Carnival has Hale keen for gift win

NATIONAL sprinting star Jack Hale is returning for his fourth tilt at the Tasmanian Christmas Series this summer.

Hale, 19, first experienced the thrill of the carnivals when he debuted at Burnie on New Year’s Day in 2015 as a 16year-old who had leapt to fame.

Once dubbed the world’s fastest schoolboy, he is now shaking off the underage badge as he transitions into world class athlete.

While his Australian sprinting teammates were at the IAAF world relays in the Bahamas and world championships in London this year, Hale knew he needed a quality base of training to ensure he did not become another talented junior fell away.

“I’ve deliberately had a quiet 2017 on the racing front. The Nitro experience in February was good, but shortly after that I made the decision to knuckle down in training for the winter,” he said.

“I got a new coach in Melbourne, Adam Larcom, a new weights program and as a result I’ve put on 8kg of muscle and feel like I’m ready to put the work from training into racing soon.”

Hale owns the Australian under-18 and under-20 100m records, along with the Tasmanian open men’s record thanks to his personal best of 10.21 seconds.

However, he has declared it is time to write the next chapter in the already amazing career of Australia’s fastest junior.

“I haven’t missed a training session since March. Adam has had me working harder than I ever have and now I feel like I’m ready to produce some high quality consistent performances,” he said.

Hale has produced some astonishing performances on the professional scene, including a second at the 2016 Burnie Gift after false starting and being pulled 1m in his semi.

He also finished third in the 2016 Stawell Gift final, but is searching for the elusive sash.

“I’ll be lining up in the 120m gifts at Latrobe and Burnie, so hopefully I can crack my maiden win,” he said.