Steve Hooker beats the rain in Melbourne (© Getty Images)
In bleak cold and windy weather the World Athletics Tour of 2009 resumed at the World Athletics Tour Melbourne tonight (5) with former World record holder Asafa Powell understandably unable to break 10 seconds in his opening 100m of the year.
The World Athletics Tour Melbourne, a Grand Prix status meeting which is part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour.
It was left to four lesser-known Australians to step up and join Olympic Pole Vault champion Steve Hooker in grabbing Berlin World Championships A-qualifying marks of the meet. In fact the only visiting competitor to notch one of the rare A-qualifiers was the peerless New Zealand shot put queen Valerie Vili (19.36m).
It’s more about getting a bit of rhythm happening – Hooker, 5.80m
Hooker was outstanding, clearing 5.80m at his third attempt to secure his eighth consecutive win dating back to Beijing. He bowed out attempting 6m in front an enthusiastic home crowd and seemed slightly disappointed.
“I was really hoping I’d be able to jump six metres jumping in front of my family and supporters,” Hooker said. “I’m just going out there and enjoying jumping – just trying to jump technically well; I’m not really going out there thinking about results too much. It’s more about getting a bit of rhythm happening.”
Russia’s Olympic silver medallist Yevgeniy Lukyanenko (5.60m) was again second to Hooker, while Perth’s Paul Burgess, a 6m performer in 2006, placed third tonight with 5.45m.
Wind and cold subdues Powell – 10.23 sec (-1.4m/s wind)
The vaulters at least took the option of running with the wind. The sprinters were granted no such favours. Still, all eyes were on Powell earlier in the night because no one had ever broken 10sec in Melbourne and no one had come closer than Powell with a couple of 10.03 runs at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and a 10.04 in this meet last summer. But the weather turned on him.
“I really just wanted to get this race over with because the first race always messes with your mind,’’ Powell said after battling to win in 10.23sec into a 1.4m/s wind. “It was a bit cold, the wind was heavy, but I'm still satisfied. I made it through. So I got this over with and I know where I'm at. I got home safely and there are no injuries so I'm happy.”
“It was a very tough headwind. The wind makes a lot of difference. I’m not feeling bad about that race because conditions were tough. I didn’t get out as well because I didn’t push too hard so I had to really push to get away from the guys and I did that very smoothly.”
Samuels betters Trafton
While the women discus competitors had the wind at their backs, they actually prefer a quartering headwind. That makes the A-qualifying throw of 62.69m on her opening throw all the more meritorious for Sydney’s young Beijing finalist Dani Samuels who defeated the US Olympic champion Stefanie Brown Trafton (56.37m) in the process.
“It was quite chilly. I had hoped to throw a personal best, but it was good just getting an ‘A’ qualifying out on my first throw. I had had a couple of big throws which were foot fouls,’’ said Samuels, 20, who also defeated the Beijing gold medallist last weekend at the Sydney Track Classic.
“It was good to get another ‘A’ and to beat the Olympic champion again. She’s a very lovely girl and she was not upset with me at all. We both understand it’s competition.”
Birmingham takes national 5000m title – 13:16
Fellow Olympian Collis Birmingham from Ballarat in Victoria ran superbly to win the Australian 5000m national championship tonight in 13:16.26, a personal best and an A-qualifier for the World Champs in Berlin from 15-23 August.
Birmingham has now moved past the great Ron Clarke to become the third-fastest Australian of all time over 5000m.
“I’m very pleased, it’s always good to run a PB and to do it by that much is even better,” Birmingham said.
Tonight’s result all but guarantees the 24-year-old’s ticket to the Berlin world championships in August.
“(Tonight) is the Australian Championships as well (for the 5000m) so I think I’ve done some of the selection already, there isn’t much more I’ve got to do except keep running well.”
Britain’s Andrew Baddeley finished second in 13:20.99 with Kenya’s Bernard Kiplagat (13:25.64) both clocking B-qualifying marks.
Gregson runs national junior 1500 record
The exciting Bulli teenager Ryan Gregson, who ran an Australian junior 1500m record of 3:37.24 last Saturday, placed eighth tonight in 13:56.83.
Sydney long jumper Fabrice Lapierre cleared an A-qualifying distance of 8.18m (+2.0m/s) to fall just 1cm short of his personal best. Queensland law student Mitchell Watt (8.11m) was second with a personal best.
Melbourne’s Olympic 400m semi finalist Sean Wroe was the only other A-qualifier in Melbourne with his crushing victory in 45.70sec over Sydney’s Commonwealth champion John Steffensen (46.65), national champion Joel Milburn (46.84) with Kurt Mulcahy (47.08) well short of the 45.84 he ran for third in Sydney.
In another star-studded 400m Melbourne World indoor 800m titleholder Tamsyn Lewis won in 51.86 from New Zealand champion Monique Williams (52.20) and Jamaica’s petite Olympic 400m Hurdles gold medallist Melaine Walker 52.26 all clocking Berlin B-qualifying times.
McLellan wins a thriller
Australia’s Olympic 100m Hurdles silver medallist Sally McLellan won a thriller in 13.06sec (-2.0m/s) from Jamaica’s Brigitte Foster-Hylton (13.11) and two-time US World championships representative Jenny Adams (13.74).
Beating Brigitte is a really big achievement. She’s the Commonwealth Games champion and I’m going to face her when I go over to the World Championships this year,’’ McLellan said. The last time they raced in Melbourne at the Commonwealth Games, the Queenslander fell and the Jamaican won gold.
US champion and Olympic bronze medallist David Oliver, the Goliath of the 110m hurdles, was again simply superb in Melbourne winning in 13.60 (-2.2m/s) and just missing the A-qualifying standard in beating WAT finalist and fellow American Joel Brown (13.91) with Sydney University student Justin Merlino third in 14.25. Merlino is returning from a stress reaction of the lower back and is under-prepared at this stage of the year.
Xavier “X-Man” Carter showed he will again be a force to be reckoned with at his favoured 200m which he won tonight in 20.96 despite a strong and chilly 2.8m/s headwind. Melbourne’s Aaron Rouge-Serret did exceptionally well to get near history’s third fastest 200m performer in placing runner-up in 21.19 ahead of WAT finalist Joel Brown (21.45).
Tasmania’s Tristan Thomas won the 400m hurdles in 50.67 from Brendan Cole (51.34) but the event saw Beijing bronze medallist and 2005 World champion Bershawn Jackson go down on the backstraight with a torn hamstring muscle. Thomas later said: “I wanted to stop and pick (Jackson) up because he is such a good bloke.”
Mike Hurst (Sydney Daily Telegraph) for the IAAF
