New life breathed into athletics in the Hunter
On a humid and slightly breezy afternoon, it took a sizzling last 150m from the Wollongong wonder kid Ryan Gregson to really excite the crowd. The expectations were high for what was billed as the best 800m field in Australia so far his season, and spectators weren?t disappointed. Passing through the first lap in a relatively slow 53 seconds, Gregson positioned himself perfectly in the front third of the pack. Coming into the final 150m he made his move, quickly passing James Gurr at the head of the now strung-out field. Gregson then went on to run away with the victory, in a personal best and Commonwealth Games B qualifier of 1:47.06. Second place was snatched by Tristan Garrett (1:48.33), ahead of a fading Gurr (1:48.61).Other distance running highlights included a front-running solo performance by Ben St Lawrence in the 3000m. Trailing the pacemaker for the first three laps he found himself alone at the front of the field. St Lawrence ran a controlled race, crossing the finish line in 7:55.91, ahead of a fast finishing Mitch Kealey (7:59.78) and Olympic steeplechase finalist Youcef Abdi (8:03.40).
The Women?s 1500m also proved to be an exciting race, albeit lacking a little depth. World University Games silver medallist Kaila McKnight kicked away for victory in 4:13.97, ahead of Eloise Wellings (4:17.81) who was stepping down in distance to help prepare for next weeks Briggs Classic in Hobart, where she will be hoping to run a Commonwealth Games qualifier in the 5000m.
The slightly gusty conditions weren?t conducive to fast times in the sprints, with the highlight coming from crowd favourite Tamsyn Lewis, who dominated the women?s 400m with a solid 52.86 second performance.
The leading field performances came from Amy Pejkovic in the women?s high jump with 1.80m, while Ben Baker threw 70.84m to take out the javelin.
Twenty-seven of Australia's Commonwealth Games team will take to the track under the banner of Asia-Pacific this weekend in Split, Croatia at the inaugural Continental Cup. 
Tyson Gay won the battle of 100m world leaders and Blanka Vlasic cleared 2.02m to highlight the 60th Anniversary edition of the Hanzekovic Memorial in Zagreb, the final IAAF World Challenge meeting of 2010. 
Usain Bolt's life story hits the bookshops this week, but the athlete everyone is talking about right now is David Rudisha. The Kenyan improved the world 800m record twice in one week with scintillating runs in Berlin and Rieti. Aged only 21, there looks like there is more to come too. 
Despite putting two world records under his belt in seven days, world 800m holder and Africa champion David Rudisha will skip the Commonwealth Games due in Delhi next month, citing fatigue. 
Commonwealth Games 400m champion John Steffensen says he is in good shape to defend his title in New Delhi despite a limited build-up. 
Comments