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Commonwealth Games steeplechase representatives Donna McFarlane and Martin Dent have scored impressive wins in Athletics Australia’s world cross country selection trial in Canberra today.
In sweltering conditions over a two kilometre loop course at Weston Park, the hard, rugged and uneven nature of the terrain played into the hands of MacFarlane and Dent, who is now an automatic selection for the championships, in Mombassa, Kenya, in March, after reaching the track qualifying time at the Telstra Zatopek in December.
MacFarlane is an almost certain selection, only needing to reach the qualifying standard on the track (10:00.00 for the 3000m steeplechase) over the next few weeks to ensure her selection. She will get her first chance at the Graeme Briggs Memorial meet in Hobart on Friday 9 February.
Anna Thompson, who won the 2006 Telstra Australian Cross Country Championships in Hobart, will be an automatic selection if she reaches the track qualifying times by 20th February. Lee Troop, who won the men’s national title, has informed Athletics Australia that he is unavailable for selection as he plans to focus on the marathon in 2007.
Tasmanian MacFarlane showed her experience by running at consistent pace which saw the other athletes gradually lose contact with the lead pack over the course of the 6km event. By the start of the final two kilometre loop it was only South Australia’s Kristy Villis who was still in touch. Soon after that point MacFarlane pulled away for a comfortable victory in a time of 20:22. In second was a fast finishing Victorian Lisa Jane Weightman (20:31), with Villis (20:43) holding on for third place.
The lead pack in the men’s race set a relentless pace, with the field strung out into single file after the first of four two kilometre loops. By halfway only three athletes were in contention for the victory – the ACT’s Martin Dent and Michael Shelley and Victorian Collis Birmingham. With two kilometres to go Birmingham had been dropped and Dent put in a surge to open up a small gap of five metres on Shelley. Dent showed his superior strength over the final portion of the race to storm away to a nine second victory in 23:42. Shelley was second in 23:51 while Birmingham ran on gamely to finish third in 24:11.
In the junior events the New South Wales pair of Lexy Gilmour and Ben Guest took out their events. Gilmour pulled away decisively over the last lap of her race to take victory in the 6km event in a time of 21:12 ahead of Rachel Green and Lara Tamsett, while Guest made up a 30m deficit over the final kilometre to claim line honours ahead of Victoria’s Chris Hamer and Ben Ashkettle in the junior men’s 8km race.
Guest’s selection in no automatic, whilst Gilmour will join her senior colleagues in chase of the respective qualifying times
The first and second placegetters in the open men’s and open women’s, and first place getters in the junior men and women’s selection trail races will be automatically selected for the Australian team to compete in Mombassa, providing they meet the qualifying standard stated in the Selection Policy. The remaining positions on the Australian team will be up to the selector’s discretion.
Unlike previous years at the IAAF World Cross Country, there will be no short courses for the open men and women. The race distances to be contested at the IAAF World Cross Country are 12km for open men, 8km for open women, 8km for junior men and 6km for junior women. Further details can be found at http://www.iaaf.org/WXC07/index.html |
