Aaron Stubbs

[white lightning]

This kid deserves his own thread after winning the Stallwell Gift in Australia. $40,000 dollars and a big smile on his face. Not bad for a days work. His idol is Matt Shirvington and this kid is only 18 years of age! The future should be bright. He will now run track fulltime. Here is a quick article on him.

[url]http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25329902-1108 8,00.html[/url]

 

[mastermulti]

PS. his official time was an even better 11.87,

the Stawell Gift weekend is always on at Easter time when we masters
athletes have our own nationals.

Going through the results I see many masters guys (whom I have
competed against ) who appear occasionally at our state or national titles.

When you see the vast crowds and energy at Stawell it has made me want
to train for it next year.
Sure, I'll be 57 but they give good handicaps to we old guys. I'd probably
be given 13.5 metres or so for the 70m race so if my form lets me run
7.50e for 56.5 metres I'd be in the hunt.
That's the beauty of this type of racing. A 57 year old can't expect to beat
or match it with a 25 year old on equal terms.... the secret is to have a
good handicap system because then whoever runs up to or beyond his
form on the day can win. A good handicapper will have all runners finish
near even if they run to form...a lot of funEdited by: mastermulti

 

[white lightning]

If you decide to next year, good luck mate. I hope you go for it. Why not? Nothing to lose and alot to gain if you run your best.

Can you tell me any more info on Aaron Stubbs? I know his dad was a sprinter and he finished 2nd in the Gift Race years ago. So he has good genetics.

What are his times in the 100 or 200 on a track? Does he have any track experience outside of the beach running comp? He said he wants to compete in the 200 in the 2012 Olympics. Will he also run the 100? Thanks for any help. I want to follow this kid.

 

[StarWars]

Me too Mastermulti. I would guess he runs anywhere from a mid 10.2 to mid 10.4, but some real time would be great. Also he has improved a lot lately the articles imply. I hope he follows in Shirvo's footsteps.Edited by: StarWars

 

[greyghost]

yep its gotta be atelltale sign ie him winning ,he has ambition with his talent so letskeep an eye on him,by the way multimaster iam a vet too just a little younger ie the right side of forty

ie still 20yrs younger,

but busy coaching some white talent

 

[white lightning]

This kid was inspired by Shirvo. Gee, I wonder why no white kids in America can find a role model? We need some Shirvo types in the states but because of the stereotypes that almost everyone belives, I would probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than to see a white professional 100/200 meter US Sprinter. They just don't want one there!

Maybe more kids from the US should come to England, Australia and Europe to run. They would be more than welcome here and think how funny it would be if they eventually beat their american competitors.Edited by: white lightning

 

[mastermulti]

Ok fellas, I promise I'll keep my eyes open and report whenever I can any news on Aaron.
It would be fantastic if Shirvo took him under his wing, so to speak.

His dad is a self-confessed "draught horse" of a runner but you can bet it was he who took Aaron to see Matt when he was 10 and hence planted the seed to run. If he has better talent than dad but inherits his work ethic the future looks really rosey.

I don't think ha has raced on synthetic tracks yet since he loves beach sprinting, but I bet that'll change immediately.

BTW the handicap racing that we have here ensures we have good runners near their 50s who still manage 11.6e or so and get even better as the race distances get longer because they are toughened up by this sort of running.
The masters World Champs are in Sydney later this year and will be well worth watching. My age group has the great American Bill Collins who still runs this sort of time at 58.

 

[white lightning]

You guys need to read this article.How he won this race is something out of a book or movie. These things don't usually happen in everyday life. Here is the link to the story about him wearing Shirvingtons shoes.

[url]http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/shirvos-sixyearold-gift- makes-stubbs-a-shoein-for-gift-glory/2009/04/13/123947481571 7.html[/url]Edited by: white lightning

 

[white lightning]

We need an update mastermulti. When is Stubbs going to step on the track. I imagine it won't be until next year but I would love to see him run in some small meets in Europe this summer. Keep us posted on Stubbs.

Also please let us know about the other guys like Serrett, Woods, Ambler, etc. Thanks to the man down under.

 

[white lightning]

Aaron Stubbs says he wants to eventually race Usain Bolt. He may sound crazy but I have to admit that I like the confidence and swagger of the kid. I would be happy if he can just become a world class aussie sprinter. They are struggling for the last several years. Everyone longs for Shirvo but he is long retired. Maybe this kid will be one of the youngsters to rise up. I wish him the best of luck. Here is the article.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/01/20/180315_gold-coast-sport.htmlEdited by: white lightning

 

[spectator]

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Stubbs to race Bolt, I doubt that will ever happen.

Winning Stawell doesn't necessarily mean you are a fast runner, unless you do it from scratch like Ross did a couple of years ago, it is generally those that have hidden their true form to obtain a good handicap that win.

Most times a track athlete has tried to wim stawell, they are placed as the backmarkers with very little handicap, because their times are usually based on them trying to make a national team rather than disguising them from the handicappers.

Stubbs ran in Canberra on the weekend, he placed second in the C race with a time of 10.97 into a -1.8 headwind.

 

[white lightning]

I saw the result too. He has a huge mountain to climb to even get into the 10.20's range but I like his confidence. The guys from Australia that I'm keeping an eye on are Adam Miller, David Ambler, Adam Rouge Serret, and Matt Davies. Out of these guys, I would say that Davies might be the most talented but Ambler has the best upside still. He hasn't even scratched the surface of what he is capable of.

Joshua Ross still has a few good years left as well if he keeps his head on straight.

I still miss Matt Shirvington. He was a beast!Edited by: white lightning

 

[spectator]

I saw the result too. He has a huge mountain to climb to even get into the 10.20's range but I like his confidence. The guys from Australia that I'm keeping an eye on are Adam Miller, David Ambler, Adam Rouge Serret, and Matt Davies. Out of these guys, I would say that Davies might be the most talented but Ambler has the best upside still. He hasn't even scratched the surface of what he is capable of.

Joshua Ross still has a few good years left as well if he keeps his head on straight.

I still miss Matt Shirvington. He was a beast!

Adam Miller and Josh Ross have retired, and David Ambler is a Kiwi (Thats like calling an American a Canadian and vice versa)

 

[white lightning]

I wasn't aware that they retired. Thanks for the update. I knew Ambler was from New Zealand but I threw him in there anyway. My bad. Do you lieve down there? We need a few guys to keep us up to date with the latest track news down there. Are there some other guys to keep an eye on as well from Australia? I still can't belive that P.Johnson is still running. He is way past his prime.

 

[spectator]

PJ is awesome, however it is sad to say that someone who turns 38 this year is our fastest runner half way through our current season.

WL I live in Sydney, but drove down to Canberra on the weekend for the Australia Cup, it was quite windy so no really good sprinting times to speak of. This coming weekend there is a meet in Queensland, we'll see what comes from that.

Our problem in Australia is that our athletes have to peak multiple times a year, they must compete in our domestic competition to be selected in an Australian team, Nationals is around March to April, then they need to peak again for whatever major championship is happening that year which is normally between August and October, then they have to start all over again for the next season, which begins in late October.

And people wonder why we burn out our athletes. There is very little funding available, so most athletes hold down a full time job as well.

I think we do rather well internationally all things considered.

 

[white lightning]

Yes that is true but South Africa, Jamaica and a few other places have their summer right now too. Maybe Australia should just have indoor meets in the summer with an occasional outdoor meet. Or have the guys that are not in olympic development run in the outdoor meets. Then you can save your sprinters for Europe and the Big Championships. Just an idea. Peaking twice is virtually impossible. What a waste of great talent.