Inside Athletics

Spectators may have to wait three and a half hours to see them, but the final two events at the Sydney Track Classic - the men's 400m and 1500m - will certainly be worth the wait.

Looking at the start lists for the meet one cannot help but wonder whether the meet's name is a little misleading and should perhaps be the Sydney Field Classic. There is certainly no scarcity of talent in the field, with three world champions in action: pole vaulter Steve Hooker, discus thrower Dani Samuels and shot putter Valerie Vili. Similarly, a classic long jump competition featuring world championships bronze medallist Mitchell Watt, fourth placegetter Fabrice Lapierre and the United States' Travell Quinley and a javelin field including Finland's Tero Pitkamaki, Australian record holder Jarrod Bannister and in form New Zealander Stuart Farquhar will provide exciting competition.

However, for better or for worse, field events almost always play second fiddle to the action on the track - except perhaps in Sydney during the brief (or in the eyes of many, not brief enough) respite offered by the mixed gender 5000m walk which includes Olympic medallist Jared Tallent.

Whilst on the track the meet will start in the same fashion as a rock band opening a set with their B-sides, it will certainly finish with chart topping hits. The men's 400m, typically a classy affair in Sydney, is the penultimate event. The meet record stands at 45.07 seconds by John Steffensen in 2007. Although the Commonwealth champion will not compete in this year's meet, other than for his colourful persona, his absence will be barely noticeable given the depth of the field.

The leading local talent is Western Australia's Ben Offereins, who owns the fastest time of the domestic season with his win in Canberra last month in 45.32 seconds. That race was run from lane seven and won by over half a second, and although Offereins was quoted as being comfortable with the situation of running blind - "In WA I've had to run all of my races on my own, so it's just like home" - it is likely that not only will he be served with a middle lane in Sydney, but also competition to go with it.

The international challenge is in the form of David Neville from the United States, who is the Olympic bronze medallist over the distance as an individual and gold medallist in the relay. He owns a personal best of 44.61 seconds, but his form is unknown, with his last race being in September at the end of a European season where his best time was 45.14 seconds.

Whilst Neville's form is unknown, that of Kenyan David Rudisha is. An 800m specialists with the fourth fastest time in history at 1:42.01, the 21 year old warmed up last weekend with a 46.5 second hand-timed performance at the Peter Norman Classic in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon. The smooth performance was only just outside his personal best of 46.2 seconds, but such is the quality of the field assembled at the Sydney Track Classic that neither mark will prove competitive; Australian 400m champion Sean Wroe is making his season debut over the one lap after a slow but improving start to the season in the shorter sprints, whilst Olympic semi-finalist Joel Milburn and improving South Australian Clay Watkins should all run under 46 seconds given the right race and conditions.

The 1500m last year was a breakthrough race for Ryan Gregson, with him lowering his personal best to 3:37.24 and in the process breaking Mike Hillardt's Australian junior record and qualifying for the world championships. Gregson is the in form middle distance runner so far this season, with the fastest times over 800m (1:47.06 - a personal best) and 1500m (3:37.35). The 19-year-old is choosing to bypass the 1500m at next week's Melbourne Track Classic, which will include Olympic silver medallist Nick Willis, Australian champion Jeff Riseley and perhaps Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop - none of whom are in the Sydney field - in order to test himself over 800m against Rudisha and in form Olympian Lachlan Renshaw. As such, he will be hoping to record a fast time in order to strengthen his credentials for selection in the Commonwealth Games.

The 1500m is a cut throat scenario for selection in the Commonwealth Games, especially as national 10000m record holder Collis Birmingham has indicated that he would prefer to double in the 1500m and 5000m rather than the 5000m and 10000m in the sweltering conditions Delhi are likely to offer. Birmingham, an accomplished racer, has a personal best of 3:35.76 and like Gregson, will not be in the 1500m in Melbourne, but rather the 5000m, so will also be hoping to stamp his claim for selection with a strong performance.

The fastest personal best in the field is possessed by Jeremy Roff with his 3:34.49 performance last year; the NSW record holder has had a slow start to the season, but last week showed promising signs by recording a 3:40.16 in Sydney. Add a further 6 runners with personal bests under 3:40 seconds: New Zealand's Adrian Blincoe (3:35.50), Olympian Mitch Kealey (3:36.21), Kenyans Collins Cheboi (3:36.24) and Jonothan Komen (3:36.80), Australian 800m champion Nick Bromley (3:39.12) and the relatively out of form Brad Woods (3:37.63) along with up and coming atheltes such as Brenton Rowe and James Nipperess and you have a race that will build to a crescendo over the final lap as a spectacular finale to the meet.