Aussie Results/News 2023

[El Toro]

New thread for this year.

First results by Vault-emort replicated from 7 January on the 2022 thread:

Sadly, just a bit too much breeze at Illawong today.

100 (2.7) Sultana 10.20 Despard 10.21 Rowe 10.31 Penny 10.31 Azzopardi 10.33 Ius 10.38 Coore-Ewings 10.54 Gikas 10.54
200 (3.2) Ius 20.66 Despard 20.72 Rowe 20.76

100 (3.1) Quirk 11.35 Thornton 11.59
200 (2.4) Quirk 23.70

But a few legal PBs further north

BRISBANE
100 (1.3) Abu Ganaba 10.26 Bond 10.39 Law 10.42
200 (1,0) Law 20.61 Bond 20.74

100 (1.0) Jenneke 11.63 Moofu (b09) 11.89

Original post

https://forum.trackandfieldnews.com/forum/current-events/1733360-aussie-results-news-2022?p=1779028#post1779028

[El Toro]

Story on Sinead Diver, marathoner extrordianaire, via the Brisbane Times:

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/athletics/diver-sets-sights-on-paris-olympics-after-australian-record-triumph-20221219-p5c7i1.html

[El Toro]

Fred Kerley to train in Australia this year and compete in Melbourne at the upgraded Gold meeting.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/athletics/the-world-s-fastest-man-to-square-off-with-the-flying-mullet-in-melbourne-20230110-p5cbij.html

The "cheap" 2032 Olympic venue for athletics mysteriously gets more expensive after being announded as cheap!!! Well, strike me lucky, cobber and put a trey on the toss...

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/it-will-be-more-miles-concedes-cost-of-gabba-rebuild-will-blow-out-20230110-p5cblz.html

[El Toro]

Australian trials for WXC is on this weekend, starting at 0710 Sunday 15th. The trials won't be held over the Bathurst course but rather at Stromlo here in Canberra.

Athletics Australia preview of the event: https://www.athletics.com.au/news/pr...ountry-trials/

[El Toro]

The Canberra Times had backpage photos of local Leann Pompeani and former local Brett Robinson plus a story each on their cross country ambitions. Across both genders, there will be 16 Olympians competing tomorrow morning, so tough competition is expected.

Firstly, to make Vault-emort happier about the seeming oneway traffic out of the sport:

LEANNE POMPEANI

In an alternate reality, Leanne Pompeaniis currently preparing to play for the Matildas on home soil at this year's FIFA Women's World Cup. A star junior soccer player, the athlete long had her sights on representing her country. As fate would have it, Pompeani is looking to secure her place in a different Australian team to compete at a World Championships on home soil.

But how did she switch sports?

While she starred on the pitch, athletics coach Des Proctor could always see a long-distance runner in the making. One session a week with Proctor eventually turned into two and slowly athletics became Pompeani's No.1 sport. "I picked her out of my PE class when she was 14. She didn't decide to be a runner until she was 18.

Steady brainwashing for the win!! Her plans after the WXC:

I'd love to make the team for Budapest for the 10,000m and then the Olympics in 2024 is a huge goal. Whether that be the 10,000m or the marathon, I don't know yet.

Full story (paywalled but viewable in page source): https://www.canberratimes.com.au/sto...ship-dream/


BRETT ROBINSON

The newly minted NR holder in marathon (2:07:31) was Canberra raised but now trains in Melbourne, wants to make the most of his good form:

Straight away [after the race in Fukuoka] the motivation was there and I wanted to keep going, keep going faster but the marathon damages your body a fair bit and when I got into training my legs were heavy. ...so I took it easy for a few weeks. ...you can't live off one run forever so it's on to the next thing.

Robinson describes his motivation to move up from 5000m in the Rio OG to marathon while still competing at shorter distances:

I wanted to transition to marathon when I was still at my best, I didn"t want to do it when my body was breaking down.

"

I like to do the shorter races to make sure I still have that speed ... if you run marathons for too long you lose that ability and get stuck in one gear. I want to keep as many gears as I can.

Full story (paywalled but viewable in page source): https://www.canberratimes.com.au/sto...s-act-mission/

[LuckySpikes]

Australian trials for WXC is on this weekend, starting at 0710 Sunday 15th. The trials won't be held over the Bathurst course but rather at Stromlo here in Canberra.

Athletics Australia preview of the event: https://www.athletics.com.au/news/pr...ountry-trials/

Watching the live stream. Please, someone shoot that drone out of the sky! I want proper coverage.

[Vault-emort]

With low-standard combined events Champs taking place in most states, there weren't too many notable results yesterday.

