This year the Australian Masters Athletic Championships were conducted at Lakeside Stadium. With a record number of entries (over 900), it’s been a huge job for organisers with 1968 Olympic 800m Gold medalist, Ralph Doubell, opening the games and presenting all the 800m medals.
Day 1 and Athletics Essendon had a busy day with Ian Newey leading the way in the M55 10,000m. The sprinters took to the track under gloomy skies with heats of the 100m; Mark Giglio, Mark Harper and Brett Maurer made it through to their finals; unfortunately there were no medals. Chris Lim picked up silver in the M30 100m, running 11.59.
We were represented on the field by Travis Wilson who finished 4th in the M40 hammer and third in the shot with a put of 10.55m
Anna Kasapis won her W40 800m in a smart 2:22.11, John Cooper finished third in the M65 800m, with just 0.23 sec between first and third. Arron Downes ran a spectacular M45 800m, to be just edged out of the medals in an all Victorian finish. Steve Murphy and David Jones also represented the Vics in their 800m events.
Day 2 (Sat) and the Queenslanders are freezing, as the rest of us are too!
Highlights: our medal tally continued to grow: Anna Kasapis lead all the way in to take gold in the W40 1500m in 4:53.36. Graham hicks had daylight between him and second place in the M40 discus with a best throw of 45.52m. Brett Maurer ran a smart 400m to take the M40 crown by just ).1sec, running 53.56s in blustery conditions. Our assistant high jump coach, Masoud Ghasabani won the M30 high jump with 1.81m.
Lots of bronze medals too with some fantastic competition. One of the most exciting events was the M40 javelin with the lead changing on every throw. Our Wilson Boys were right in the mix with Gavin taking bronze with 41.98m and Travis 4th with 34.63m. Steve Murphy grabbed 3rd spot in his 3000m steeplechase, while Brian Anderson took bronze in the M60 2000m steeple – a good effort after badly injuring his foot 2 months ago doing the same event at Knox.John Cooper grabbed bronze in a controversial M65 1500m. A Queenslander competitor miscounted the laps and took off with 600m to go, only to realise he had one more lap to run when he crossed the finish! He then stepped off the track and was DQ’d! Mark Harper grabbed a bronze in the M40 60m by just 0.01sec.
Mark Harper, Mark Giglio and Brett Maurer have all made it through to the final of their 200m events
And finally it was sad to see Martin Sheppard struggling with a bad hammy at the high jump. He made a couple of attempts off two steps but just couldn’t fly. Still 7th with an early jump of 1.29m is a good effort.
Day 3 (Sunday) The action started with 4 of our men running the 5000m. Mark Carey, 7th in 19:28, David Jones 9th 23:44, Ian Newey 11th 23:48, Steve Murphy 12th 24:15 all ran well in the cool and blustery conditions.
The finals of the 200m saw Mark Giglio grab bronze with a 24.53s, Brett Maurer and Mark Harper were in lanes 3 and 4 and finished in a photo finish with Brett taking 4th, 0.01sec in front of Mark.Chris Lim powered to silver in the M30 200m, just 0.1 sec behind first.
The afternoon finished with the relays which is always fun with State V State competition
On the final day of competition, Steve Murphy (M55) and David Jones (M65) ran the 8Km cross country in 42:33 and 42:44, while Brian Anderson picked up his second bronze with an outstanding 32:08 for the M60 5,000m walk. Go to http://bit.ly/2Dt9Q86 to see videos of events.
Summary:
Gold
Graham Hicks M40 Discus 45.52m
Anna Kasapis W40 800m 2:22.11
Anna Kasapis W40 1500m 4:53.36
Mas Ghasabani M30 High Jump 1.81m
Brett Maurer M40 400m 53.56s
Silver:
Chris Lim M30 100m 11.59s,
Chris Lim M30 200m 23.29s
Bronze
Gavin Wilson M40 Javelin 41.98m,
Stephen Murphy M55 3000m Steeplechase 16:39.16,
Brian Anderson M60 2000m Steeplechase 9:01.13,
Brian Anderson M60 5000m walk 32:08,
Mark Harper M40 60m 7.46s,
Mark Giglio M45200m 24.53s,
John Cooper M65 800m 2:35.53,
John Cooper M65 1500m 5:24.55
