PREVIEW | Oceania Athletics Invitational Series meet 2

The countdown to the end of the Tokyo qualifying period is well and truly on for Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic track and field athletes, but each have a unique opportunity to meet the standards and improve their ranking points at the second meet of the Oceania Athletics Invitational Series on the Gold Coast this Saturday.

Relays:

The pressure is on for Australia’s relay teams, with Saturday as the final opportunity for themen’s and women’s 4x100m, and the mixed 4x400m relay teams to impress and qualify for Tokyo. Having missed the World Relay Championships in Poland due to safety concerns around the pandemic, the teams need to lodge themselves into the world’s top 16, which will be a challenging feat but a certain possibility.

The women’s  4x100m relay team will need to put the Australian record of 42.99 in jeopardy, having to clock a time of 43.03 or lower, while the men’s team will need to push 38.45 to raise their ranking from 39 to 16.

Australia is currently ranked 32^nd in the mixed 4x400m relay, with a time of 3:21.80. The team, will need to lower their time to 3:17.53 to qualify for Tokyo.

The Australian women’s Under 20 team are also on a mission to threaten the Australian record 44.78. Their first attempt last week saw them disqualified but after another week of solid exchange practice at camp, a new record could be set.

Women’s 100m:

Hana Basic (John Nicolosi) has been knocking on the door of the Olympic standard all year, with a legal best of 11.18 at the Queensland Track Classic and a windy 11.14 at meet one of the Oceania Invitational series.  The rejuvenated sprinter appears destined to clock the 11.15 qualifier time at tomorrow’s meet, and a favourable wind reading might just be the final piece in delivering Australia its latest Tokyo-qualified athlete.

Bree Masters (Ryan Hoffman) is another Australian sprinter on the rise, recording a windy 11.37 last week after a strong personal best and silver medal at the April’s national championships.  Taylah Cruttenden (Braiden Clarke) and Torrie Lewis (Gerrard Keating) are two promising juniors from the Australian Under 20 team, who charged down the straight in times of 11.49 and 11.56 respectively last week. The duo is presented with another opportunity to mix it with their idols tomorrow and potentially take a few scalps.

Men’s 100m:

Jake Penny (Matt Wade & Mandy Cole) is enjoying an outstanding season to date, headlined by his 10.26 (+1.8) last week. Penny has burst into the picture after working hard behind the scenes, with his breakout year also featuring a podium finish at the Australian Track & Field Championships.  

Jack Hale (Adam Larcom) registered a time of 10.33 last week and will be looking to improve yet again, whilst Tokyo-bound decathlete Ash Moloney (Eric Brown) has been in stellar form over 100m this season with a best of 10.36.

A talented line up of Paralympic medallists will compete in the 100m timed finals. Look out for Paralympic champion Scott Reardon (Iryna Dvoskina) who has progressively gotten fitter and faster over two meets since coming back from injury, and will be looking to add another qualifier to his name before Paralympic selection in July. Canberrans James Turner and Chad Perris, both coached by Dvoskina, will also make another appearance in the 100m sprint after clocking B qualifiers last week, as will Evan O’Hanlon, who is building back to his best form after splitting his time between athletics and Australian representative bob sleigh.

The Australian Under 20 attack is spearheaded by Calab Law, who holds a swag of world junior qualifiers and completed the sprint double at this year’s nationals.

Women’s 200m:

Riley Day (Paul Pearce) returns to her pet event and the distance that she will be running come Tokyo, eager to put another strong time on the board.

Day’s best stands at the swift 22.77 (+2.0) she ran at this year’s Sydney Track Classic, with a performance anywhere near that quality likely to dismantle the field. The Beaudesert product has turned her training up a notch since her national title, as she edges closer to the 22.5 range she has long dreamed of running.

Para-sprinters to watch in the 200m are four-time world champion in the T35 class Isis Holt (Paul Pearce), who this season clocked four A qualifiers in the event, with a season’s best of 28.31, as well as 400m T47 national record holder Alissa Jordaan (Sebastian Kuzminski).

