Offereins Runs into London Contention in 4x400m Relay Team
The Australian men’s 4x400m relay team has moved one step closer to confirming a lane in London after clocking 3:01.58 for second at the Colorful Daegu Meet in South Korea last night.
Lead out by national champion Steve Solomon (NSW), the baton was then handed to world championships bronze medallist and WAIS scholarship holder Ben Offereins and Olympic nominee Brendan Cole (ACT) before Australian Flame Tristan Thomas (TAS) brought the team home.
The impressive run sees the aggregate two-time performance of the team improve to 6:03.14 (3:01.56 from the IAAF world championships and 3:01.58 tonight). When compared to the IAAF rankings issued on March 2, 2012, the Australian team sits 10thoverall and well within the top-16 countries, who will make up the starters at the Olympic Games.
Solomon, who was competing on his 19thbirthday, said: “That was awesome, the race couldn’t have gone better. My own 400 was as solid as I wanted it to be, and from what I could see of the other boys’ runs we were strong across the board.
“We knew what we had to do here and to come away with a result that essentially sets us up the best we can for London is great, it certainly makes for a great birthday.
“I’m so pumped for the team as a whole, this is something that we knew would come but to now have it is oh so sweet. The times seemed to take forever to come up on the screen but its amazing how quickly lactic acid disappears when a result like that pops up.”
A second Australian team of Sean Wroe (Vic), Alex Beck (Qld), Matt Lynch (NSW) and Alex Carew (Vic) were third in 3:07.29.
Meanwhile in the women’s 1500m Kaila McKnight (Vic) and Zoe Buckman (Vic) started, while Jeff Riseley(Vic) lined up in the men’s 800m.
Eunice Jepkoech Sum (KEN) won the women’s event in a time of 4:05.99, with Meskerem Assefa (4:05.62) second and McKnight third (4:05.64). All three place getters times were below the previous world lead of 4:07.00. Buckman was fourth in 4:07.25.
In the men’s event, Riseley placed sixth in 1:45.98. Mohammed Aman (ETH) won the event in a meet record time of 1:43.51, with Leonard Kirwa Kosencha (KEN, 1:44.74) second and Andreas Bube (DEN, 1:45.27) third.
McKnight and Riseley will next start in the women’s 1500m and men’s 800m respectively at Round 2 of the Samsung Diamond League on Saturday night.
In other Australian results:
– Australian championship silver medallist Beck won the men’s 400m ‘B’ Race in 46.73, with Wroe, who raced for the first time since having his appendix removed, was second in 47.21.
– WAIS athlete Vicky Parnov cleared 4.00m in the women’s pole vault, the same height she did at the Doha Diamond League this past weekend. The event was won by Anastasia Savchenko (RUS) with a 4.60m jump.
– Brandon Starc (NSW) sailed over 2.10m in the men’s high jump to meet his pre-departure standard for the 2011 IAAF world junior championships. He placed 7thoverall.
– Ignisious Gaisah (GHA) won the men’s long jump with a 7.99m leap, with Robbie Crowther (ACT) 11ththanks to a 7.12m best mark.
The IAAF is expected to reissue official relay rankings during May, via its website www.iaaf.org
– Athletics Australia