Goodwin set for dream debut as relay opportunity knocks
ATHLETICS Australia will commit to fielding four relay teams at the Commonwealth Games, handing Gold Coaster Murray Goodwin a dream debut when the team is named on Thursday.
Selectors were left to agonise over the final positions on the 111-member Australian team after a wealth of strong performances at the national titles and selection trials at Carrara Stadium over the weekend.
None of the runners in the men’s 400m final has posted an A or B qualifying time, leaving selectors to mull over whether to pick specialists in the event or draft athletes qualified for other events into the 4x400m squad.
Goodwin won the national title on Saturday night in a time 0.24sec outside the B qualifying standard.
It means he won’t be considered for an individual run in the event, however, Athletics Australia’s nomination policy for the Games specifically states “relay team members are not required to achieve individual A or B standards in the relevant event”.
But the failure of any of the men in the 400m field to post an A or B qualifying time this season posed a question over whether Australia would field a 4x400m relay team at the Games. With Australia’s quota for the Games inflexible, selectors were left to ponder who to leave out as they decided on the final 31 able-bodied athletes that had not triggered automatic selection under Athletics Australia’s policy.
Chairman of selectors Dion Russell admitted he had a tough job.