Aussie Champs, Day 2

Friday, 29 February 2008

Against all odds Otis Gowa takes Australian 100m title

Otis Gowa celebrates winning the Australian Championships 100m final (Getty Images)

Brisbane, Australia - First he beat cancer and now in the biggest boilover in the 86 editions of the Australian Championships, little-known indigenous sprinter Otis Gowa shocked by winning a controversial 100m last night.

“I wanted to turn a few heads. But I’ve turned a lot of heads now,” Gowa said after upsetting the favourites including Patrick Johnson and Matt Shirvington, who protested after the final at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre in Brisbane.

Follow the dream

Late at night a jury of appeal upheld the referee’s decision to dismiss the protest and so Gowa is the new Australian champion although his time of 10.63 (headwind 1.7m/s) is the slowest winning mark in 29 years. He beat Sydney-based Jacob Groth (10.67), Isaac Ntiamoah (10.68) with Shirvington fourth (10.70) and Johnson last in 10.81

“I’m not sure how I’ll celebrate. It’s a bit unsure. But I don’t think there’s been a [upset] result like this before,” said Gowa, 24, who worked for the AFL coaching in Cape York before his boss, Rick Hanlon, told him to give athletics a try.

“He told me, ‘Go follow your dream. There’s always a home here if you want to come back but I’m hoping you don’t come back.’ I’m still a baby in terms of this sport.”

That he may be, but Gowa, one of a number of success stories in Athletics Australia’s government backed indigenous development programme called Jump Start to the 2012 London Olympics could well find himself making his Olympic debut in Beijing later this year in the Australian 4x100m relay.

Yet in early 2006 he had surgery for Hodgkinson’s disease, a lymphoma cancer, and was not cleared to resume sport until last March when he moved from Cairns to Brisbane to be coached by Darryl Wohlsen - a 200m finalist at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

“The hardest thing was getting him over the cancer treatment and back on the track, but he’s very talented,” Wohlsen said.

“His ambition all year has been to beat Matt Shirvington and after the semis tonight while waiting to run in the final he said he felt ‘We might be able to get him next year.’ I told him if you play your cards right you’ll get him tonight.”

Gowa said he was inspired by Aboriginal athletes including Atlanta Olympic 110m hurdles finalist Kyle Vander-Kuyp, former 100m champion Josh Ross and Sydney Olympic 400m champion Cathy Freeman. He was the Cathy Freeman encouragement award winner at a national indigenous sports ceremony last year.

Athletics Australia’s indigenous programme coordinator Sally McGrady said Gowa has medical checkups every three months but is able to train as hard as any elite sprinter.

She explained that Gowa was brought up by his mother who lives on Saba Island, one of 250 islands in the Torres Strait off North Queensland. ”She told him there was a dad out there and his dad contacted him,” McGrady explained. His father, from Ghana, now lives in Sydney.

Gowa’s victory could hardly have been predicted. Even his own coach rated him “100/1 to win the title” but fellow Queenslander Jarrod Bannister’s victory in the Javelin throw was on the cards even if a national record of 89.02m has launched him into Olympic medal contention.

89.02m national record for Bannister in men’s javelin

Befitting a potential Beijing medallist, Bannister’s series was consistent and of high quality with three Olympic A-qualifying marks and three more Olympic B-qualifiers.

The biggest throw came on his sixth and final attempt, erasing the national record set at 86.67m in 2001 by NSW’s Andrew Currey.

“I’ve been feeling in the last few months that there was a big throw there and for it to finally come out is just a relief,” said Bannister, 23, a 190cm and 98kg athlete who left Townsville in north Queensland to train with coach Gary Calvert in Melbourne. Calvert coached Petra Rivers, one of the greats of Australian women’s javelin throwing.

“I’ve been sort of injured the past month and I’ve been trying to deal with being injured and having a good feeling in my body that I could throw this long,” Bannister added. “I haven’t been able to do the training that I wanted to but there’s plenty more there in the tank to go so I’m definitely confident for later in this year.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s come together now. Eighty-nine metres won second place at the World champs and 90m won - it’s only a metre more. That can pretty much win any comp. I’ve got to get over there (to Europe) and shake them guys up I guess.”

American Mike Hazle was a distant second with 81.89m ahead of New Zealand’s Stuart Farquhar (78.92m) and Japan’s Ken Arai (76.41m) with all 10 finalists bettering 70m.

The Australian all-comers record is the 90.17m gold medal throw by triple Olympic champion Jan Zelezny at the Sydney 2000 Games.

Anlezark just 2cm better than Martin

Another big Queenslander, 130kg Justin Anlezark, extracted a measure of revenge beating Victorian Scott Martin who annexed Anlezark’s Australian Shot Put record only last week at the Melbourne Grand Prix.

Martin had spun the shot out to 21.27m for an Oceania Area Record, improving on Anlezark’s 20.96m set in 2003. But while Martin has had trouble with a chronic foot injury, Anlezark needed a steel pin inserted into a knuckle on a finger he injured at the Athens Olympics four years ago.

In winning his eighth national title last night, Anlezark bettered 20m for the first time since the last Olympics when he blasted the steel ball 20.21m to win by a mere 2cm - the first time two Australians have ever bettered 20 metres in the same competition.

“A throw of 20.21 would qualify you for an Olympic final and that would be top eight and it’s still six months to the Olympics and I can do a hell of a lot more in six months,” Anlezark, 30, declared.

In other performances, Tamsyn Lewis ran a personal best time of 51.44 to win the 400m from Fiji’s Makelesi Batimala (52.76) and New Zealand’s Monique Williams (52.86); the 1500m titles went to Veronique “Nikki” Molan (4:20.85) and Mitch Kealey (3:40.62).

