season starts down under

[white lightning]

What a jump by Watt! His 2nd longest of his career and it's early in the season. Great double win by Pearson too.
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=de&u=http://www.leichtathletik.de/index.php%3FNavID%3D1%26SiteID%3D28%26NewsID%3D31874&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgerman%2Bathletics%26hl%3Den&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhjS9NRqIABV6rqEYT-p2tGRX5SFbQEdited by: white lightning

 

[mastermulti]

11.21 still wind is a really good time outside of a major champs. Here's the race

11.21

ditto Mitch. It'd be great to have two over 8.50 this year

 

[trackster]

Wet track, too. Really bad conditions.

In the same meet, an interesting result for the 17 yr-old kid, Solomon, in the 400. 3rd, but ran a 46.25, I think, and it was after a week of flu. Given the combination of wind, rain, and flu, that's a great time. Heck, it's an excellent time for a 17 yr-old under any conditions.

 

[mastermulti]

in Perth last night Sally did an 11.20 (+0.5) for her second fastest ever and quickest on home soil and Aaron a 20.87 200m. Tonight they will run again (it's a 2 night meet), reversing the distances.

Not much depth here at present in the sprints but these two are going OK, Sally particularly. If conditions are good tonight look for the first sub 23 for Sally in the deuce and a high 10.20s for Aaron

 

[trackster]

They've set the field for the Stawell Gift (where various runners are started at staggered points according to their times), and a woman, Melissa Breen, is in the field this year. I'm not sure if that's new, but I am sure that she is beyond hot. Gender solidarity be damned, I'll be pulling for her with my tongue hanging out. A photo of Ms. Breen:

http://apix.photoshelter.com/image/I0000fxwko.irK7k

Hang on. Another photo of her:
http://apix.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Melissa-Breen-swimsuit/G0000IYIlR6Z5WPs/I0000hI.CnUwxSgg/P0000fP_HusLSgPI

I think I'd have to pull for her even if LeMaitre were in the field.

 

[mastermulti]

love muscular women (if the muscles are there for a purpose)...... poor Mel's legs are a little short to be a top notch sprinter I fear. Very long torso.
She is young so may improve but her PB is now two years ago

 

[trackster]

And today it looks like Melissa will be taking on the equally luscious Laura Whaler (we were all salivating over her breathtaking beauty a few months ago) in the Australian championships. What kind of country produces women that look like that and run that fast?

Anyway, keep us abreast on the championships, Mastermulti. Australia has some especially promising youngsters (Rowe-800, Solomon--400, Hough--200 and hurdles). I'm not sure if they'll be competing v. the seniors, but I'm always interested in their progress.

 

[jacknyc]

Steve Solomon the 17 yr old mentioned above, won the Aussie championship in 45.58.
He could be the next Jeremy Wariner.
Sally Pearson won the 100m, 200m, and 110m hurdles.
and Mitchell Watt jumped 8.44 to win the LJ.
I believe that's 27ft, 8-1/4 inches. A very long jump!

 

[white is right]

Multi has the Australian Sports Institute backed off their claim that no Australian male can ever become a world class short sprinter again? With the success of Lemaitre you would think that scouting would be restored for potential Aussie Lemaitre?

 

[trackster]

I hope some of these races will soon be available online. Steve Solomon--wow! In my mind, he's the story. Even after a couple of days of heats, he corks off a 45.58--at the age of 17. This now officially puts him way, way ahead of our two young US stalwarts, Brady Gehret (Penn State) and Neil Braddy (Arkansas). Solomon could make the Olympic finals as an 18-yr-old if he continues to improve.

I believe that Australia's two other young wonders, Hough and Alex Rowe, did not participate in the seniors, although they probably could have done well.

Props to Jeff Riseley, who just keeps winning in the 1500. 3:39 is an okay time.

Tamsyn Lewis--yet another glamorous and hella-hot Aussie female runner (just Google her, you'll see)--won both the 400 and 800. There's a recent article out in which she expresses her hope that she might get one last shot (now age 33) at a World/Olympic medal after years of competing against drug cheats (and natural cheat Caster Semenya).

The short sprint times were not especially promising. Australia is at a low ebb in those events. Rouge-Serret is the best, but he is nowhere near world class caliber.

 

[mastermulti]

I don't know what their current stance is re: sprint development but there's not much happening. The fastest guys still do one code of football or another. Team sports seem to be the thing.

