Tiernan hails ‘depth’ of talent competing in 5000m
PAT Tiernan says the athletes that come across the line in first and second spot in tonight’s 5000m will have truly earnt their Commonwealth Games spots.
The distance race is shaping as the feature event on the opening day of the Commonwealth Games trials at Carrara Stadium, with four men having already posted A qualifiers.
Toowoomba product Tiernan has already sealed his spot in the 10,000m after his performance at the Zatopek meet in December.
The 5000m shapes as the 23-year-old’s best distance though and he faces a tough battle tonight against Morgan McDonald, Sam McEntee and Stewart McSweyn, the other men to have posted A qualifiers in the event.
“We haven’t had this much depth in a long time,” Tiernan said. “It’s going to be very exciting when we have the top three coming across the line, they’re going to be our best three. You’ve really got to earn your spot.”
Tiernan announced himself on the international stage last year when he led the 5000m final at the world championships for three laps before fading to finish 11th.
“You’re always going to look back on races you don’t win and say, ‘what if?’,” he said.
“Obviously there’s a lot of things I could have done differently but I don’t regret what I did, I think I gave myself a good chance.
“There were a couple of things I could have done differently here or there but in general, the move I made was the right one.
“I got a lot of experience from last year and I think that will help (on Friday) night racing against these fellas and then hopefully moving on to the Games.”
Other highlights on the opening day of competition include the opening day of the heptathlon, the men’s and women’s 100m and 400m heats and the finals of the wheelchair and ambulant 800m for men and women.
Action starts at Carrara Stadium from 3pm.