#AthleticsGold: Tremendous Trae Williams goes back-to-back in 10.10

Trae Williams (Qld) is the fastest Australian in over a decade, running 10.10s (0.4m/s) to claim back-to-back national championships.

The men’s 100m lived up to the hype as the premiere event on Friday night’s schedule at the 2018 Australian Athletics Championships & Nomination Trials.

Williams, cheered on by a home crowd was already grinning as he closed in on the finish line, ahead of Rohan Browning (10.20 - NSW) and Josh Clarke (10.31 – NSW). Williams is the first Australian sprinter to secure the Commonwealth Games A qualifying time.

“I could see that I was a little bit in front,” the 20-year-old said.

Williams had run 10.21 in qualifying on Thursday and again in the semi-final earlier on Friday.

“I knew I had it in me,” Williams said of his time. “I just had to execute everything that I needed to do. Running 10.21 in the preliminaries and the semi I felt I was able to shut off a little bit in the last five or ten [metres]. It’s an awesome feeling.”

Williams, Browning, and Hale have been hard to split across the summer, with the New South Welshman seemingly with the edge in the lead up to the national championships, but the former rugby league player pegged himself as the man to beat over the last 24 hours.

“I’m sure those boys will just get back in to training and come the Commonwealth Games they’re going to be running 10.10 as well,” said Williams, somewhat lost for words around his own performance. He is now the fourth-fastest Australian of all time.

In the women’s 100m, Riley Day (Qld) claimed her maiden Australian title in the open ranks. Day, finished in a time of 11.56 (0.4m/s) with New Zealander Zoe Hobbs (11.70) and Mia Gross (11.81 – Vic) claiming the minor placings.

Day’s time was another World Under 20 qualifier, but above the Commonwealth Games B standard.

“I went out there and ran the best that I can and I’m really happy with it,” Day said. “It’s good experience.”

“It’s not a total bummer if I don’t get picked for the 100m” the 17-year-old continued. “There will be awesome athletes there. I know Mel’s [Breen] got some B’s so she might get picked. I’m happy with whatever.”

Both Day and Williams will be back in action on Saturday in the preliminary rounds of the 200m.

Celia Sullohern (NSW) sprung another surprise in long distance track events, sealing victory in the 5,000m, having already claimed the Australian 10,000m crown in December at Zatopek.

Sullohern trumped the experienced field with a blistering last lap, with a three-way fight against Eloise Wellings (NSW) and Madeline Heiner-Hills (Vic).

The winning time of 15:34.42 was under the B-qualifying standard and remarkably, was her first effort over the distance since 2012, earning another start for April’s Commonwealth Games. The result left Sullohern no option but to nominate for the event.

“I don’t know what to say, it was so unexpected,” explained Sullohern. “I really wanted to have a race tonight to get some track experience for Commonwealth Games so it’s an absolute bonus.”

Two national titles in ten hours was the sum of a dramatic day for Queenslander Matthew Denny. He has rarely been better by the tape, but by the podium he was unbeatable. At 10.00am he opened his campaign with an easy winning throw of 72.78m in the hammer, nailing his second Commonwealth Games A standard and securing automatic nomination for the Games. After a rest in the afternoon, he returned to the circle, and after a nervous opening foul he launched the discus out to 64.03m, only surpassed by a few throws in the wind-friendly Californian environment in America.

However, the competition was in its early days and the biggest danger, Benn Harradine (Qld) was shooting for his fourth Games. He waited until his last attempt to launch the two kilogram disc out to 63.56m, securing silver and joining Denny as automatic qualifiers for the Games.

"That was a bit gut-wrench because I thought: 'it's far',” Denny said. “I knew it was decent. I had a second look and thought: 'that's further than I think it is'."

Overnight leader in the heptathlon, teenager Celeste Mucci (Vic) compiled a solid second day, including performances of 6.25m and 40.78m in the long jump and javelin respectively. Going into the last event, the 800m, she led by 94 points but rose to the occasion to clock a personal best time of 2:26.96. It was sufficient for her to clinch the title with a score of 5812 points and secure nomination to the Australian team for the Commonwealth Games.

“I was very stressed out before the 800m because obviously it comes down to this,” said Mucci. “If I didn’t put out a good race anything could happen, but I managed to stick it out. It was my second-best score ever so I’m very happy under that much pressure.”

