Gregson still holds Burnie desire

TWO-time Olympian Ryan Gregson is on-board as the first major signing for the 2021 Burnie 10 on October 24 and hopes to win the race for the first time since 2008.

Race director Richard Welsh said Gregson, 31, was able to fly into Tasmania for the race after the Victorian athlete had set up a training base in Queensland, which has no border restrictions from the state. The Burnie 10 was held as a virtual event last year.

Ryan won his only Burnie 10 by upstaging a top flight field 13 years ago when he stormed up the Wilson Street hill to the finish. Since then, he set national records, made Olympic finals and set West Park alight by winning the Burnie Mile from scratch.

“I won Burnie in 2008 as an 18-year-old. It was a crazy day and I’d have to say I was very lucky,” Gregson said.

The Gregsons have won races across the state, with Ryan’s wife Genevieve winning consecutive 10km crowns at the Launceston Running Festival, Hobart Run The Bridge and is the reigning Burnie 10 champion from 2019.

Despite spending two weeks in hotel quarantine after returning from Europe, Ryan is keen to take his second title.