AA narrows the field
By Mike Hurst
June 24, 2009 12:00am
ATHLETICS Australia’s new head coach Eric Hollingsworth is set to put a lot of noses out of joint with his strategic national plan to support only a handful of targeted events.
Walks (20km and 50km), relays (4x400m and 4x100m), pole vault and men’s long jump have been identified as the best bets for sustained Australian success on the world stage and will receive the lion’s share of funding in future.
“It’s not just about getting more bang for your dollar, it’s where I see we’ll be successful, where I see we can produce a result,” Hollingsworth told The Daily Telegraph.
"What we’ve done in the past is we’ve named something a ‘target event’ but we didn’t put any resources into it and therefore it’s doomed to failure.
"If you make a statement that something is a target area then your whole structure has to reflect that.
"That includes dollars as well. That means people have to buy into that and support that system right across the board including athletes and coaches.
"And if they don’t then they’re outside of the bargain. I mean, were not going to disperse money from a targeting area to somewhere where we don’t believe success is going to come. If you’re asking me is there going to be more money for relay runners than there is for marathon runners, the answer is yes.
"There was a time when the marathon was among our most productive events, when we had athletes like Rob de Castella, Lisa Ondieki and Steve Moneghetti winning Olympic and world championship medals.
“Give me Lisa and Deek and I’ll change the target strategy,” Hollingsworth said. “We’ve based it (the strategy) also on the quality of the product we have in particular areas.”
AA will continue to support individuals like world 400m hurdles champion Jana Rawlinson, but probably not new national champion Tamsyn Lewis.
What about the men’s 1500m, which is moving at last with young men like Jeremy Roff, Jeff Riseley and Ryan Gregson?
“Well, I do have some middle distance incorporated (into the system), which I essentially can’t get the money for,” Hollingsworth confessed yesterday.
“The major problem is we’re betwixt and between. We’ve had four years of a national distance program to produce one finalist in Beijing (Sydney’s primarily independent Youcef Abdi in the steeplechase) as opposed to some future talent.”
Australian Sports Commission heavies - including the new CEO Matt Miller - are set to meet at AA’s headquarters in Melbourne tomorrow to sign off on the Hollingsworth plan.
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What a diablolical statement about marathon runners, and an insult to the talent I know is clearly out there and ready to develop quickly. To reference past marathon heroes against todays talent inferring that they don’t have what it takes to be champions is completely incorrect and lacking in any clear knowledge of marathon talent in this country. If it means I shall need to set up a company to grow and support that talent over the next decade and see it flourish, I will do exactly that. Verity Tolhurst.
Posted by: Verity Tolhurst of Sydney 10:47am today