Lead out by national champion Steve Solomon (NSW), the baton was then handed to world championships bronze medallist Ben Offereins (WA) and Olympic nominee Brendan Cole (ACT) before Australian FlameTristan Thomas (Tas) brought the team home.

The impressive run sees the aggregate two-time performance of the team improve to 6:03.14 (3:01.56 from the IAAF world championships and 3:01.58 tonight). When compared to the IAAF rankings issued on March 2, 2012, the Australian team sits 10th overall and well within the top-16 countries, who will make up the starters at the Olympic Games.

Solomon, who was competing on his 19th birthday, said: “That was awesome, the race couldn’t have gone better. My own 400 was as solid as I wanted it to be, and from what I could see of the other boys’ runs we were strong across the board.

“We knew what we had to do here and to come away with a result that essentially sets us up the best we can for London is great, it certainly makes for a great birthday.

“I’m so pumped for the team as a whole, this is something that we knew would come but to now have it is oh so sweet. The times seemed to take forever to come up on the screen but its amazing how quickly lactic acid disappears when a result like that pops up.”

A second Australian team of Sean Wroe (Vic), Alex Beck (Qld), Matt Lynch (NSW) and Alex Carew (Vic) were third in 3:07.29.

Meanwhile in the women's 1500m Kaila McKnight (Vic) and Zoe Buckman (Vic) started, while Jeff Riseley (Vic) lined up in the men's 800m.

Eunice Jepkoech Sum (KEN) won the women’s event in a time of 4:05.99, with Meskerem Assefa (4:05.62) second and McKnight third (4:05.64). All three placegetters times were below the previous world lead of 4:07.00. Buckman was fourth in 4:07.25.

In the men’s event, Riseley placed sixth in 1:45.98. Mohammed Aman (ETH) won the event in a meet record time of 1:43.51, with Leonard Kirwa Kosencha (KEN, 1:44.74) second and Andreas Bube (DEN, 1:45.27) third.

McKnight and Riseley will next start in the women’s 1500m and men’s 800m respectively at Round 2 of the Samsung Diamond League on Saturday night.

In other Australian results:

-       Australian championship silver medallist Beck won the men’s 400m ‘B’ Race in 46.73, with Wroe, who raced for the first time since having his appendix removed, was second in 47.21.

-       Vicky Parnov cleared 4.00m in the women’s pole vault, the same height she did at the Doha Diamond League this past weekend. The event was won by Anastasia Savchenko (RUS) with a 4.60m jump.

-       Brandon Starc (NSW) sailed over 2.10m in the men’s high jump to meet his pre-departure standard for the 2011 IAAF world junior championships. He placed 7th overall.

-       Ignisious Gaisah (GHA) won the men’s long jump with a 7.99m leap, with Robbie Crowther (ACT) 11th thanks to a 7.12m best mark.

The IAAF is expected to reissue official relay rankings during May, via its website www.iaaf.org.

For full results from the Colorful Daegu Meet, please click here.

I look upon my running as “work” and I believe in order to succeed in the sport, I need to enjoy it.

In the past I have also visited the other end of the scale and made sure no matter what I was doing, I was enjoying it. Again, this made my running suffer because I was no longer doing the “little” things.

I spent the weekend just gone with some friends down south in Dunsborough, about 3 hours out of Perth. It gave me time to get away from everything and relax for a few days. However, being on a weekend, I still had to get a session in.

 

Fresh from his Commonwealth Games experience Ben Offereins has chosen to share his thoughts on a major meet just prior to the Games – the Continental Cup in Spilt which was held from 4-5 September.

As I walked out onto the balcony of my hotel room in Split, Croatia, I was greeted by the view of the Mediterranean in all its glory. It’s at this point that you realise you have a blessed life, being lucky enough to experience occasions such as this. Split is a majestic city and was a perfect location to hold the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup.

The first day that we arrived there was not a cloud in sight and a delightful 28 degrees, which was a welcomed change from the rain that we had been receiving back in Cologne. As soon as we hit the hotel we address the most important issue. The beach. With towel in hand we walked the lengthy 75m from our hotel to the beach where we spent a good portion of the day lapping up the Croatian sun. Life can be so hard sometimes….

For the majority of the athletes this was the last meet of the season, so it seemed as though there was more of a relaxed feel to the competition, which was good. Jokes were a common occurrence amongst the athletes in warm up and call rooms.

Lining up at the start line for the flat 400 I was feeling good and looking to run well and try to get my rhythm right for the first time this season. In past races I had been struggling to find that rhythm that I displayed during the Aussie season.

I can tell you that most things went according to plan. I finally felt as though I had found my rhythm. It was a good feeling……only problem was that I was moving at a pedestrian pace through first 200. I realised that I need to get a move on and came home strong which I was happy with. I can’t say the same for the two guys I out dipped on the line to sneak up 2 places. As I walked off the track it soon became apparent that there was still a fair bit of fuel left in the tank which was an encouraging sign.

The second day of comp rolled around and it was time to bond as a 4x400m team and take on the world. Americas, Europe and Africa all selected the top 4 from their continent regardless of what country they were from. It turned out to be Australia vs The World.

None the less, we rocked up to the start line full of energy and pumped to show them that we were there and ready to race. Everyone put in a solid effort and we came away with a very creditable time of 3.03.66.

