Jackson aims to cement spot in Games squad
GEELONG para- athlete Marty Jackson says this weekend’s national athletics championships will serve as the ideal preparation for the Commonwealth Games in April.
The shot-putter has already posted one A-qualifying throw this season but will look to cement his spot in the team with another on Saturday.
This year’s national championships will be held in Carrara on the Gold Coast, the venue for the Commonwealth Games, giving Jackson and his fellow athletes a chance to
“The club gave me a couple of weeks off to get my mind right. But I changed my whole mindset about the injury — I took it as an opportunity to really help the club.
“I thought ‘this is not going to be about me anymore, it is about how I can help the club’.” Christensen became heavily involved in the Lions’ NEAFL side, becoming coach Mitch Hahn’s right-hand man.
And he buried himself in the Lions’ indigenous programs, mainly Deadly Choices, which encourages kids to have a healthy diet.
His positive mindset will also come in handy when Christensen finally puts his injury-plagued collarbone to the test and returns to the field — possibly as soon as this weekend.
He is hoping to feature in Brisbane’s AFLX games in Sydney on Saturday. Overall he has had four operations, added 4kg to his upper body and waited what seemed an eternity since that fateful 2016 injury.
Still, Christensen is understandably nervous about a return.
“I think about it every now and again and get a bit nervous but I think I have done enough work to hold myself in good stead in a contest. And I don’t think my dad would forgive me if he saw me pulling out of a contest, that has been ingrained in me since I was a little kid.”
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familiarise themselves with the stadium ahead of the event.
The 39-year-old said he was extremely confident his name would be among those selected for the Commonwealth Games squad at the end of the championships.
“If I can stick another Aqualifier up there for the Commonwealth Games, that would be the aim,” Jackson said.
“I’ve thrown one A-qualifier so far and around 18 to 20 Bqualifiers, so I’m in a very, very good spot going into selection come Sunday.
“They’ll name the team after the event so I’m pretty confident I’ll be selected. But it will be excellent to get out there and get a feel for the circle and what the stadium will feel like.
“It’s a good opportunity for the Aussie athletes to make themselves at home and get a little bit of experience under their belts in the stadium.”
Jackson, who has severed nerves in his left knee, finished fourth in the F38 class ambulant shot put final at last year’s World Para-Athletics Championships and has been training five nights a week at various venues across the state perfecting his technique in a bid to gain extra distance on his throws.
The former grid iron player has worked closely with Geelong’s Damien Birkenhead and has also been spotted in the Geelong Football Club’s high performance centre, which he said had been highly motivating ahead of a big year.
“I was lucky enough to gain a scholarship at the Geelong Football Club’s high performance centre and it’s been so good to be able to train in there with all the elite athletes,” Jackson said.
“There are the Cats boys and women’s VFL girls and VFL boys, so it’s been a great environment to train in.
“We’re different types of athletes, so it’s not a weights competition, but is very interesting to see how they train. They’re very focused on what they do, and there are some similarities in how we train, I just use bigger weights and try to move them faster.
“I’ve come from a team sport and thrive in that environment, so moving to shot put has had its challenges training by yourself. But getting a day in on Monday with Damien Birkenhead and Matt Cowie and the able-bodied shot-putters has given me a bit of extra drive, which I get from working with others, so that has been a real booster for me.”