melbourne in January, and she too will be on track in Canberra.  Brennan was the 2013 national 200m champion and boasts a personal best time of 23.41. 

Athletics Australia – News

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