February 2006 | 9.04pm
Day One - Victorian Championships: Jana Pittman in full flight during the first heat of th 400m hurdles
Day One Wrap
By David Culbert at the MCG
Jana Pittman returned to action with a convincing display in the heats of the 400m hurdles, Eloise Wellings smashed her personal best in the 5000m, sprinter Adam Basil won the first race on the MCG for 50 years, and hundreds of grass-roots athletes had the experience of a lifetime at the Victorian Athletics Championships at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Pittman made her first appearance at the MCG in the heats of the 400m hurdles, returning to her pet event to win comfortably in 54.82 seconds, just .01 outside the time she set at the Telstra A-series in Canberra last month.
The reigning Commonwealth Champion described the revamped MCG as very similar to the Stade de France – the site of her 2003 World Championships victory in Paris. Pitman said she was confident she has recovered from the health issues that caused her final 100m fade-out in the 400m final of the national titles in Sydney, an assertion supported by her performance.
“I didn’t have any kick in my legs in Canberra or Sydney but today I had to hold it back – it’s the old me - I’ve been praying for it to arrive”.
“I’m ecstatic; it was quite an easy run. It was quite windy out there to pop out a time like that. I finished off with no problem – I wasn’t tired, I was fatigued. I felt tall, open and strong and that’s a great spot to be this close to the Games.”
“The track is quite quick, there are nice big bends which are really good for hurdling, it feels really similar to the stadium in Paris where I won the World Championships. It has a similar outlook. On the bends you are really close to the crowd, like it was in Paris,” Pittman said.
The first gold medal of the championships went to an athlete born on the same day as Pitman – 9 November 1982. NSW’s Eloise Welling’s produced a stunning 12 second personal best, leaping from 11th to fifth on the Australian all-time list with 15:16.60. The 2003 World University Games champion is back in business following a stress fracture in her back eight months ago.
“My race plan was to run as fast as I could for 5km. It scared me as I knew it would hurt. But I’m so pumped, it hurt so much, but I just gritted my teeth. I missed out on Sydney so I’ve been looking forward to this for five years.”
Earlier in the day, Olympic and world championships relay finalist Adam Basil created a little slice of history by taking victory in the first serious athletics race at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for fifty years.
The 31-year-old from Essendon Athletics Club sped down the straight of Australia’s most famous sporting venue to win the opening heat of the 100m in 10.58 seconds, into a negligible -0.3mps head wind.
Importantly, for those who follow the sport closely, it was the only head breeze in 19 heats, with the following wind varying up to +3.3, with the majority of heats run under the maximum of +2.0mps, a rare commodity at athletics venues in Australia.
165 athletes faced the starter’s gun in the 19 heats, which took over 90 minutes to complete. At the completion of the sprint-fest, Basil’s time remained the fastest.
Basil, who was a member of the Australian team that finished 6th in the 4x100m relay at the Athens Olympic Games, and was recently upgraded to the 4x100m bronze medal at the 2001 World championships following the disqualification of Tim Montgomery, said he was thrilled to be running at the MCG and the highlight was the looks on the faces of his fellow competitors.
“It’s good for grass roots athletics. To see kids in the warm-up area at the call room so excited. I’ve been fortunate to compete in some big stadiums and to see a kid in front of me, who was about 16, when he walked out and the look on his face, it was just amazing for people like that, something they’ll remember and take to their grave”.
“This is a great stadium. I’ve been here a lot for the footy and cricket and my first love which is soccer, but to run here is a special experience”.
“The guys have done a fantastic job to lay the track and the guys will run some fast times in the 100m at the Games. The track is fast and it will only get faster with more sun on it.”
The oldest runner in the 100m was 55-year-old Stephen Baird from Stawell, who clocked a personal best of 12.77.
“It was over that quick, but it was a magic feeling, a once in a lifetime feeling. Normally the qualifying time for these titles is out of my league but they’ve allowed more people to experience the facilities and I got my chance. It was an amazing experience”, Baird said.
The youngest was 15 year-old Thomas Mendico from Basil’s Athletics Essendon, who sped to a wind-assisted 12.17. Displaying tender age, Tomas said “It was a big buzz, excellent, it was a great atmosphere”.
It was expected that the 100m runners would challenge the track record of 10.47 seconds, held by American Bobby Morrow in the opening round of the 100m at the 1956 Olympic Games. However the track record will remain, at least for now.
Of the Australian Commonwealth Games team, Stuart Rendell set the first stadium record, with a 70.18m effort in the hammer qualifying, erasing 1956 Olympic Champion Hal Connolly’s 63.19m effort in Melbourne 50 years ago.
Kym Howe and Vicky Parnov qualified easily for the final of the women’s vault, clearing 4.00m. Howe was confident she was over the shoulder complaint that kept her out of the National titles.
Jamaican world championships semi-finalist Kemel Thompson looked impressive in winning his heat of the 400m hurdles in 50.22 seconds.
The Victorian Championships continue tonight, Saturday and Sunday, with the majority of the Australian Team for the Commonwealth Games and the 81 athletes from 14 countries lining up in tomorrow night’s Athletics Australia Invitational commencing at 6.30pm.
WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH:
Athletics Australian Invitational
Melbourne Cricket Ground – 6.30pm Saturday 18 February 2006
Tickets to the Athletics Australia Invitational are priced at just $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for children.