2010 Hobart 20km Australian Race Walking Championships
16 Feb 2010
Husband and wife duo Jared and Claire Tallent have tonight taken out Round 1 of the IAAF Race Walking Challenge and 2010 Australian 20km race walking championships and Commonwealth Games selection trials in Hobart.
The Tallents were joined by Luke Adams and Cheryl Webb in securing tickets to the Games in New Delhi (IND) in October on a cool night along the Hobart waterfront. (Note: Jared Tallent earned automatic selection to the Games finishing in the top eight in the 20km walk at the 2009 world championships).
Lining up alongside one of the strongest race walking fields ever assembled in Australia, Jared Tallent moved straight for the front of the pack and never looked back, storming home to complete the 20km course in the new personal best time of 1:19.15 ahead of Australian Flame teammate Luke Adams and Swedish challenger Ato Ibanez.
In the women's field Claire Tallent made a late move to shore up a berth on her first Commonwealth Games team, posting a time of 1:32.41 to cross the line ahead of Cheryl Webb and Jillian Hosking.
The men's line-up was a who's who of international race walking, the three placegetters joined on the start line by former world champion and world record-holder Nathan Deakes on his return to competitive athletics after a lengthy layover through injury, Berlin world championships representatives Chris Erickson and Adam Rutter, and an international contingent headlined by reigning IAAF Race Walking Challenge champion Eder Sanchez (MEX).
Returning to action after missing the Olympic Games in 2008 and world championships in 2009 it would be no fairytale ending for Deakes, the 32-year-old withdrawing from the race just after the halfway mark.
In a high-stakes race that doubled as the national 20km race walking championships and Commonwealth Games selection trials, Tallent headed straight for the front of the men's field, a position he held for the duration of the race.
Opening up a slight lead in the second lap, the 25-year-old AIS representative turned on the burners in the third to open up a commanding lead over Sanchez, Deakes, Adams and Rutter in that order.
Crossing the halfway mark in 39.07 Tallent was shadowed by Sanchez and Adams, who had opened up a slight gap on Deakes in his last lap of the course before his withdrawal.
Tallent continued to lead Sanchez and Adams along the course until lap nine, where Sanchez was disqualified from the race and Adams moved into second place with Erickson in third. With just one lap to go Tallent was on track for a personal best time, moving through the 18km-mark over two minutes ahead of Adams.
Rounding out a stunning display Tallent crossed the line in the new personal best time of 1:19.15, eclipsing his previous career best mark of 1:19.41 set in February, 2008, to secure his third straight national title. He was followed across the line by Adams (1:22.08), a late-surging Ibanez (1:23.31) and Erickson (1:23.38).
Now with the 2009/10 season 50km and 20km national race walking titles under his belt, Tallent said he was looking for a big year in 2010.
"I'm really happy, I came here today wanting to win my third national title in a row and I'm very satisfied I was able to do that and I got away with a big PB. It's great to be racing here in Hobart on such a fantastic course," he said.
"My tactic was to go out and get an early lead and just really hold it each lap after that for the last 10km. My tactic was to get the lead early and I think that really paid off.
"Last year wasn't great so I definitely want to bounce back this year and have a successful year like in 2008. I'm looking forward to the Commonwealth Games and I'll be wanting gold there but the first stop is the World Walking Cup in May (in Chihuahua, Mexico) and I'll be tackling the 50km there and also looking for gold."
The women's race was a closely contested tussle for line honours with Australian Flame representatives Cheryl Webb and Claire Tallent joined by Jillian Hosking among the early leaders.
Three laps in a group of four athletes led the women's field, Beijing Olympian Kellie Wapshott moving up to join the leaders briefly before she was dropped over the next 2km-loop.
At lap seven Tallent and Webb strode away from Hosking and at lap eight Tallent made her move, opening up a 20m lead on Webb that she maintained right through to the finish line, eventually stopping the clock at 1:32.41 ahead of Webb in 1:33.29 and Hosking in 1:34.13.
Twenty-eight-year-old Tallent was ecstatic to have stitched up a berth on her first Commonwealth Games team and to score her first ever points in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge.
"I'm pretty happy, that makes it my third A-qualifier for the Commonwealth Games and I definitely came today with the goal of joining Jared on the team and I did that so I'm pretty happy," she said.
"Commonwealth Games is the one thing missing from my resume, I've done world juniors, world championships and the Olympic Games so it's definitely something I've been focusing on and really wanting to achieve. I've been wanting to get there since 2002 so I'm very happy with that.
"I think it was a great initiative to bring the Race Walking Challenge down to Hobart, they're my first points ever in the Challenge and I can say I'm winning the Challenge for the first time."
In other results, 2009 world youth championships representative Dane Bird-Smith took out the Under 20 men's 10km walk in a personal best time of 43.16 ahead of fellow Athletics Australia Under 19 Talent Squad member Sean Fitzsimons (43.31) and Rhydian Cowley (44.24), the first two placegetters posting world junior championships qualifying times.
Regan Lamble took out the women's Under 20 event in 48.11 ahead of Talent Squad member Beth Alexander in 49.02 and Paige Hooper in 49.25, all three podium finishers meeting world junior championships A-qualifying standards.
The IAAF Race Walking Challenge now moves to Olhao, Portugal.