WORLD PARA ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS DUBAI - DAY 9 PREVIEW
Published Fri 15 Nov 2019
It has been a long wait for Maria Strong and Deon Kenzie but the day has finally come to compete in the Dubai World Para-Athletics Championships.
The fact it is Day 9 and the last session on the 2019 program means the two Australians have had to be very patient as they watched fellow teammates strut their stuff.
Kenzie, who is the Rio Paralympics silver medallist for 1500m, is in the final here in Dubai.
He was due to run heats of his T38 class on Thursday, but due to the withdrawals of two fellow competitors, the 1500m is now a straight final tonight.
Kenzie hasn’t been idle while waiting for his event. He is a training partner of Jaryd Clifford and Michael Roeger under distance coach Philo Saunders.
That means he has been part of the early morning and evening 15km runs around the Al Qusais district in Dubai, where the Australian team hotel is located.
He also can quite rightly claim a small share of Clifford’s magnificent gold medal win in Thursday night’s 5000m (T13) final.
Strong will line up in the women’s shot put (F33) final tonight, followed by Ari Gesini in the long jump (T38) final an hour later.
Strong is a late-bloomer in athletics having been an official at local, state and national competitions back in Australia. A decision to become an active competitor two years ago has had immediate results.
Strong was third at the nationals in Sydney last April and second at the Arafura Games in Darwin a few weeks later.
This is her first world championships.
Gesini is in that category as well with the 17-year-old, a former world junior titles competitor, finishing 12th in the 100m (T38) heats and failing to qualify for the final.
He won gold in the long jump (F38) at the 2017 junior worlds in Nottwil, Switzerland.
The fourth final involving Australians on the last day of the 2019 world titles is Rheed McCracken in the men’s 800m (T34).
The silver medallist for this event at the Rio Games. But his world championships record for the two-lap race has had its moments.
He took bronze in Lyon in 2013 but finished just out of the medal placings at both the 2015 titles in Doha and the 2017 in London.
With the 2 gold and 1 bronze medals won by Clifford, James Turner (400m T36) and shot putter Claire Keefer (F41) on Thursday, Australia is 7th on the overall medal table with 8 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze.
There are more than 1,400 athletes in Dubai from 118 countries.
-ENDS
Michael Angus
michael.angus@athletics.org.au
Margie McDonald
mcdonaldmargie58@gmail.com
