Qualifiers Tumble | Big Names Fit and Firing
Published Mon 13 Jun 2022
Three World Athletics Championships qualifiers, a massive leap for a seasoned campaigner, while some big names return to competition and the NCAA finals are run and won – Australia’s track and field stars are fit and firing across the globe.
After a slow start to the domestic season, Joseph Deng (Justin Rinaldi) returned to his best in France as he registered the fourth fastest time of his career – a 1:44.69 run to finish in second place and qualify for the World Athletics Championships, also placing himself in contention for the Commonwealth Games.
The performance brings the former Australian record holder one step closer to donning the green and gold on the world stage again, with the talented 23-year-old eager to make his first team alongside teammate and friend Peter Bol (Justin Rinaldi).
Bol flexed his form over 1500m to complete a successful day for the Australians in France, gliding past the field over the final 200m to take the win and rewrite his personal best as 3:35.86 – shaving a substantial seven seconds off his former mark.
Putting a five month break behind him post Tokyo, Henry Frayne (Gary Bourne) jetted to Geneva and delivered a clutch 8.10m (+0.7) leap in the sixth round to win the competition that fell on the final day of the Commonwealth Games qualifying period.
The Frayne Train piled on 17cm to his seasons best to shatter the eight-metre barrier for the first time since 2019, forcing his name into the conversation to defend his Commonwealth Games silver come Birmingham after leaping 8.33m on the Gold Coast in 2018.
Ellie Sanford (Nic Bideau) added to the Australian success in Switzerland when clocking a personal best of 2:02.40 to win the 800m, as she begins a block of racing after pacing some of the world’s biggest names throughout the first half of the Diamond League series.
At the Portland Track Festival, it was Olympian Amy Cashin (Sean Cleary) who saluted when winning the 3000m steeplechase over the established USA duo of Courtney Frerichs and Colleen Quigley, clocking 9:27.91 to qualify for the World Athletics Championships and place herself in contention for the Commonwealth Games – building on her consistent form in 2022.
Also winning it Portland was Tokyo teammate Patrick Tiernan (Alistair Cragg) when registering a time of 13:19.14 over 5000m in only his third race of the calendar year, while fellow Australian Kang Nyoak (NAU) finished 11th in 13:47.56.
Charlie Hunter (Pete Julian) delivered a much-improved 1:45.58 to finish in fourth place of the 800m at Portland, as the US-based Australian looks to find his best form ahead of the international opportunities ahead in 2022.
Caitlin Adams (Adam Didyk) finished 14th in the 5000m in 15:41.42, while Isaac Heyne’s (Adam Didyk) 13:51.16 was good enough for 18th, and Max Stevens (Adam Didyk) clocked 8:46.73 to cross the line in 13th place of the 3000m steeplechase.
Throwing for the first time since the Tokyo Games, Kathryn Mitchell (Uwe Hohn) mustered a 57.36m effort to finish in second place in Germany, opening her 2022 campaign as Australia’s javelin trio look to return to the international scene after all qualifying for last year’s Olympic final.
On the roads of Launceston it was Brett Robinson (Nic Bideau) and Sinead Diver (Nic Bideau) who reigned supreme over the 21.1km distance, registering times of 1:01:56 and 1:11:04 respectively as the two Australian marathoners went unrivalled on their way to victory in preparation for 42.2km encounters in the back half of the year.
After a pedestrian first half of the 10km bout, James Hansen showed a swift turn of foot to stretch away from the field and become the first Tasmanian to win the race on home soil when running a significant negative split to finish 28:49. Jess Stenson (Adam Didyk) set a new course record and personal best of 31:49 to take home the women’s title, building strongly towards a Commonwealth Games marathon bid.
Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) returned to the winners list in Greece when equalling his outdoor seasons best with a 5.70m clearance, while Brooke Buschkuehl (Russell Stratton) recorded a leap of 6.61m (+1.9) for silver in Sweden. Also in Sweden was Callum Davies (Collis Birmingham) who opened his international campaign over 1500m in 3:39.13 for ninth place, while Jude Thomas (Collis Birmingham) finished 11th in the 5000m in a time of 14:11.62.
The NCAA Track and Field Championships at Eugene’s Hayward Field witnessed a crop of rising Australians mix it with the very best in the collegiate system, lead by top five finishes from Imogen Barrett (Florida), Ky Robinson (Stanford), and Ed Trippas (Princeton).
Barrett topped off her sensational 800m campaign in 2022 with a 2:02.05 performance in the 800m final to clinch fourth place, narrowly missing the podium with the fourth fastest time of her career as she assisted the Gators to the Women’s NCAA title.
Robinson continued his strong form outdoors after winning silver at the NCAA Indoor Championships earlier this year, this time clocking 13:30.23 for fourth place behind a trio of emerging stars from the USA in the 5000m. Fellow Australian Zach Facioni (Wake Forrest) was not far away from his compatriot, finishing 11th in a time of 13:33.46.
Trippas torched his way around the 3000m steeplechase in the second fastest time of his career, stopping the clock in 8:20.29 to finish in fifth place and hit the qualification standard for the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games – with the Tokyo Olympian peaking at just the right time.
Adam Spencer (Wisconsin) made his way into the top eight in a tactical 1500m affair, leading at stages before a final lap scurry saw him cross the line in eighth place as the clock read 3:46.28 for the freshman. Also recording top 10 finishes were 10,000m duo Amelia Mazza-Downie (New Mexico) and Haftu Strintzos (Villanova), registering times of 33:31.99 and 28:47.35 respectively to both finish in ninth place.
In the field it was James Joycey (North Carolina) who finished 15th in the hammer throw with a distance fo 67.43m, while Anna Bush (Wake Forrest) was 18th in the heptathlon with a score of 5361.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 13/6/2022