All round it was a fantastic competition and a good weekend both on and off the track.

I could then look ahead to the Commonwealth Games. The road that was once long, now seems rather short.

More photos of Offereins’ trip can be found on his website at www.benoffereins.com

Brought to you by Edward Ovadia who is in Berlin with official IAAF accreditation covering the championships for Runnerstribe.com

The womens 100m hurdles heats kicked off the evening session, with our own Olympic silver medallist Sally McLellan taking to the track for the first time. She went in as the fastest qualifier, and looked the one to beat. She indeed ran well after a fast start, but used the heats to help her find her rhythm again after not racing for a couple of weeks. The fastest time was recorded by Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, bronze medal winner at the Olympics last year, who ran 12.56 and looked incredibly smooth and dominant in doing so.

McLellan: "I haven't raced since the Stockholm Super Grand Prix, so that wasn't my best race, just running the cobwebs out, so hopefully tomorrow night I can come out and run something better than 12.8. I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best. I was just slow in between [the hurdles], I've just got to get my speed up and get through the race a bit quicker."

Then came the 200m quarter finals, with Bolt again capturing all the attention. He looked relaxed and easy in winning his heat and running 20.41. It will take the semi final, where he might extend himself a little, to gauge an idea of how fast he is currently capable of going. Shawn Crawford also won his head, and Spearmon was second in his.

Bolt: "I am OK. I may have looked tired this morning because the 200m were earlier than the 100m. Why I wear a t-shirt now? [Bolt ran the race in a t-shirt] I just wanted to try something new. I am a little bit tired, but OK. I need to get a little rest this evening and then I will be fresher tomorrow."

The mens triple jump was an entrhalling contest, with the UK desperately hoping to pick up a gold medal thanks to Phillips Idowu, the man sporting the bright red hair. Aside from an already successful Ennis in the heptathlon, and a possible medal with Christine Ohuruogo to come later in the night, Idowu was the UK's biggest hope to grab a gold medal and boost the medal tally of a country trying hard to increase their athletic presence and prowess before the London Olympics. Portugal's Nelson Evora led the first two round with 17.54m, while Idowu could only manage 17.51m. But on the third attempt, Idowu managed to pull out a bug personal best jump of 17.73m to grab the lead in the competition, and set a world leading mark. From that point on it was 'come catch me' territory. But they never did, with Idowu taking home the gold medal - the second one for Great Britain - a promising result for the years before a home Olympics.

Idowu: "I feel very good because all my hard work and all that travelling finally paid off. This moment is very emotional. Today was one of the best days of my life. It is an amazing feeling."

The womens 400m final finally, for once, went as expected, which must have been a relief for Sanya Richards, who has gone in as the favourite many times, but is still to come home with the gold. Well that is true no longer, thanks to a well judged race by the American, who ran strongly and evenly throughout the race to enter the home straight in front, and hold on comfortably for the win. She ran 49.00, with Jamaica's Shericka Williams second, and Russia's Antonina Krivoshapka third. Ohuruogu could only manage fifth, a gallant effort given her very interrupted preparation.

Richards: "[To the crowd] You are awesome! To come here and to win the race, it means the world to me. Finally, I have my own major title. Tinally the hard work has paid off and I also achieved a world lead, great! I felt very confident, I hit my marks in the rounds. Before I had difficulties standing the pressure. But now I am a better athlete."

Then came the mens steeple, which is traditionally Kenyan dominated territory. It ceratinly looked like it would stay that way, with Ezekiel Kemboi, Richard Mateelong, Paul Koech, and Brimin Kipruto, the big four of Kenyan steeplechasing, making up the Kenyan team. But Bouabdellah Tahri had different ideas, always shaddowing the Kenyans as the fast pace was poured on. Slowly it was down to four, Kemboi, Mateelong, Tahri and Koech. Going into the final lap, Kemboi made a mad dash for home, and held it all the way to the line to get the win in a Championship record of 8:00.43.. Mateelong eased away from the rest down the home straight to claim silver, but the battle was on for third between the Frenchman and the Kenyan. It took absolutely everything that Tahri had to squeeze past Koech, but he just made it before the line to ruin the Kenyan medal sweep, and claim the bronze in a new French and European record of 8:01.18.

Kemboi: "It is a great time for me here in Berlin. In 2003 I took silver in Paris, I took silver also in 2005 in Helsinki and in Osaka in 2007 it was also silver, now it is gold in Berlin. I stayed patient and I reached my target. I knew that French runners were strong and it could have been two medals for France. But I am glad we managed it with Mateelong."

Mateelong: "I am very satisfied today. Our tactics was to stay together as long as possible. With only 50m to go, I had to let go Kemboi. But believe me, I am really rejoicing!"

The womens javelin got the crowd on their feet regularly, with three strong German competitors, the best of which was Steffi Nerius. It took Nerius just one throw in the first round to claim the gold medal with a 67.30m, and the rest could do little to catch her.

The last final of the night was the mens 400m hurdles, which saw USA's Kerron Clement take it out hard from the gun, and never looked challenged to win in a world leading 47.91. Bershawn Jackson and Javier Culson did their all to catch Clement, but it was not to be, with the pair taking the bronze and silver medals. Olympic gold medallist Fleix Sanchez hit the first hurdle and never recovered, coming in last.



 

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1500m - Queensland,Australia Classic men's