ILLAWARRA
100 (2.0) Kamara 10.26 Azzopardi 10.31 Ius 10.37 Sultana 10.38 Coorey-Ewings 10.39

60 (3.6) Lane 7.27 Quirk 7.40
100 (1.8) Lane 11.41 Quirk 11.56
LJ Lowe 6.20m (-0.1)

BRISBANE
100H (-0.3) Jenneke 13.43

[LuckySpikes]

The course for the World XC Selection Trials was very disappointing - it looked just like a typical NCAA course. Hopefully, Bathurst will be a lot more interesting.

Abbey Caldwell was very impressive in winning the 2km (used for Mixed Relay team selection). With about 400m to go she just blew by Jess Hull, smooth as butter. Thankfully there's no small print this time that'll prevent her taking her place on a Worlds team!

[El Toro]

The course for the World XC Selection Trials was very disappointing - it looked just like a typical NCAA course. Hopefully, Bathurst will be a lot more interesting.

Apart from the minimally detailed course video, I have still not seen any further information like detailed course elevation and obstacle distances. However, according to Athletics Australia, we (well "the media") might be soon able to see what the course holds and what athletes think of it:

Some of the members of the Australian team will now head to Bathurst to take their first look at the course. Media will be able to access both moving and still images from the visit.

Abbey Caldwell was very impressive in winning the 2km (used for Mixed Relay team selection). With about 400m to go she just blew by Jess Hull, smooth as butter. Thankfully there's no small print this time that'll prevent her taking her place on a Worlds team!

Sorry to tell you, but there are any number of outs for selectors to choose who they want on just about basis or change any selections that they do make.

Still, with such a high quality list of entrants, most of whom have performed successfully when given the opportunity, there's been no need to go down that path with initial selections named by AA:

https://www.athletics.com.au/news/first-athletes-named-on-australian-team-for-wxc/

[El Toro]

The Canberra Times had an article on Genevieve (LaCaze) Gregson (PB 9:14.28), ahead of her participation in the WXC selection trials. It cover her recovery from the major achilles injury during the Tokyo OG WSC final, subsequent additional surgery on her other achilles, motherhood, the end of steeplechasing and what the future might hold (marathon for the Paris OG?).

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8047339/the-saviour-why-gregson-is-dreaming-about-paris/

Quotes about the additional surgery:

It's the reason why I ruptured my right, the left has been a problem for five or six years. Going back down into surgery for that felt a little frustrating, because it was two steps forward, one step back.

and the result:

For the first time since 2016, Gregson can go for a jog, do a track session or a long, hilly run, and wake up the next morning without hobbling out of bed.

and how her approach to the sport has changed for the better:

Right up until Tokyo, running was everything. It determined my mood daily. A good run made me really, really happy. A bad run made me depressed. It was the pure indicator of how my life would unfold. Now, as a mum, the only thing that matters is my family and being a good mum, making sure Archer is happy, healthy and living a really good life. Running is always second to that now.

Sometimes my strength was my weakness, in going too far and pushing too hard and ultimately breaking my body.

[DET59]

Has Olympic decathlon medalist Ashley Moloney competed much in your outdoor summer season this year? Moloney, Ehammer, and Ayden Owens (and a few more) make for an exciting future in the decathlon.

[Vault-emort]

Has Olympic decathlon medalist Ashley Moloney competed much in your outdoor summer season this year?n

Ash competed in an event or two in club competition a week or three before Christmas. He was listed to compete in a couple of events in Brisbane yesterday (hurdles & 100m?) but was a DNS.

At least before X-mas he wasn't suffering from injury - just building back up/

[typpo]

Ash competed in an event or two in club competition a week or three before Christmas. He was listed to compete in a couple of events in Brisbane yesterday (hurdles & 100m?) but was a DNS.

At least before X-mas he wasn't suffering from injury - just building back up/

He actually ran the hurdles - 14.84 into a -2.7 wind.

In other multi-event news, Tori West cobbled together 5908 points at the ACT Combined Events over the weekend, including 53m+ in the javelin. Bodes well for the event domestically this season, with Crase and Newton-Smith having posted scores in the same ballpark over the last six months or so.

[AS]

Has Olympic decathlon medalist Ashley Moloney competed much in your outdoor summer season this year? Moloney, Ehammer, and Ayden Owens (and a few more) make for an exciting future in the decathlon.

Moloney is set to do 100m and DT in Adelaide in early Feb

https://www.athletics.com.au/news/moloney-browning-to-headline-adelaide-invitational/

[rhizobium]

Peter Bol tested positive for EPO

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-20/australian-olympian-peter-bol-fails-drug-test/101878094