Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

[El Toro]

A new year and some news from the Canberra Times.

Former hurdler, Jana Pittman, makes the Olympic bobsled team and becomes the first Australian woman and second Australian to compete in summer and winter OGs. The first Australian, Paul Narracott, doesn't look depressed at all (dentist joke!) and has some positive things to say:
Paul Narracott back Jana Pittman's bobsled efforts

Australia's best short sprinter of recent years, Melissa Breen, has overcome a woeful 2013 with a quick 11.32 1.0m/s opener while still in heavy training. Mel Breen aims to beat MGTs 100m record

Athletics wins out over another sport for a change! Former netballer Kelsey Lee Roberts hits a javelin A qualifier early on with a new PB of 60.12 and aims for 65m. Roberts moves closer to Australian selection

[26mi235]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

Is she actually better as a sprinter than Sally?

[Athleticsimaging]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

Is she actually better as a sprinter than Sally?

Well it, according to a former USA president, it depends how you define "better", "sprinter", "as" and "Sally" :P

Melissa is 4 years younger than Sally and Sally is only a part-time sprinter, which makes it difficult to compare like for like. However, Melissa is around equal and improving in top 10 annual times:
9/10 top 100m times in 2013
5/10 top 100m times in 2012
4/10 top 100m times in 2011

In addition, Melissa has had injury and other problems that superficially appear to have been worse than Sally's over the last couple of years but who can accurately compare?

In relation to the Athletics Australia all-time Australian list, I have wind/altitude corrected the times under 11.40 and Melissa is only 3/100ths behind Sally and ahead of every previous Australian record holder:
Corrected/Actual/Athlete
11.24/11.28 Lauren Hewitt
11.24/11.14 Sally Pearson
11.26/11.29 Tanya van Heer
11.27/11.25 Melissa Breen
11.28/11.12 Melinda Gainsford-Taylor
11.28/11.26 Nova Peris
11.29/11.19 Kerry Johnson
11.31/11.24 Catherine Freeman
11.33/11.20 Raelene Boyle
11.33/11.24 Colleen Pekin

All in all, she has been as good as Sally the hurdler but as to Sally the fantasy non-hurdler, she would probably be 2nd in the last decade but that's not too bad...for Australia.

[AS]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

On the more political side of the Australian aths scene, here's a surprisingly frank (and bitter?) interview with Jarrod Bannister's ex-coach about some of the machinations around Bannister's coaching setup. It's pretty condemining of AA's attitude/actions:

http://www.runnerstribe.com/coverage/25 ... nnister-go

Doesn't touch upon Bannister's subsequent testing dramas however

[Speedster]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

Is she actually better as a sprinter than Sally?

Well it, according to a former USA president, it depends how you define "better", "sprinter", "as" and "Sally" :P

Melissa is 4 years younger than Sally and Sally is only a part-time sprinter, which makes it difficult to compare like for like. However, Melissa is around equal and improving in top 10 annual times:
9/10 top 100m times in 2013
5/10 top 100m times in 2012
4/10 top 100m times in 2011

In addition, Melissa has had injury and other problems that superficially appear to have been worse than Sally's over the last couple of years but who can accurately compare?

In relation to the Athletics Australia all-time Australian list, I have wind/altitude corrected the times under 11.40 and Melissa is only 3/100ths behind Sally and ahead of every previous Australian record holder:
Corrected/Actual/Athlete
11.24/11.28 Lauren Hewitt
11.24/11.14 Sally Pearson
11.26/11.29 Tanya van Heer
11.27/11.25 Melissa Breen
11.28/11.12 Melinda Gainsford-Taylor
11.28/11.26 Nova Peris
11.29/11.19 Kerry Johnson
11.31/11.24 Catherine Freeman
11.33/11.20 Raelene Boyle
11.33/11.24 Colleen Pekin

All in all, she has been as good as Sally the hurdler but as to Sally the fantasy non-hurdler, she would probably be 2nd in the last decade but that's not too bad...for Australia.

Interesting post leading into what could be a great race. Pearson is supremely confident, even when she's in average shape, like last year, Breen just has to believe she can win and hold her form, which continues to improve, she looks a different athlete to the one a few years ago.

As an aside if you used MGT's second best time, her 11.16 (0.4) in Hechtel in 1997 she would have 11.18 as her adjusted time. I reckon a healthy 1997 or 2000 edition of MGT would take Pearson or Breen.

