December 02, 2006 AUSTRALIA’S fastest man Patrick Johnson made a flying start to the new athletics season, winning the sprint treble against a quality field at the Ron Clarke Classic.
Johnson, 34, who was disappointed to narrowly miss a medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games when he was fourth in a slow 200m, looked in good shape in the opening event of the Australian season at Goldsworthy Reserve in Geelong.
He started the meet by clocking 6.84 seconds to edge out training partner Daniel Batman (6.87) in the 60m.
An hour later, Johnson ran 15.67 to convincingly down Batman and one-lap expert Sean Wroe in the 150m.
Wroe was favoured to turn the tables in the 300m, leading for much of the race before fading in the closing stages to finish third behind Johnson (33.11) and Batman (33.19).
Johnson joked afterwards that it was likely to be his last ever 300m race.
The strong field for the three sprint races also included 2004 Olympic 4x400m relay silver medallists Clinton Hill and Mark Ormrod.
Rising Queensland sprint star Sally McLellan won the women’s 60m and 150m races.
But she was could not stay with Lauren Hewitt in the 300m as the Victorian clocked a winning time of 38.34 with McLellan second in 38.65.
Martin Dent was a convincing winner of the men’s 5,000m at the national A-Series meet.
Dent controlled the race and won in 13 minutes 55.81 seconds, with David McNeill a distant second in 14:08.72.
In other action, Jeffrey Riseley won the men’s 800m in 1:50.90 and Mark Tucker won the men’s 1,500m in 3:46.38.
Earlier in the day, local favourite Nathan Deakes set a world record in the men’s 50km walk in the national championships race on the Geelong waterfront.
Deakes clocked 3 hours, 35 minutes and 47 seconds, slashing 16 seconds off the world mark set by Polish race walking legend Robert Korzeniowski in 2003.
AAP