Here's an article on our best sprinter but he has a ways to go before being mentioned in the same breath as Shirvo,Johnston or Josh Ross.
I wish him well though.

Aaron

 

[mastermulti]

Steven Solomon's time puts him at number two Aussie junior ever. He still has 13 months to go for Darren Clark's 44.75... a tough act to follow

 

[mastermulti]

here is that 400 race. Looks like we may have a good relay team for September

Solomon 45.58

 

[mastermulti]

Aaron Rouge-Serrett wins the 100. Nice and smooth, and not bad after missing 6 weeks training, He also may be very good by September.

mens 100




In fact here's the link for all the races in the Aussie champs last week



Aust. championships races

 

[trackster]

Thanks for the videos. Solomon is a burgeoning superstar. You never know how these young prodigies will develop, but right now it looks like the sky is the limit for him.

 

[mastermulti]

he certainly looks the goods and I really like his running style. It looks efficient to me and unlikely to result in too many injuries.

Speaking frankly though (and we've touched on this before regarding the difference between the success of black and white athletes)I wonder how long he'll give to the sport.

This is the situation: he is obviously an intelligent son of wealthy Jewish parents in a private school that would cost them up to $30,000 annually in the part of Sydney where houses cost $5-$20 million. His parents will have high expectations of him. He will probably go to uni to be a doctor or suchlike and find the workload precludes training at optimum level to be elite.
In the past this has been the case for many top Aussie athletes as with, no doubt, white Americans too. I just don't see how it can pan out terribly well.

Meanwhile let's see what he can do. At this point he's a half second behind the world all-time best for a 17 year old and has Darren Clark's 45.05 to shoot for at 18.

 

[jacknyc]

There was another very promising, young Aussie 400m runner a few years back, who gave it up. But I think that was to focus on rugby or Aussie football.
Do you remember who that was?

 

[mastermulti]

Darren Clark went to rugby league in 1992 before coming back and winning the world indoor in 1993. He would be the most famous name.

I'm sure other great 400m talents have dabbled in rugby too but without much success

 

[jacknyc]

I was thinking of Kurt Mulcahy, who ran a 45.84 as a 19yr old in 2009.
He quit the sport to go into rugby.
There was also Dylan Grant, who ran 45.69 in 2008, also a 19yr old. I don't know what happened to him?

And where is Joel Milburn?

 

[mastermulti]

Ah yes, I wondered about Kurt......probably offered a sh#tload of incentive to play rugby, first "league" with the Sydney Roosters but now Rugby Union. What a shame. With 45.84 at 19 you'd think he want to give it a go for a few more years to see how he progresses.But I guess a few hundred grand a year at 19/20 is too good to offer up.

Word in track circles is that Joel has "issues" that surface from time to time.

Dylan Grant Here's link to say he's back running in 2011 after 2 years off. Can't discover why though.

Dylan mentioned in 400m

 

[trackster]

On Solomon and Australia's chances v. the US in a 4 by 4:
http://www.theage.com.au/sport/solomon-stunner-a-win-for-australian-relay-20110424-1dt38.html

 

[mastermulti]

good one Trackster... never saw that article.

I think realistically we can have a sub 3.00 team. That would be great and world class.
As is often the case the Australians will be tough and punch above their weight but the depth and strength of the U.S. team is too great to challenge really... their track culture especially in the quarter mile plus a population of Australia x 14 will always rule.

 

[mastermulti]

here's some between season "down-under" news. While our athletes as usual struggle to peak at the wrong time of our year there were some good results in a low key meet in Queensland yesterday.

Sally Pearson ran an out of season "messy" hurdles in 12.74 and 100m in 11.35 (+0.6)

Mitchell Watt ran 10.31(+1.0)as did Matt Davies (if we can have 4 relay guys running under 10.30 they may go well in Daegu). If our long jumper can run 10.30 he could look beyond 8.50m for his jump.

 

[mastermulti]

Pearson a 7.16 huge PB last weekend.. That's really a monster improvement for an already quick starter.
She ran out of season 11.21 too. Melissa Breen 11.40.
Sally's coach thinks if all goes well she can start her hurdles season in Lausanne this week with a 12.50e


Sally's 60Edited by: mastermulti

 

[trackster]

That's some "winter" you Aussies have. All the women wearing tiny two-piece running uniforms outdoors. The only concession to the season is that the sprinters inexplicably run 60 rather than 100.

Lucky!