Oceania Championships Day 4 Review: Parnova Pole Vaults 4.60m

Four days of good competition at the Oceania Athletics Championships was crowned nicely on the final day, with Perth’s Elizaveta Parnova producing the performance of the meet. 

Enjoying a helpful breeze on the southern D of the Townsville Sports Reserve, the duration of Elizaveta Parnova’s pole vault competition was short but sweet. She cleared 4.35m and 4.50m on her opening attempts. Her old PB was 4.56m but she went past that clearing 4.60m on her third attempt, before three unsuccessful attempts at 4.65m.

“I’m so happy, I don’t even know what to say right now!” said Parnova.

“The 4.60m clearance felt so good, the jump itself I can’t describe it. I just closed my eyes and tried to do the best jump that I could, and it ended up being perfect.”

The height was not unfamiliar to her.

“I attempted 4.60m twice in the last few weeks, so I really wanted to get it today.”

It has been a record-breaking year for Parnova.

“It’s been my third PB this year - I jumped 4.56m during the Australian summer and then I rolled my ankle, making it a really difficult road back. But I am just so happy that I have been able to piece everything together and I’m really looking forward to the European summer now.”

Her vault moved her from sixth to equal fourth on the Australian all-time list, passing just one athlete – her Aunty Tatiana Grigorieva, who was watching on at the competition.

“It makes me extremely happy. She has done a really good job,” said Grigorieva.

“I was watching from a coaching perspective, and the way she executed this competition was absolutely fabulous. She warmed up well, had a long wait, good opening height and just how she progressed and improved her PB was absolutely amazing. I’m sure there is a lot more coming from Liz.”

NZL’s Olivia McTaggart was second with 4.25m and Sunshine Coast Commonwealth Games vaulter Lisa Campbell third on 4.10m.

Teenager Riley Day, who had missed the 2019 National 200m Championship and some key races over summer, was back on top of Australian 200m sprinting. Day secured a win at the Oceania Athletics Championships over a strong field in 23.51, ahead of NZL’s Zoe Hobbs and Victorian Nana-Adoma Owusu-Afriyie with 23.86.

“I’m very relieved it’s over and that I got the result that I wanted,” said Day. “I knew it was going to be a really tough race. It’s a national final today, so I went out there just to give it my best and get to the finish line as fast as I could.”

The race was stacked with the fastest Aussie over summer, Nana-Adoma Owusu-Afriyie, along with National Champion Maddie Coates and first in the National Championships - NZL visitor Zoe Hobbs.

“I could see them, but I just had to concentrate on myself, put the blinkers on and stay relaxed. And I did that - I stuck to the majority of what I had to do.”

The performance for Day also confirmed she was in-form for her next competition in two weeks.

“I leave on Monday for World Uni Games and I’m doing the 200m there and 4x100m relay, so today was a good stepping-stone towards that. Every race helps towards that major competition, so I’m really glad it was a good race today.”

The tremendous depth in Australian 100m hurdling was on show today when Sally Pearson withdrew, but Australia was still able to field three of the top-7 in history, all with PBs at 13.02 or better.

Ahead of up-coming races, the winner Brianna Beahan (13.30) and silver medallist Celeste Mucci (13.49) had good hit outs. Beahan is off to the Pacific Games and Mucci the World University Games.

National Champion Mucci will race the 100m, 100m hurdles and relay in Naples at the World Uni Games. She is also targeting the hurdles rather than the heptathlon for Doha after a recent run of 13.02, close to the Doha standard of 12.98.

“There isn’t a lot of time until Doha, and you can’t keep competing every two weeks in hep to chase the qualifier, so I have decided to go all for it in the hurdles,“ said Mucci. “That way I can race every week if I need to, that was our thoughts.”

An early summer leader in the 100m, Mucci has another potential event she could be selected in for Doha.

“And we’re not too far off the relays.”

In the men’s high hurdles, Nick Hough overcame a strong challenge from Nick Andrews, who led fractionally mid-race, and was back on equal terms by hurdle nine. Andrews knocked hurdles nine and ten, slowing his momentum, allowing Hough to power to the line and eventually win comfortably in 13.77, with Andrews running 13.84. Third was Jacob McCorry (14.13) who along with Andrews this summer has broken through with a series of sub 14 second times.

A potentially fast men’s 10,000m didn’t eventuate in the windy conditions and by the end of the race, Harry Summers had build up a 200m lead on his main rival, Jack Rayner, at the finish of the race. Summers clocked 29:19.99, while Rayner ran 29:55.41.

Summers and Rayner had run together for the early part of the race until Summers instituted his race tactics.

“My plan was to sit back and then throw in a 60 second lap in the middle of the race, just to shake everyone off. I don’t think a 64 or a 65 second lap would have done it, to really put the gap.” It worked as Summers was able to put distance between himself and Rayner.

At the finish Summers’ covered his face in a signal.

“That sign was to say that you should not be weak to speak, whether from depression or anxiety. I suffered from it and I didn’t speak to anyone about it. I encourage anyone out there suffering from issues or problems to reach out to someone that is going to listen and care. I just want to spread the word for that.”

There was a terrific men’s hammer throw competition with PBs from the top-two Aussies. Costa Kousparis won with his second round throw of 66.20m – his second PB of the year. A close second was Victorian Ned Weatherly in just his second competition in 15 months, due to a break for study commitments. Weatherly arrived in Townsville with a PB of 64.46m that dated back to February 2017, but twice bettered that with throws of 65.73m and 65.94m. These throws moved them up one and four places respectively on the Australian all-time list.

Other highlights in brief:

• In the men’s para shot put, Commonwealth Games medallist Marty Jackson (F38) just held off former World Champion Todd Hodgetts 14.27m (89.46%) to 15.43m (89.24%).
• In the triple jump, 10-time National Champion, Alwyn Jones, won with a leap of 15.85m, ahead of one of the athletes he coaches, Ayo Ore with 15.73m.
• There was a win for Mitch Cooper in the discus with his two valid throws both exceeding 60 metres. His best was his first-round effort of 60.25m.
• NZL’s Josephine Reeves won a very close battle on countback in the high jump over Alysha Burnett, with both clearing 1.86m.
• Ahead of the Pacific Games next month, Alex Hulley won silver in the hammer throw with a distance of 65.81m, behind the winner NZL’s Julia Ratcliffe.

David Tarbotton for Athletics Australia