SELECTED RESULTS FROM THE ANNUAL ZATOPEK CLASSIC IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Athletics Australia - Organization License
2008 Zatopek: 10 - 11/12/2008
Olympic Park
Event 7 Men 200 metres Open
Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
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Finals
1 Ray Williams WESTERN AUSTRALIA 21.16 -1.3
2 Aaron Rouge-Serret VICTORIA 21.21 -1.3
3 Sean Wroe VICTORIA 21.28 -1.3
4 Otis Gowa QUEENSLAND 21.64 -1.3
5 Daniel Martin VICTORIA 21.92 -1.3
6 Jake Hammond NEW SOUTH WALES 21.94 -1.3
7 Scott MACE VICTORIA 22.26 -1.3
Athletics Australia - Organization License
2008 Zatopek: 10 - 11/12/2008
Olympic Park
Event 10 Men Triple Jump Open
Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
============================================================================
Finals
1 Alwyn Jones VICTORIA 16.60m 0.5
2 Henry Frayne VICTORIA 16.58m +0.0
3 Ben King VICTORIA 14.97m 1.6
4 Adam Rabone VICTORIA 14.95m 0.5
5 Jared Hunter VICTORIA 14.41m 0.6
6 Callan Rauchfuss VICTORIA 14.17m 0.3
7 Stephen Edwards VICTORIA 13.86m +0.0
8 Tom Cornelius VICTORIA 13.34m 0.9
– Nathan McConchie VICTORIA ND NWI
– Keegan Ontong VICTORIA ND NWI
Athletics Australia - Organization License
2008 Zatopek: 10 - 11/12/2008
Olympic Park
Event 6 Women 400 metres Open
Name Year Team Finals Points
=======================================================================
Finals
1 Tamsyn Lewis VICTORIA 52.57
2 Monique Williams NEW ZEALAND 53.31
3 Trisha Greeves NEW SOUTH WALES 53.49
4 Pirrenee Steinert NEW SOUTH WALES 54.79
5 Cara White VICTORIA 55.76
6 Alice Platten VICTORIA 56.57
7 Emma Zalcman VICTORIA 56.84
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Tamsett does it for McCann in Melbourne - Zatopek 10
Lara Tamsett running the 10,000m at the Zatopek 10 (Getty Images)
relnews
Melbourne, Australia - Lara Tamsett dedicated her breakthrough Australian title win in the Zatopek Classic 10,000m tonight to the Commonwealth Games marathon champion Kerryn McCann who died of cancer this week.
A funeral for the much loved McCann, 41, will be held on Friday morning (12) near her family home close to Wollongong just south of Sydney and tonight a crowd of 3000 stood and observed a minute’s silence during the annual Zatopek carnival. McCann won the Zatopek 10 only once, in 1999.
Tamsett, 20, who competed with a pink ribbon in her hair – symbolic of the fight against breast cancer – paid her own tribute to the triple Olympian and two-time Commonwealth marathon gold medallist.
“It’s just a great feeling, especially tonight, with a tribute to Kerryn McCann, who was a great icon,’’ Tamsett said following her track debut over the 25-lap distance.
“I always looked up to her and my aunt, Liz Miller, had a lot to do with her. It was nice running tonight and I’m … dedicating that one to her. It’s a sad night, but a special night too.”
Miller (formerly Rose), who will attend McCann’s funeral, competed for Oceania twice over 1500m in World Cup competition, ran three World Cross Country Championships and placed eleventh in the 2002 Chicago Marathon in her best time of 2:36:56.
But she never quite won a Zatopek 10,000m although there was some controversy the year she was narrowly beaten by Irish great Sonia O’Sullivan who was also awarded the Australian title.
Yet she still has one-up on her diminutive niece, with Tamsett’s winning time of 32:56.19 outside the B-qualifying standard for the 2009 Berlin World Championships – and still slower than Miller’s best of 32:41.
At 48kg and 158cm Tamsett is slight in stature but shapes as perhaps “the next big thing” in Australian distance running. She put in a classy performance to lap the placegetters and double lap the rest of the field tonight, going through halfway very comfortably in 16:20.
“It was exciting, but I have to say a little boring actually, going round and round and then I got to halfway and I thought to myself holy crap, I’ve still got 12 laps to go,” Tamsett admitted candidly. She faded but then came back to finish with a 76sec final lap to beat Queensland’s national half-marathon champion Cassie Fien, who was runner-up in 34:34.16 and New Zealander Belinda Wimmer (35:17.16).
“I guess I’m proud to be part of the Zatopek tradition now, but (under the circumstances) it’s pretty devastating.”
A second-year communications student at Sydney University, Tamsett came into tonight’s race just hoping to go under 33:30 to qualify for the World University Games in Serbia next year. Her next big objective this Australian summer is to compete well enough at the selection trial on February 8 in Canberra to earn the right to run for Australia at the World Cross Country Championships in Jordan on 28 March 2009.
McNeill – devastating last lap
The Zatopek men’s 10,000m was a far more competitive affair, with the first four runners pushing the pace although the eventual winner David McNeill led for only one lap mid-race before unleashing a devastating sprint on the final lap.
McNeill opened a 30m gap with a furious kick over the last 300 on a bell lap of 61sec to win in 28:03.02 from visiting American Bobby Curtis (28:06.74), Queenslander Michael Shelley (28:08.96) with defending champion and Beijing Olympian Collis Birmingham fourth in 28:21.62 apparently showing the after effects of finishing a game third behind Haile Gebrselassie in the recent Great Australian Run over 15km on the road.
McNeill, who has been in the US on a division one college scholarship, led the placegetters under the Berlin B-qualifying time.
“I felt alright when I came here tonight, but I’m just as surprised as everyone else here about the win,” McNeill said. “Obviously I’m really stoked, but humbled as well. It was a cracker field, a lot of studs there tonight.”
McNeill is studying exercise science at Northern Arizona University and returned last Monday to run the Zatopek.
Austrian Gunther Weidlinger failed to complete the race after suffering with leg cramps.
Other events
Victoria’s gifted Jeff Riseley, who ran a shocker when ill on his Olympic debut in Beijing, looked much better tonight winning the 1500m in 3:39.77 from Jeremy Roff (3:40.42), while Olympian Lisa Corrigan won the women’s 1500m in 4:14.32 from national titleholder and fellow NSW runner Veronique “Nikki” Molan ( 4:21.03).
While the Zatopek meet headlines the distance brigade, there were some interesting results elsewhere. The 18-year-old indigenous sprinter Ray Williams from Western Australia took out the 200m in a personal best 21.16sec (headwind 1.3m/s); Sydney’s 20-year-old Olympic Discus Throw finalist Dani Samuels threw 60.96m to win from Kim Mulhall (51.28m) a niece of Los Angeles Olympic shot put bronze medallist Gael (Mulhall) Martin.
In two youngsters impressed in the Triple Jump, Alwyn Jones winning with 16.60m (+0.5m/s) from training partner Henry Frayne, 16.58m (nil wind). Both are coached by former world No.1 ranked Soviet triple jumper, Vasiliy Grischchenkov (best of 17.55m in 1983).
Mike Hurst - Sydney Daily Telegraph - for the IAAF