Women’s 400m:

Bendere Oboya (John Quinn) will be back in action when she takes on a quality 400m field, with Anneliese Rubie-Renshaw (Peter Fortune) likely to be Oboya’s main challenge. Oboya has made a habit of winning on home soil when winning 25 of her last 26 domestic starts to cement her status as Australia’s best female over the one lap journey, whilst Rubie-Renshaw clocked 52.87 at last week’s meet – her fastest time of the year.

Other athletes bound to be prominent in the finish include Ellie Beer (Brett Robinson), Bella O’Grady (Penny Gillies) and Rebecca Bennett (Mike Hurst), whilst Jasmin Guthrie is a junior to keep an eye on throughout proceedings.

Men’s 800m:

Peter Bol (Justin Rinaldi) locked away the Olympic standard last week with a blistering 1:44.88 over 800m to finally to achieve the feat after a dominant season, with the 2016 Olympian clearly timing his peak to perfection ahead of Tokyo.  With the qualifier off his back, expect Bol to race aggressively and chase the clock, with a rewriting of the record books not out of the question for the 27-year-old Australian.

New Zealand’s Brad Mathas (Justin Rinaldi) has been the only man to challenge Bol in 2021 and will toe the line in this encounter, whilst Queensland’s Jared Micalef returns for round two of pacing duties after a clinical performance last week when towing Bol on his way to the Olympic standard.

Women’s 100m Hurdles:

Hannah Jones (Sally Pearson) produced one of the runs of the weekend at meet one of the Oceania Invitational series, claiming a new personal best of 12.91 (+0.5). Jones was ecstatic with the time post-race after closing to gap to the 12.84 required if she is to make a certainty of 2021’s Tokyo Olympics.

Jones will face up against Celeste Mucci (Darren Clark) and Abbie Taddeo (Penny Gillies) as she has done all season, with either athlete capable of toppling Jones on their day.

Men’s 110m Hurdles:

A four-man field will take on ten flights of hurdles, headlined by national champion Nicholas Hough (Anthony Benn) who has been challenged by Nick Andrews (Tim O’Neill) all season. The pair hold seasons best performances of 13.51 and 13.59 respectively, demonstrating just how close their encounters have been.

Rising star Colby Eddowes and meet one winner Jacob McCorry round out the field in what looms as a quality battle over the sticks.

Women’s Javelin Throw:

Kathryn Mitchell (Uwe Hohn) launched the javelin 61.67m last week to take home the win, but the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist will be looking to emulate her best form as she continues her quest to compete at a third Olympic Games.  Mitchell’s best this season stands 63.49m she threw in April, just outside the 64.00m Olympic standard. Mitchell’s main competition will consist of a duo of Mackenzie’s – Little and Mielczarek.

Discus Throw – ambulant

Throughout the domestic season, Tokyo-bound Sarah Edmiston (Paul Edmiston) has been nothing but consistent, throwing 11 A qualifiers over the Paralympic qualifying period. Her best throws this year have landed at 36.22, a result that would have landed her a bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. F38 Samantha Schmidt will also contest the discus throw as she looks ahead to selection for her first Australian representative team. Schmidt has impressed over the course of the season, with a best throw of 33.66 at the Sydney Track Classic and with seven qualifiers to her name, she is one to look out for not only this Saturday but at the Paralympic Games this August.

Mixed Shot Put Secured Wheelchair

Australia’s most talented seated shot putters Rosemary Little (Karyne de Marco and Breanne Clements) and Maria Strong (John Eden) will be on show at Runaway Bay, with Strong travelling from Melbourne following lockdown. As her name suggests, F33 athlete Strong has had one of the best seasons of all Para throwers, notching up 9 qualifiers, with her best put of 6.52m recorded at the Melbourne Track Classic in March. She’ll come up against wheelchair racer-turned-F32 thrower Little who will be looking to improve upon her 5.90m registered last week at the first meet of the Oceania Athletics Invitational Series.

The Oceania Athletics Invitational Series is proudly supported by the City of Gold Coast. 

By Lachlan Moorhouse and Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 11/6/2021