Shirvo Back On Track?

Members Area In the News
1

FROM THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL FEDERATION WEBSITE

Shirvo Closes On Games 100m Qualifier

4 January 2006 | 4.04pm

Matt Shirvington completed his first 100m race since the lead-up to the 2005 Helsinki World Championships and demonstrated that the he remains a contender for a 100m spot at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Racing in interclub competition at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra last night, the five-time national 100m champion ran the 100m twice in a bid to record a Commonwealth Games qualifying time. In the opening race he clocked 10.43sec and followed up 20 minutes later with a wind assisted (+3.5mps) 10.28sec.

The ‘A’ standard for the Games is 10.21 seconds and the ‘B’ standard 10.35. To date only Patrick Johnson as recorded the A standard, with dual national champion Joshua Ross, and Athens Olympians Adam Miller and Adam Basil all dipping under the B standard.

It was Shirvington’s first completed race since returning from his base in London - he lined up in the National Series meeting in Perth last month but was disqualified after two false starts.

After the race, he told the Canberra Times, “I would have liked to have done a legal run, but to be running fast again, or that sort of fast, it’s been a long time.”

“At the moment, all the indicators are there for each section, but I just can’t put it together,” he said.

He plans to return to Canberra next Tuesday to compete in another interclub meeting before the NSW Championships next weekend.

It was a good night for long jumping with Queenslander Jacinta Boyd :slight_smile: leaping a personal best 6.64m, easily bettering the A qualifying of 6.55m. Jacinta’s sister Alana :slight_smile: has already cleared the A standard in the pole vault – which will please their parents Ray and Denise Boyd :cool: who both have Commonwealth Games gold medals on the mantelpiece at home. Ray in the pole vault in 1982 and Denise in the 200m in 1978.

AIS athlete Kerrie Taurima and Lisa Morrison, from Sydney, both jumped over the B qualifying distance of 6.40m, recording jumps of 6.49m and 6.43m respectively.

Promising NSW distance runner Madeleine Heiner proved her move to the steeplechase was a wise one – clocking 9.57 to record an A-qualifier in an event that will make its Games debut in Melbourne.

2

I here he’s been training over here in the UK with Tony Lester, coach to MLF, Tim Benjamin, Marlon Devonish and Abi Oyepitan, is this correct?

3

I don’t understand how do you call that back on track.

Runing 10.43sec, then with a +3.5mps running 10.28sec.

back on track for what.

4

Pardon my ignorance, but what is he coming back from? We have several states where 10.43 would not be good enough to win the 100m high school final. Is he in rehabilitation from an injury? Anyway, I hope he makes the most of his return.

5

YOU OBVIOUSLY MISSED THE QUESTION MARK AT THE END OF THE HEADER.

“Shirvo Back On Track?” is a question rather than a statement of belief.

6

Yes that’s correct, i’ve seen them training in the new indoor athletics centre here at Brunel University.

7

oK i don’t think he’s back on track.

Back on track. ha ha ha.

8

Actually I saw somewhere else that his best time at this meet was 10.30sec (not 10.28) and he had a 1.0+…

Then again, a couple of days ago the Australian national 100m titleholder Joshua Ross who was a semi-finalist in Helsinki WCh ran 10.47, also with a slight tailwind.

I think Shirvo has made so many bad detours in his career it’s quite breathtaking, but at his best he was an asset to the sport and a decent enough fellow to go with it.

9

At the moment even though none of Australia’s best sprinters are running super times, there are around 6 who have sub 10.40’s

In recent history, well up until the last 3-4 years we haven’t had a super quick sprinter, at least now we have 3 who have done okay at various times (sub 10.20), and they believe they can beat each other when they race. They should improve - hopefully…

10

KK,

Mind expanding on the last point?

Shirvingtons career puzzles me. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

11

heard he ran 10.36 yesterday, miller 2nd 10.40, finigan 3rd 10.74 with a +1.1

12

LOOKS LIKE SHIRVINGTON IS BACK . . .
Canberra, Australia A-Series - 26 January 2006:

"I have had such a horrible last three years but it’s nice to be winning again,’’ Shirvington said after upsetting perhaps the best domestic men’s 100m field ever assembled.

Against the only headwind of the meet, “Shirvo” grabbed victory in 10.28sec (-2.3m/s ) from Nigeria-born Ambrose Ezenwa (10.29), Australian record-holder Patrick Johnson (10.30), Adam Miller (10.33), Daniel Batman (10.35) and national title-holder and Helsinki semi-finalist Joshua Ross (10.35). Six men separated by 7/100ths of a second all in Commonwealth Games B-qualifying times into a stiff breeze.

Batman, a descendent of John Batman who brokered a pact with the indigenous land owners and staked out the territory upon which Melbourne would be built, later showed signs of what may have been but for the headwind.

The powerful Sydney sprinter, who is married to Australia’s first Aboriginal Olympic gold medallist (1996 Atlanta hockey winner Nova Peris), backed up to win the 200m in 20.29 (wind assistance 2.4m/s) from Ezenwa (20.59) and Miller (20.72).

13

gotta agree with kk

a more decent guy you wouldnt meet for his profile in this country.

ok so those that are saying hes not back on track go back over his last 2 years… or even this time last year to see where he was at.
his time of 10.28 into a 2.3m head wind from canberra under a mathematical model equates back to 10.11…

how many do we really think will run sub 10 at comm games???

14

Embarrassment whips up Shirvo
By Scott Gullan
February 1, 2006

WHEN Matt Shirvington boarded the plane to fly back to his London base after last year’s world titles in Helsinki, he knew he had a decision to make.

Get Fox Sports: See the Games like never before

Shirvington had just been through the most humbling experience of his career.

After running in the heats of the 4x100m relay, the five-time national champion was dumped for the final because he simply couldn’t cut it.

“It was embarrassing a little bit, but I had to do it,” Shirvington said yesterday. “I had to go through that.”

Instead of fading away, Shirvington, who was becoming better known for his television presenting than sprinting, made a commitment to train for the Commonwealth Games.

“Helsinki was probably the indicator for me to start training properly,” he said. "I had to get through 2005 unscathed in terms of illness - it (Helsinki) was the trigger.

"It was embarrassing to go and be in such bad shape, but I wouldn’t be here now if I hadn’t done that.

“Pretty much the day I got off the plane from Helsinki I started again and basically went from training a couple of days a week to training full-time again, nine sessions a week.”

Advertisement:
After coming down with glandular fever in 2003 - “I expected to get rid of it in six weeks and it took me 2½ years” – Shirvington had been absent from the winner’s list until last Thursday when he upset an elite 100m field at the Telstra A-series meeting in Canberra.
The 27-year-old has to back up that performance at the Commonwealth Games selection trials, that start tomorrow at Sydney’s Homebush, to guarantee a spot in the team for Melbourne.

“I’ve always had faith in my ability and never really thought of retiring but about how to get back,” he said.

“I ran my fastest time of 10.03sec when I was 19. Sprinters peak in their late 20s or early 30s with Linford Christie winning an Olympic gold at 32 and Michael Johnson also winning gold in Sydney when he was past 30 years of age.”

Shirvington said he had been inspired by the performances of Australian pole vaulter Paul Burgess, who improved 23cm last year to clear a 2005 world-best 6m , and fellow sprinter Patrick Johnson, who made the world championships final at 33.

“What has probably spurred me on the most is Paul Burgess, his performance last year particularly,” he said.

"He is about the same age as me, he had a bad period and didn’t do much jumping for a long time, and then came out and jumped 6m.

“To me that was like, ‘It doesn’t go anywhere, it’s just a matter of tapping into it and doing it again, there is loads left’.”

With the strength of sprinting stocks, Shirvington is expecting an A-standard qualifying time (10.21sec) will be needed to win Friday night’s trial.

Herald Sun

15

After this race and time I thought he might have a chance to be a sprinting threat again, but after his heat at the Nationals the quote was “…I feel sick…”. Back to tv shows and dancing comps.

16

Did Shirvington make it to the CWG?

17

Just went to the Athlet8ics Australia website and they have the team there, so posted it in News . . . yes Shirvo made the relay. As a member of a massive 123-strong aths team. Gotta give the paying customers a local to cheer for. It’s good marketing I think. Hope they all deliver on their big day(s). Including Shirvo :slight_smile:

18

its a pity though as they could run that race again in a week and i bet he does it different to what happened on that day.

in fact when they all race off again in canberra or the next A series meet the results will change around again but i think AA have it right in making it cut throat at the trials like the USA perform on the day or else.

Matt started well and held his position up to the 80-85m mark where forward rotation got the better of him and in fact only lost his individual spot in the last 2m of the race where he got swamped by the field.

as for the back to dancing and tv shows?
how fast do you run and what do you do for a job again…

19

The question is how fast should I run.

Shirvo had (and still does) the physical potential to be an Olympic finalist, but so often he seems a beaten man before starting. Regular complaints he doesn’t feel well or any number of other things are wrong. If someone can make him believe that he can we win the big races…he can win the big races.

20

How is MLF looking? I’ve heard he’s lost weight and is looking good.