[El Toro]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

As an aside if you used MGT's second best time, her 11.16 (0.4) in Hechtel in 1997 she would have 11.18 as her adjusted time. I reckon a healthy 1997 or 2000 edition of MGT would take Pearson or Breen.

Yeah, I was too lazy to go beyond the AA all-time performers list and just hoped I wouldn't get caught out.:evil: So, thanks for that maaate. :P .

I agree that MGT would likely take both over 100 and guaranteed to over 200 but that would still be against Sally the hurdler. The jury is still out on what Sally the non-hurdler would have achieved as a pure sprinter. I'm also keen on seeing what, if any, difference the new coaching arrangements make.

[Dave]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

Did Steve hooker retire?

[Speedster]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

As an aside if you used MGT's second best time, her 11.16 (0.4) in Hechtel in 1997 she would have 11.18 as her adjusted time. I reckon a healthy 1997 or 2000 edition of MGT would take Pearson or Breen.

Yeah, I was too lazy to go beyond the AA all-time performers list and just hoped I wouldn't get caught out.:evil: So, thanks for that maaate. :P .

I agree that MGT would likely take both over 100 and guaranteed to over 200 but that would still be against Sally the hurdler. The jury is still out on what Sally the non-hurdler would have achieved as a pure sprinter. I'm also keen on seeing what, if any, difference the new coaching arrangements make.

Sorry mate! MGT is our best 100m athlete! Competition leads to better times so I hope that Breen and Pearson push each other to better times like Freeman and later Hewitt did for MGT. Pearson, Breen and MGT in the same era could have pushed the AR into the 11.0s.

Ella Nelson ran a 23.37 today and Breen a solo 23.60 so there could be others in contention.

Sally's performance under her new coach will be interesting to see. I keep having Jeremy Wariner in the back of my mind and the drop of performance and gradual decline ever since he left and went back to Hart.

[Athleticsimaging]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

Steeplechaser, Victoria Mitchell, gets a mention in this article about crowdsourcing funds. She is trying to get to Rio 2016. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3933665.htm

Victoria is third on the Australian all-time list with a 9:30.84 from 2006, behind Donna McFarlane (9.18.35) and Melissa Rollison (9.24.29)

[mal]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

Raelene Boyle was better than all of them.

If she hadn't have blown it with the false start, she'd have an OZ 200 m record that would still be standing.

[AS]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

There might have been an Aussie indoor record broken over the weekend.

Steve Solomon ran 1:01.44 for 500m in his individual indoor debut for Stanford.

Given how rarely this distance is ever run, I can't think who might have previously held the record

[AS]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

And back on the Breen-Pearson rivalry, I just saw a tweet indicating the two shall clash over 100m this coming weekend at the ACT Champs. Weekend is forecast to be mid-30s (celsius), so with a little altitude this might be the best spot to see some fast times.

Quote from Breen's coach on head-to-head: "Career head to head is an amazing 29-0 @sallyp100h over @Melissa_Breen so odds in Sally favour. Closest Mel got is 0.01 in 2010"

[norunner]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

And back on the Breen-Pearson rivalry, I just saw a tweet indicating the two shall clash over 100m this coming weekend at the ACT Champs. Weekend is forecast to be mid-30s (celsius), so with a little altitude this might be the best spot to see some fast times.

Quote from Breen's coach on head-to-head: "Career head to head is an amazing 29-0 @sallyp100h over @Melissa_Breen so odds in Sally favour. Closest Mel got is 0.01 in 2010"

29-0...what a coincidence. 8-)

[Athleticsimaging]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

And back on the Breen-Pearson rivalry, I just saw a tweet indicating the two shall clash over 100m this coming weekend at the ACT Champs.

@#$%^&! Now I might have to go out to the track and endure supreme boredom interrupted by 11s of excitement. Does anybody want me to take some photos?

[Athleticsimaging]

Re: Australian Results, News and Views - 2014

Raelene Boyle was better than all of them.

If she hadn't have blown it with the false start, she'd have an OZ 200 m record that would still be standing.

Coulda, shoulda, didn't! False start, that is. Biggest bit of bullshit I can remember from '76 OG.

Still, as much as I adore Raelene, I have a soft spot for Betty as best ever. I'd love to see her grow up now....and probably trade Little As for nightclubbing. :evil: