Hale pipped on line, misses Games time
IT was almost a rare triple dead heat.
But, by the finest of measurable margins, Rohan Browning came out on top of a stacked men’s 100m field in Canberra last night.
Browning beat fellow young guns Tasmanian Jack Hale and Trae Williams by three thousandths of a second last night to win a thrilling ACT championships final.
So tight was the contest on the back straight that all three were given official times of 10.23 seconds. In-depth photofinish analysis eventually revealed Browning as the victor in 10.225. Yet even then Hale and Williams could not be separated, the pair placing equal second on 10.228. Kiwi Joseph Millar came fourth in 10.38.
Despite the near-identical times, the remarkable result was a mixed bag for the individuals involved.
Hale, who has been in sensational form, had been gunning for the Commonwealth Games A-qualifying mark of 10.15 after clocking an illegal 10.10 a fortnight earlier.
For Williams, on the other hand, it was a PB and a soughtafter B qualifier. While Browning’s time was not quite as impressive as his 10.19 last month, it gave the 20-year-old renewed confidence he had an A-qualifier in him.
“I’m not far off it,” Browning said. “My opening run for the season was 10.19 with a 0.1 wind. If I get a tailwind this season I can get it, so I’m just hoping for good conditions.”
Riley Day took out the women’s 100m final in 11.52 and smashed her previous PB of 11.59 in the process. The 17year-old star of Nitro Athletics made light work of Maddie Coates (11.59) and Larissa Pasternatsky (11.78).
“I wasn’t expecting that PB tonight, but to get that is a double bonus,” Day said.
“My goal is to get into the Commonwealth Games.”
Linden Hall continued her excellent summer form with another B qualifier in the women’s 1500m, biding her time in a tactical race before overtaking Rio Olympics semi-finalist Jenny Blundell (4:15.03) to finish first in 4:09.32. The 26-year-old already has multiple A qualifiers in the 1500m and will target her shorter, preferred event at next month’s national championships and Commonwealth Games trials.
In the men’s 1500m, Jordan Gusman’s mid-race retirement gave James Hansen a free path to victory in 3:39.39.