Ross visits Asafa camp

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23098467-5014066,00.html

Ross joins Asafa’s team

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By Mike Hurst

January 24, 2008 12:00am

WORLD record-holder Asafa Powell has accepted a request from national 100m titleholder Josh Ross to join his training party when he comes to Australia next month.

Powell, who lowered his own 100m record to 9.74sec last August, will return to competition over 400m in Kingston on Saturday before competing in Sydney (February 16) and Melbourne (February 21).

Ross, who missed three weeks of track training after reacting badly to acupuncture treatment, is due to return to serious competition in Saturday’s Canberra Classic.

The initiative to enter the “enemy” camp came from Ross’s new coach Paul Nancarrow and was facilitated by Athletics Australia’s top agent Maurie Plant after dialogue with the big Jamaican’s coach Steven Francis.

“I have no real problem with Ross’s request,” Francis advised Plant in an email.

"From a practical point of view, however, the kind of sessions that we will be doing in Australia would not be the kind of workouts that he would need to be doing, especially with the National Championships in a week.

“Our workouts are the type of stuff that Ross would be doing in November-December. Having stated this, if he thinks that it will be beneficial for him to come it will be no problem.”

Nancarrow was delighted to have had Ross accepted, saying: "I’d just like to expose him to that atmosphere so he can see how they prepare before a session and how they recover.

“It may help also to make a few friends, so when he goes overseas again he’ll know a few people and we won’t get a repeat of what happened in Europe last year when he became pretty isolated and depressed.”

Ross, winner of the past four Australian 100m titles, made a very late start to training for the Olympic season but had been sprinting well until the acupuncture episode left him with “pins and needles” whenever he put his foot on the track.

“I was running hand-timed 6.3sec to 60m but then missed three weeks training. The 6.3 is still there. I hope to find it again soon,” Ross told The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

"I’m definitely really excited about training with Asafa and others in his squad, including Michael Frater and Darrel Brown (2005 and 2003 world championship 100m silver medallists, respectively.)

“My whole career I’ve never trained with anyone who was actually faster than me. This will be good.”

The Canberra line-up includes Matt Shirvington, Adam Miller, Stawell Gift titleholder Nathan Allen (coached by Gerrard Keating) and rising Victorian stars Daniel Burgess and Adrian Mott.

Good work Nanny should be benefiical for both of you.


World shot put champion Valerie Vili will be competing in the Canberra Classic meeting in the Australian National series at 3.30pm (Australian time) on Saturday.
Vili opened her season with a put of 19.24m in Auckland last month. Among those entered from Australia in the shot put are Kimberley Mulhall of Victoria, best this year of 14.21m, and Lomana Fagatuai of NSW who had a best last year of 14.43m.
Also entered from New Zealand are, Nick Kalivati 400m hurdles, April Brough 100m, Andrea Miller 100m and 100m hurdles, Anna Smythe 100m, Craig Bearda 100m and 200m, Matt Brown 100m and 200m, James Dolphin 100m and 200m, Chris Donaldson 100m, Stuart Farquhar javelin, James Mortimer 110m hurdles, Charlotte Osborne 200m and 400m, Alyx Hodgson 400m, Cory Innes 400m, Monique Williams 200m and Tony Sargisson 20km race walk on Sunday.

http://www.athletics.org.nz/Article.aspx?ID=2980

23.01.2008
Canberra’s reputation goes on the line
Reputation as Australia’s fastest track goes on the line this weekend when the nation’s best sprinters descend on the capital for the Canberra Athletics Classic.

World Championships semi-finalist Sally McLellan is one who will be out to build on her impressive start to the season. Competing in the 100m and 100m hurdles at the Sydney Track Classic two weeks ago, the 21 year-old produced the fastest time over the hurdles by an Australian on Australian soil, clocking 12.81 (+1.1), and also recorded a strong 11.26 (+3.0) on the flat.

McLellan thrives on the Canberra track, most evident in 2007 when she set a new meet record of 12.88 (+3.9) en route to claiming the Australian record in legal conditions at March’s nationals championships.

Given good conditions, the Queenslander is capable of improving this as well as adding the 100m meet record to her impressive list of achievements. The latter has been held for the last eight years by triple Olympian Lauren Hewitt, who ran a windy 11.18 (+3.3) in Canberra in the Sydney Games year.

Hewitt, now 29, has entered the 2007-08 season with impressive endeavour after last year’s campaign was marred by injury, a welcome surprise to officials with impressive performances over 100m and 200m at the Sydney Track Classic.

In the men’s sprints, five-time national 100m champion Matt Shirvington (1998 - 2002) will go head to head with the man who has won the last four, fellow New South Welshman Joshua Ross. Australian record holder Patrick Johnson, though entered, is not confirmed to start.

The 35 year-old is the quickest on record in Canberra over 100m, running 10.13 seconds in 2001 (wind-assisted) before repeating the time in his landmark year of 2003.

Shirvington, on the other hand, was a surprise competitor in Athletics ACT interclub competition last weekend, winning the 60m and 100m events, and looks hungry to regain his place at the top of Australian sprint ranks.

With national relay events on Sunday, both the men’s and women’s events have attracted large fields ensuring that all of Australia’s top sprinters will be in action - including many under-20 athletes chasing World Junior qualifying times ahead of those championships in Bydgoszcz in July.

Important Olympic qualifiers are also up for grabs and, with competition fierce for places in the upcoming Melbourne and Sydney Grands Prix, Canberra’s new track and proud record provides the ideal platform for athletes to chase their best.

The Canberra Athletics Classic commences on Saturday at 3pm at AIS Athletics Field. Tickets are available at the gate for $5 with children 12 and under FREE.

Courtesy Michael Thomson (Athletics ACT)

does anyone know what Shirvo is doing training wise?

I saw him training with Tony Lester a couple months ago, and pretty sure Tim hasmentioned him to me recently, so guessing he’s done his base with them. Is he in Australia yet? If not, he may be in South Africa with that group/

he’s here did a 6.79 last week in canberra

hopefully he can get his stuff together before time runs out.

6.79 (-0.2) ahead of John Woods in 6.82
10.50 (+0.0) once again ahead of Woods in 10.52