And Tasmanian mother of two, Donna MacFarlane clinched Olympic selection by winning the 3000m steeplechase national title in 9:36.09 from resurgent former world record-holder Melissa Rollison (9:50.59)

Athletics Australia will provide a webcast of the final day’s action live on www.athletics.com.au from 6:30pm to 9pm Brisbane time.

Mike Hurst (Sydney Daily Telegraph) for the IAAF

I think we’ll find that Gowa’s coach has been a long-time member of this board. Congrats Darryl, that’s a major coaching achievement for which hopefully you’ll get recognition in your own backyard at last. We are proud of you! :slight_smile:

FROM THE SYDNEY MOURNING HERALD

Johnson, Shirvo lose appeal as Otis rules

Jessica Halloran
March 1, 2008

CHAOS marred the men’s 100m at the Olympic trials in Brisbane last night, with rookie sprinter Otis Gowa, a cancer survivor, beating two protests to win.

Veteran sprinter Patrick Johnson will have to find another way to Beijing after spectacularly stalling at the start of the event and finishing last in 10.81 seconds. Johnson ran 10.45 in the semi-final - well below Gowa’s 10.63 in the final.

It was the slowest 100m race at a national titles since 1979.

After the race Johnson and Matt Shirvington, who finished on the heels of Gowa in 10.70, lodged a protest against the result, claiming an unfair start. The protest was rejected by the referee and went to the jury of appeal, which also dismissed it.

The rising star from Cape York, whose mother is a Torres-Strait Islander and father a Ghanaian, was elated despite being well short of the Olympic qualifying A-standard of 10.21. Shirvington said to him before walking off to lodge a protest: “Whatever happens, you won it at the end of the day.”

Gowa in remission from Hodgkins lymphoma, which was diagnosed in 2006.

While Australia’s old sprinters struggled, everything was going right for Tamsyn Lewis last night.

Lewis qualified for Beijing by winning the 400m. Her time of 51.44 seconds was a personal best - it had been a long time coming, with her previous PB of 51.51 set in 2000.

Lewis, who lost her Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship in 2006 and faced enormous criticism off the track for her bikini-posing ways, last night said she’d proved all her critics wrong.

“I’ve always put my sport first, always, contrary to popular belief,” she said. “You don’t win a national title every year especially the four and eight without doing the training. If I wasn’t serious about it, I’d choose an event that wasn’t so hard. I hope they eat their words. You know, but it’s not about them, it’s about my boyfriend Graham, it’s about my mum and dad, it’s about my training group, my friends and family that actually stuck with me.”

Lewis said the dark times had made her stronger and clearly they have as she is in career best form. “There were dark times,” she said. “There were questions I’d never get it.”

She credited her coach and brother, Justin, who has coached her since 2004, as the reason why she is in such strong shape.

“I am over the moon,” she said. “Since 2000, for eight years I’ve been working my butt off getting into shape. It’s been such a long road - it’s nice to finally be able to call my boyfriend and say; ‘I got a PB’. It’s Justin. I’ve worked so hard every year since the Olympics in 2000 … I owe everything to my brother, he’s brilliant.”

But Lewis’ time on the Queensland Sports and Athletic Centre track is not over yet. She’s determined to take the 800m title tonight, and add that to her Olympic schedule, but she will face solid competition from Madeleine Pape. Lewis and Pape yesterday easily won through to the 800m final; Lewis qualified second fastest in 2:08.91, while Pape ran 2:10.68 in her heat.

Also rattling the stadium last night was Jarrod Bannister who set an Australian record in the javelin with a throw of 89.02 metres to secure his spot for Beijing. It would have been the fourth best throw in the world last year. The 23-year-old’s previous best was 83.70m.

“It’s nice to be on the plane,” Bannister said. “The biggest thing now is going to be mixing it with the big boys and shaking it up.”

A highlight of tonight’s events will be the clash between Commonwealth Games gold medallist John Steffensen and defending national champion Sean Wroe in the 400m. Up and coming sprinter Joel Milburn and Olympic relay silver medallist Mark Ormrod are also in the field.

Also last night, pole vaulter Steve Hooker managed to jump to 5.55m to claim the national title in blustery conditions.

Veronique Molan, in her debut appearance at a national championship, won the 1500m title.

THE HIGHLIGHTS

TODAY

Men’s 400m final 9.30pm: Australia’s depth in the men’s 400m will be on show as competitors chase individual and relay spots.

Women’s 800m 8.20pm: Nine-time Australian champion Tamsyn Lewis will need to hold off the challenge of Madeleine Pape.

Men’s long jump final 7.45pm: World junior champion Robert Crowther, world youth champion Chris Noffke, Australian champion Tim Parravicini, and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Fabrice Lapierre all hit the pit.

All Sydney times.

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That was a shock! Good on Gowa, but my money was on Patrick, so I wonder what made him think it was a false start??

Did anyone see the Jav results? Holy Sh!t. 15th largest all time?!?!?! WOW!

Mind blowing throw!! You new it was big the instant it can out of his hand!

Yep, hit that baby like nothing else.

From my biased view it was the performance of the championships.

Bannister’s throw was definately the highlight of AUST Champs.

Gowa a superb run.

My thoughts. Gowa had a chance of a medal after the semi runs (had a bad mid section and still came thru for a much needed 2nd place).

Final …

Shirvo false starts
PJ 2nd time round always has a bad start
Gowa gets a great start compared to all season
Has a strong middle section of the race.
(last 30m has been a strength all season) Gowa was within striking distance with 30m to go and as I was shouting the house down for him…Go GOWA…Go GOWA…He has WON… Unbelievable

Go you good thing.

Thanks KITKAT for the article!:stuck_out_tongue: