Track and Field Athletes In Form Ahead of Pacific Games

A small team of six track and field athletes join a 57-strong Australian team to compete at the XVI Pacific Games, being held in Samoa from next week.

The opening ceremony is on Sunday, with the track and field action not commencing until Monday July 15, which will see a six day program of athletics conducted.

At the Games, 24 Pacific nations will compete across 27 sports.

With the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recently introducing a new global ranking system for athletes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, the Pacific Games is a very appealing competition. This is because it attracts a high level of points in the new system, which is based on a combination of result and place depending on the level of the competition.

Fresh from wins at the Oceania Championships, Brianna Beahan (100m hurdles), Ian Dewhurst (400m hurdles) and Steve Solomon (400m) spearhead the team. 

In Townsville, Beahan defeated a strong field including National Champion Celeste Mucci and Olympian Michelle Jenneke. Another win in Samoa will provide her valuable points towards Tokyo 2020 Olympic selection. She is also just outside qualification for the 2019 Doha World Championships where her PB of 13.02 sits just 0.04 seconds shy of the automatic standard. Her partner, Ian Dewhurst, was in solid form in Townsville, defeating New Zealand’s former national record holder Michael Cochrane 50.79 to 51.54.

London Olympic finalist Steven Solomon competes in the 400m. The six-time national champion clocked 46.12 in Townsville to defeat Australian teammates Tyler Gunn and Alex Beck. 

“I'm tremendously proud and excited to don the green and gold at the upcoming Pacific Games. Each opportunity to represent Australia is a privilege, and I know that the flag above my heart will inspire me to great speeds in Samoa,” Solomon told the Australian Olympic Committee.

“A strong performance in Samoa will set up my campaign for Olympic qualification nicely, and I hope that I can head into 2020 with some fast performances to afford me plenty of training runway ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.”

Alex Hulley, silver medallist in the hammer throw at the Oceania Championships, continues her push towards the 70 metres mark - a distance just two Australians have exceeded. Samoa will be an important opportunity for Hulley to also chase the Doha World Championships standard of 71.00m.

Also joining the team will be two Gold Coast Commonwealth Games competitors, Keely Small (800m) and  Emmanuel Fakiye (triple Jump).

Links to all the action:

Event website: www.samoa2019.ws/

Australian Olympic Committee website http://olympics.com.au/games/samoa-2019

Also follow AOC and Athletics Australia’s socials for updates.

David Tarbotton for Athletics Australia