Tassie wins 6 medals at Australian Under 20/23s
06 Apr 2009
Brothers Hamish and Huw Peacock have won their respective pet events at the Australian Under 20/23 Athletics Championships in Adelaide at the weekend.
The meet overall was a tremendous closing competition to the 2008/2009 track & field season for Tasmanian athletes, with the medal tally from the weekend at 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze.
Huw Peacock won the state’s first medal on Friday morning, with a new personal best and Tasmanian under 20 record of 61.68m to take out the men’s under 20 hammer. It was almost doubly sweet for the 16 year old, after he had a bet with his older brother Hamish, that he would beat him by 15m, however Hamish’s 6th placing effort of 46.72m had him only 14.96m behind his little brother.
Hamish then took to the runway in the men’s under 20 Javelin, where he demoralised the rest of the field, winning by over 13m with his seasons best effort of 72.00m. It was a pleasing result for the 18 year old University student, after an injury plagued season, cut his season short of major competitions.
Both athletes will continue training hard over the coming months, with the goal of international representation on the cards for each of the TIS athletes; Huw who has several qualifiers for the World Youth Championships and Hamish who will look to qualify for the World University Games.
After her stunning victory in the Australian Open 3000m championships in Brisbane last month, Mel Daniels backed up in Adelaide to win the silver medal in the under 23 1500m. The Northern Suburbs athlete ran her second fastest ever time of 4:31.91 to claim the silver, behind Kelly Hetherington of Victory who took the win in 4:30.45.
Newstead Harrier athlete Todd Hodgett stood on the podium twice throughout the three day competition, with a silver medal in the men’s hammer, throwing 49.57m and a bronze in the shot put. He placed third in the competition overall, however Erwan Cassier the winner overall was an international visitor from France, which resulted in Hodgetts taking home the Australian under 23 silver medal. It took meet records from the first two placegetters in the shot put to beat the behemoths’ best of 16.05m, which was enough to earn him the bronze.
Hamish Peacock then backed up to win the bronze in the under 20 men’s shot put, with a best of 15.26m.
Full results from Tasmanian’s follow;
Gold Medal
Huw Peacock - U20 Mens Hammer (61.68m)
Hamish Peacock - U20 Mens Javelin (72.00m)
Silver Medal
Melanie Daniels - U23 Womens 1500m (4:31.91)
Todd Hodgetts – U23 Men Hammer (49.57m)
Bronze Medal
Hamish Peacock - U20 Mens Shot (15.26m)
Todd Hodgetts – U23 Men Shot (16.05)
other performances
4th Danielle McConnell - U20 Womens Hammer (43.42m)
Rebecca Direen - U20 Womens Shot (11.13m)
Hamish Peacock - U20 Mens Discus (50.14m)
Huw Peacock - U20 Mens Shot (14.52m)
Chris McConnell - U20 Mens 400m Hurdles (57.54)
5th Chris McConnell - U20 Mens Shot (13.61m)
Huw Peacock - U20 Mens Javelin (56.36m) & U20 Mens Discus (47.33m)
6th Mikayla Genge - U20 Womens Hammer (42.78m)
Hamish Peacock - U20 Mens Hammer (46.72m)
7th Rebecca Direen - U20 Womens Hammer (38.61m)
8th Chris McConnell - U20 Mens Discus (40.19m)
10th overall in heats - Chris McConnell - Mens U20 110m hurdles (16.23)
12th Kaitlin Morgan - Womens U20 High Jump (1.65m)
16th overall in heats - Noah Nischler - Mens U20 800m (1:59.32)
17th overall in heats - Noah Nischler - Mens U20 1500m (4:10.44)