Athletics Australia – News – Sargent runs personal best to secure Moscow selection

Caitlin Sargent of Queensland will be automatically selected to compete in the women’s 400m at the 2013 IAAF World Championships later this month after the national champion clocked a B-Qualifier of 52.16 in the event at the XXVII Summer Universiade in Kazan.

Improving on the personal best she set at the Qantas Australian Athletics Championships in April by half a second, the run improved on the 53.60 she ran in her heat and will see her advance to the final.

“Following her performance to win the Australian title at the Selection Trial and her B-Qualifying performance at the World University Games, Caitlin has now secured automatic selection to the women’s 400m at the IAAF World Championships,” Dion Russell, Athletics Australia Chairman of Selectors, said.

“In accordance with the Selection Policy she will not officially be named in the team until the Final Selectors Meeting later this month, but Sargent’s performance this morning rewards her efforts at the Nationals and emphasises the importance of winning the Trial as part of the Selection Process.”

Sargent’s selection will be her first individual Australian Flame berth after making her senior debut in the women’s 4x400m relay at the 2011 IAAF World Championships two years ago.

Sargent placed sixth in the final of the women’s 400m at the Summer Universiade held in Shenzhen (CHN) in 2011, and has further Australian team experience from the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships where she competed in the 100m and the 4x100m relay.

Sargent was joined on track at day two of athletics at the Summer Universiade by Ian Dewhurst (NSW), James Nipperess (NSW), Alex Carew (Vic), Matt Lynch (NSW) and Nick Hough (NSW).

Dewhurst won his men’s 400m hurdles heat in 50.71 to move through to the next round, while Nipperess was third in his heat of the men’s 3000m steeplechase to advance to the final.  Competing in semi-finals but unable to progress to the round of eight, Carew and Lynch clocked 48.47 and 47.16 in the men’s 400m, and Hough ran 10.50 (w: -0.2) in the men’s 100m.

In the field, Jessica Penney (ACT) leapt 6.25m (w: -1.0) on her first attempt to place ninth overall and narrowly miss the top-eight of the women’s long jump, while Alix Kennedy (NSW) and Kim Mulhall (Vic) placed 8th (49.79m) and 9th (48.53m) respectively in the women’s discus throw final.

To view and download results from the XXVII Summer Universiade, please click here.

Meanwhile in Sotteville-les-Rouen (FRA), Collis Birmingham (Vic), who placed 8th at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships earlier this year, battled it out to the line in the men’s 3000m before winning in 7:41.02.

Joined on the start line by his Ballarat Project training partner Brett Robinson (ACT), who placed ninth in 7:51.99, Birmingham’s performance improves on the 7:47.97 he ran to take victory across the same distance at the Cork City Sports last week.

Competing in the women’s 100m hurdles, Olympic champion Sally Pearson (Qld) was third in 12.76, while IAAF World Championships bound Zoe Buckman (ACT) clocked 4:06.63 to finish 4th in the women’s 1500m. National pole vault record holder Alana Boyd (Qld) and IAAF World Junior Championships silver medallist Liz Parnov (WA) rounded out the Australians in action, soaring 4.40m and 4.20m respectively to place 4th and equal 6th in the women’s pole vault.

To view and download results from Sotteville-les-Rouen, please click here.

Attention now shifts to the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk (UKR), with the Australian team of 20 set to join more than 1500 athletes on the track and in the field when competition commences tomorrow.

For more information on the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships, please click here.

Athletics Australia – News