Sneak peek at Games talent
GOLD Coasters could get a peek at a possible Commonwealth Games star of the track when Eloise Wellings lines up as the favourite for the 10km in the Gold Coast Marathon carnival on Saturday.
Wellings will again use the Gold Coast Marathon carnival as a springboard for her international campaign, with the event becoming a personal gauge for her elite preparations.
The 34-year-old will compete in the 10,000m on the track at the world titles in London in August, a realistic chance of making her presence felt after top-10 finishes in the finals of the 5000m and 10,000m at the Rio Olympics last year.
Wellings could be in action on the track at Metricon Stadium next year as she pushes to make another Commonwealth Games team and push on to the dais after finishing fourth in Melbourne in 2006 and fifth in Glasgow in 2010.
The Gold Coast has been a happy hunting ground for Wellings, who won the half marathon in 2015, using the race to hone her preparations for the Beijing world championships, where she made the final of the 5000m.
Wellings placed third in the Launceston 10 last week and will use the race as final preparation for the world championships.
The two-time Olympian will headline a strong elite women’s field for Saturday’s 10km, which includes world cross-country representative
Tara Palm and New Zealand 5000m champion Laura Nagel.
Gemma Maini, who recently represented Australia in the 10km at the world cross country championships in Uganda – finishing 56th overall, the second Australian to cross the finishing line – will also compete in the 10km on Sunday, looking to go one better than last year’s second place.
Last year’s third placegetter, Katrina Robinson, rounds out the women’s top five.
The men’s elite field will be led by Riley Cocks, who is looking to win the 10km after finishing fourth in 2014 and 2015. The 21-year-old heads to the Gold Coast in strong form after recording a 10,000m track personal best of 29min 38 sec at the St SAC relays in California in April.
The race is shaping as a three-way battle between Cocks, Timothy Lefroy from the ACT and New South Welshman Matthew Hudson, with the latter pair recording strong performances on the road at the Sydney 10 and Launceston 10.