Tiernan wins Vegas Gold Half Marathon and Ramsden qualifies for Tokyo

While the official start of the Australian Summer of Athletics begins this Tuesday with the Zatopek:10, Australia’s elite track and field athletes are already showing promise, with top results across the country and abroad over the weekend. 

Patrick Tiernan (Mark Rowland) carried on with his strong form over the longer distances to take out the Vegas Gold Half Marathon at Las Vegas in a time of 62:26 – including a 13:58 split for the last five kilometres.

It comes after Tiernan broke Stewart McSweyn’s Australian record in the 10,000m last month when running 27:22.55, with the 26-year-old growing in confidence after a series of strong performances. 

Many considered 2020 a breakout for Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau), but the Western Australian appears set to continue his trajectory in 2021 – opening his account for the year with a casual Olympic qualifier of 3:34.96 in the 1500m.      

The time is just outside Ramsden’s best of 3:34.83 but provides an outstanding platform for the rising star to launch from ahead of Tokyo. The qualifier comes as no surprise, with Ramsden’s talent and versatility making him one of Australia’s most promising young prospects. 

Athletics Victoria’s High Velocity series continued and was headlined by Australia’s fastest men and women going to battle in the sprints. 

Nothing could separate Jack Hale (Adam Larcom) and Jake Penny over 100m, with the pair hitting the line locked together in a time of 10.49 to share the win.

They were closely followed by Dhruv Rodrigues Chico in 10.64 who continued his rise through the ranks of the Victorian sprinting stocks, and Jacob Despard finished in fourth place in a time of 10.75 (-0.1).

Despard backed up the performance in the 200m, running 21.76 (+0.0) to finish in second place. The women’s 100m was taken out by Alexia Loizou – clocking 11.72 to edge out Maddie Coates in 11.81 and Ilana Grandine in 11.91 (+0.4). 

Coates proved superior in the 200m when running 23.97 (+2.5) to take the win ahead of Grandine (24.12) and Nana Owusu-Afriyie (24.23, Tony Marsh).

Brooke Stratton (Russel Stratton) was in the action at the Victorian Country Championship, jumping 6.61m (+0.0) to prove far too classy for the rest of the competitors and add another layer to her 2021 preparation.

Australian record holder Kathryn Mitchell (Uwe Hohn) also competed at the event, launching the javelin 60.25m in a commanding victory and a welcomed return to competition. 

Queensland’s Dane Bird-Smith Shield was also home to a number of impressive performances. 

Ella Connolly (Gary Patterson) stole the show in the women’s 100m when clocking 11.21 (+2.1). Traditionally competing in the 400m where her personal best stands at 52.70, Connelly’s performance is indicative of her top-end speed and potential across a range of events at only 20-years-old. It’s a mark that only Melissa Breen and Sally Pearson have bettered in the last 20 years. 

Adam Fogg ran a blistering 3:39.57 in the 1500m to lower his personal best and secure the win - with the 21-year-old continuing his strong development and closing the gap on the nations’ best metric milers.

Daniel Bounty’s (Peter Bock) time of 4:20.72 in the same event was another solid performance for the T38 athlete, who is enjoying a rich vein of form. 

Alex Beck’s (Mark Ladbrook) time of 46.67 in the 400m suggests that he is in fine form to begin 2021 and provides a solid benchmark for Beck to lower as the season progresses.

 In the women’s 400m, 18-year-old Ellie Beer (Brett Robinson) clocked 53.43 - a time that puts her among some of the world’s best juniors. 

By Lachlan Moorhouse
Posted: 25/1/2020