Although another five athletes held Commonwealth Games B qualifying marks, it was Kiara Reddingius (WA) who came from outside that group to post a B qualifying score of 5742 - a 205-point personal best.

After a brilliant start with two personal bests in three events, Cedric Dubler (Qld) is on the way to an 8000-point score in the decathlon. After the first day, he has tallied 4325 points, just below his 4348 points set on the way to his breakthrough score of 8114 in 2016. Dubler started with a lifetime best of 10.63 in the 100m, was just short of his best with an excellent long jump of 7.58m, before smashing his shot put personal best with a distance of 13.01m.

“I’m really happy with day one,” said Dubler while walking up and down the mixed zone to keep moving after his last event of the day. “The plan was to come in and execute a solid day. The speed in training has been going really well. The throws in training have been going really well. It was good to get the 100 PB and the shot PB and get over that 13 [metres].

“Tomorrow I need to come out and put a few more events together and get that A qualifier and hopefully that allows someone else a spot on the team.”

Vying for that potential spot is NSW’s Alec Diamond who led Dubler after a brilliant first three events of 11.00 in the 100m, 7.65m in the long jump and 14.91m in the shot. He closed the day on 4122 points.

Emmanuel Fakiye (NSW) sprung a surprise to claim a maiden national title in the men’s triple jump final with a fifth-round effort of 16.08m to book a berth on the Australian Commonwealth Games team.

Fakiye finished ahead of Victorian Alwyn Jones (15.99m) who was gunning for a seventh-straight Australian title while Queenslander Shemaiah James (15.92m) rounded out the podium in third.

Having recently celebrated his 21st birthday – Fakiye opened competition with a distance of 15.52m before extending his best with each attempt until his title clinching leap in the fifth. 

"I'm very stoked and so grateful,” he said. “It's been a long time coming. It's unbelievable."

"It was a great competition. All the guys were pushing each other. Going into the third and fourth round I knew I had a big jump in me. Everyone had 15.97 metres and I knew I would get over the 16-metre mark.

"The dream was to get a qualifier and then the dream was winning this. Now the dream is pushing for it at the Commonwealth Games and make my name in the world."

The women’s hammer was a very dramatic event with competition with less than a foot separating the gold and silver medallists.

After the first three rounds, Alex Hulley (NSW) looked in control with 64.66m, two metres ahead of five-time national champion Lara Nielsen (Qld). But in round four, Nielsen pounced, taking the lead by just three centimetres with a throw of 64.69m. On the very next throw, Hulley responded by seizing the lead back with a throw of 64.84m, to lead by just 15 centimetres and secure automatic selection for the Games.

"Definitely not [happy with] the distance, but my plan was to win, and I did that," said Hulley.

Alberto Campbell (Qld) was a popular winner of the men’s 400m timed final, with the T20 athlete scorching home in 51.24secs as he was cheered on by a boisterous home crowd. World para-athletics silver medallist, Torita Blake (T38 - Qld) earned victory in the women’s 400m ambulant, her time of 66.36 giving her national championship honours. Craig Jarrett (F56 - Vic) took out the men’s secured discus title with a best throw of 27.12m while Dayna Crees (14.13m) competing as an F34 athlete made it a double for Victoria in the women’s final. Thrower Daniel Kirk (F44 - SA) recorded 47.63m for victory in the men’s discus ambulant and Claire Keefer (F40 - Qld) won gold in the women’s shot put ambulant, heaving a best mark of 8.12m for victory. 

Day three (Saturday) competition has two sessions, with the morning session commences at 9.00am and the afternoon/evening program at 5.30pm. Highlights of the morning are the men’s para shot put final including world champion Cameron Crombie (ACT) and the continuation of the decathlon with Olympian Cedric Dubler (Qld). Other events include heats/preliminary rounds for: women’s 200m and men’s 200m and javelin (Hamish Peacock- Tas).

From 5.30pm the program includes Sally Pearson (Qld) running the heat and final of the 100m hurdles. Other finals include: women’s pole vault (Nina Kennedy - WA), 1500m (Linden Hall – Vic), ambulant 100m Para T35 (Isis Holt – Vic), javelin (Kathryn Mitchell – Vic) and men’s 800m (Luke Mathews – Vic), high jump (Brandon Starc – NSW), wheelchair 1500m (Kurt Fearnley – NSW), 110m hurdles (Nick Hough – NSW), 400m and conclusion of the decathlon (Cedric Dubler – Qld).