UP WITH THE BEST

McSweyn’s record puts him in elite company

RESPECTED sports administrator Brian Roe believes Stewart McSweyn deserves to be ranked in the same company as a pair of Australia’s best distance athletes after another record-breaking run from the Tasmanian.

King Island’s McSweyn shaved more than four seconds off the Tasmanian 1500m record on Saturday on his way to winning the event in Tubingen, Germany. His blistering 3:34.82 bettered James Hansen’s mark and now gives the 23-year-old every major state record from the 1500m through to the 10,000m.

Roe has no doubt McSweyn’s achievements elevate him alongside dual Olympian Collis Birmingham and only behind the country’s greatest distance male Craig Mottram.

“For those people who have told me he is one of the most exceptional talents we have ever had in Australia, I have always been thinking how wonderful would that be for a Tassie boy to be that,” Roe told the Mercury.

“I think they could be right, to have the range to be able to run 3:34 and 28 minutes [for the 10,000m], only a few people in Australia have been able to do that.

“Now only Craig Mottram is clearly better in terms of having that capacity to run fast at 1500m and at 10,000m.

“If you have both speed and endurance, you have a very good chance of running very quickly at some distances in between.”

McSweyn’s effort placed him 10th on the Australian alltime rankings, moved him to eighth on the IAAF world rankings for 2018 and was also well under the most recent Olympic-world championships qualifying time of 3:36.00.

Only national record holder Ryan Gregson has recorded a faster time for an Australian in the past five years.

It also came just a week after the Commonwealth Games representative broke the state 10,000m record (28:05.37) in finishing second at the Oslo Diamond League.

Roe has no doubt the past fortnight will be the turning point in the emerging star’s career.

“You talk to his training partners, you talk to people who watch him train, you talk to his coaches and the people around him, they say he is an exceptional trainer,” Roe said.

“Clearly he has a very good engine to be able to do lots of work and good quality work.

“If you then put in that critical factor of him believing he can do it, then there is enormous capacity there to do good things.

“Not only did he run so substantially quick in world terms last night, but equally importantly because he won the race, I think this will be the turning point in his career.

“Anything could happen from now on.”