Preview: SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix - Canberra
Published Fri 10 Mar 2017
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There’s no place like Canberra (ACT) for athletics fans this weekend, as 41 Rio 2016 Olympians and Paralympians get set to join 11 starters from Coles Nitro Athletics Melbourne for the much-anticipated SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix.
Two days of competition on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th March will be the penultimate hit-out for Australia’s best athletes ahead of the 2017 Australian Athletics Championships, which double as the Selection Trial for the London 2017 IAAF World Championships and World Para-Athletics Championships.
Likely to be a hotbed of quality performances in the capital, athletes from across the country will be keeping a trusty eye on the official IAAF World Championships qualifying table knowing that Canberra represents one of the best chances for fast times and big distances and heights.
ELLA NELSON IS BACK
Competing on home soil for the first time since she missed the women’s 200m final at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by a mere 0.01 seconds, sprinter Ella Nelson (NSW) is one to watch on the track.
Recently returning from ALTIS, an elite training environment located in Phoenix, Arizona (USA), the 22-year-old has returned to Australia with automatic selection to London 2017 and a fourth Australian crown across 200m in her sights.
Nelson spoke to Athletics Australia about her US training experience, saying the workload she has committed herself to, will set herself up for a big 2017.
“I look forward to [training] every single day. I trust the staff completely. I have incredibly talented and hilarious training partners.
“It’s all about working on the little things each day to build up the end product.â€
Read more about Ella Nelson’s training and approach to improvement here.
Nelson will be joined on the start line for the women’s 200m at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix by both one-lap specialist Morgan Mitchell (Vic) and national 100m record holder Melissa Breen (ACT), with the latter duo also set to compete in their preferred events of 400m and 100m respectively.
The men’s short sprints welcome Josh Clarke (NSW), the fastest man in Australia in 2016 with a personal best of 10.15, and Rio 2016 men’s 200m starter and reigning national 100m and 200m champion Alex Hartmann (Qld).
Hartmann’s Nitro Athletics teammates Jack Hale (Tas) and Aaron Stubbs (Qld) is also on entry lists, as fellow Queenslanders Tom Gamble (Qld) and Trae Williams (Qld).
Michelle Jenneke (NSW) and Brianna Beahan (WA) will chase the 13.00 qualifier for the London 2017 IAAF World Championships in the women’s 100m hurdles, while seven-time national champion Lauren Wells (ACT) competes at her home track in the women’s 400m hurdles.
HALL EYES NATIONAL RECORD VIA LONDON 2017 FINAL
The third fastest Australian of all-time in the women’s 1500m, Linden Hall (Vic) solidified her standing among the nation’s best distance runners when she clocked an impressive 4:01.78 at the Prefontaine Classic before making her Olympic debut at Rio 2016.
She now has the record of Sarah Jamieson in her sights, with her start across the distance at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix this weekend a step toward London 2017 selection and her chance to make amends for missing the final at the Olympic Games.
Read more about Linden Hall and her goal to break the looming four-minute barrier here.
Picking a winner in the men’s 800m will be difficult as equal national record holder Alex Rowe (Vic) comes up against training partner Peter Bol (WA), Josh Ralph (NSW), Melbourne Track Club athlete Jordan
Justin Rinaldi, coach of Peter Bol and Alex Rowe says both athletes have been training hard, with Bol having
“He made a few errors in Rio that prevented him from making the semi and I know he won’t make those errors again,†Rinaldi said.
“He needs to become more rounded as an athlete and learn to run from the front or come from behind.â€
The SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix also features the Australian 5000m Championship for men and women, with David McNeill (Vic), Stewart McSweyn (Tas), Bridey Delaney (NSW) and Jessica Trengove (SA) among the starters.
QUALIFIED MARSCHALL TO CHASE NEW PERSONAL BEST
A last-minute qualifier in the men’s pole vault ensured an Olympic debut for
He now has a new personal best on Australian soil in his sights, with strong competition from Angus Armstrong (NSW) set to provide a great opportunity for big clearances at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix.
In the women’s high jump, Eleanor Patterson (Vic) will compete after clearing a season best of 1.90m at the Victorian Country Athletics Championships, while Rio 2016 Olympian Joel Baden (Vic) starts in the men’s event. Naa Anang (Qld), a Bolt All-Star at Coles Nitro Athletics Melbourne, will start in the women’s long jump.
STEVENS IN FORM AS SHE HEADS TO CIRCLE
A monster discus throw of 66.78m at the New South Wales Athletics Championships launched the season of Dani Stevens (NSW, nee Samuels) in outstanding style.
That effort was Stevens’ second best ever mark set in Australia (from over a decade of competition), and will be looking to continue that form in Canberra, with the former world champion no doubt eyeing off an acclaimed 13th national discus crown in Sydney (NSW) later this month.
The men’s event welcomes reigning discus champion Matthew Denny (Qld), while in the men’s javelin Hamish Peacock (Tas) will take to the runway after throwing a London 2017 qualification standard of 83.02m in Hobart (Tas) earlier this month. Kelsey-Lee Roberts (ACT) will compete in the women’s javelin and Damien Birkinhead (Vic) in the men’s shot put.
A BUSY WEEKEND FOR BALLARD
There will be no rest for the wicked for Angela Ballard (NSW) this weekend as the Paralympic medallist prepares to duel in the women’s wheelchair 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m across two days of competition at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix.
To be joined on the start line for the 800m and 1500m by her training partner Madison de Rozario (NSW), the duo
Paralympic champions Scott Reardon (NSW) and James Turner (NSW) are also set to start, with Reardon competing alongside Chad Perris (WA) in the ambulant 100m and 200m, while Turner will take to the start line for the 800m.
Jodi Elkington-Jones (NSW) will compete in the ambulant long jump, the same event that she won gold in at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, while Louise Ellery (ACT) and Katherine Proudfoot (ACT) will battle it out in the women’s secured shot put.