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The organizers of the 2011 Leonora Golden Gift are happy to announce the confirmed elite starters for this years meet to take place June 4-5, in the remote Western Australian outback town of Leonora.

 

The blue ribbon mile race, which stands as the richest mile on the Australian running calendar, is once against jam-packed with national and world class athletes. All athletes, in true West Aussie spirit, have decided to take the risk in the hope of reaping the significant rewards. This year’s fields at this stage are as follows. Please note other elite athletes can enter, there are no restrictions on number. If you wish to compete please enter HERE

 

 

Men’s Mile

 

In order of fastest to slowest based on 2011 rankings.

 

1. Jeremy Roff

- 8^th fastest Australian in history over 1500m

- Second place at 2011 Australian 1500m Championships

- Commonwealth and World Championship representative

- 1500m PB: 3:34.39

 

2. James Kaan

- 2011 Australian Champion over 800m

- 1500m PB: 3:39

 

3. Brett Robinson

- World University Games qualifier 2011 and World Junior representative

- Ranked 5^th in 2011 over 1500m

- 1500m PB 3:40

 

4. Brenton Rowe

- 3^rd at the 2011 Australian 1500m Championships

- 1500m PB: 3:39

 

5. Mark Fountain

- 5^th fastest Australian in history over 1500m

- Bronze medalist at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games for 1500m

- 1500m PB 3:33.68

 

6. Jordan Williamsz

- A rising junior start and world junior representative

- 1500m PB: 3:42

 

7. James Nipperess

- World University Games qualifier 2011

- 1500m PB: 3:41.03

 

8. Marc See

- West Australia’s best. Three time West Aussie 1500m Champion, including 2011.

- 1500m PB: 3:44

  

9. Paul Hoffman

- 2^nd place finish at the 2007 Australian 1500m Championships

- 1500m PB: 3:39

10. Josh Tedescoe

- Another exciting West Aussie on the rise

- 1500m PB: 3:50.02

 

 

11. Ethan Heywood

Australian junior cross country champion.

West Australia’s most exciting young distance runner in quite some time

1500m PB: 3:50.86

 

 

Note: All sub 4 minute 1500m runners may enter. Visit HERE to do so ASAP.

 

Women’s Mile

 

 

1. Kaila McKnight

- 2010 Australian 1500m Champion and 2^nd in 2011.

- Ranked number one in Australia for 2011

- 4^th fast Australian in history over 1500m

- 1500m PB: 4:05

 

2. Georgie Clarke

- Sydney 2000 1500m Olympian

- 5^th fastest Australian in history over 1500m

- 1500m PB: 4:06.50

 

3. Bridey Delaney

- 2011 NSW 1500m champion

- Ranked third in Australia for the 2011 season

- 15^th fastest Australian of all time.

- 1500m PB: 4:10

 

4. Lisa Corrigan

- Australian record holder over one-mile

- 3^rd fastest Australian in history over 1500m.

- Winner of the 2010 Leonora Golden Mile.

- 1500m PB: 4:05

 

5. Melissa Duncan

- 6^th place in the 2011 Australian 1500m Championships

- 1500m PB: 4:19

 

6. Monique Hollick

- 2^nd place in the 2011 West Australian 1500m Championships

- 1500m PB: 4:29

 

7. Emily Brichacek

- 11^th place at the 2009 world cross country championships in Jordan.

- 1500m PB: 4:19

 

8. Holly Noack

- 2011 West Australian Champion over 800m

- 1500m PB: 4:24

 

Note: Entries are still open. Visit HERE to enter ASAP.

[Dani Samuels is a class act all the way. Although still only young, she has a wealth of experience, as she already lays claim to the titles of World Junior Champion, Wourld Youth Champion, World University Games Champion, Olympic representative, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist - and now, IAAF World Champion!]

"I don't know what to say, it's just been fantastic, that was just the comp of my life, and I knew I could throw 64m at least, and I'm so happy that managed to do it under pressure!"

"I was a little bit nervous after I saw the order come up on the scoreboard [after the second round], I knew I was in ninth, but then I was looking at the positions, and knew what it took to make the top eight, and I was just like '60m [what was required] for me is not a good throw', so I just forgot about the order, and focused on what I had to do"

"[All the throws] felt really good, like they had been in training, but I never knew how far they were in training, I didn't know they were that big. They just felt so perfect and so effortless, I didn't force them at all, so that shows how important technique is, once you nail it, it just comes out by itself."

"I was a little bit worried after my second warm up and my first throw [because of the rain and delays, Samuels only got two warm up throws], we had got delayed by an hour, and we were sitting in the call room, so I hadn't touched a discus. So I was thinking 'relax' but I was forcing them a little bit, because I knew that I hadn't touched a discus, and I had to have my first round throw very soon. After my first foul, I was a little bit nervous, but I knew I had two more throws."

 

The winning throw was the fifth round, a PB, gold medal and a difficult competition in cold and rain. How was it?

"The delay was tough, I hadn't actually touched a discus until I got out there, so it took a while to get into it. I had a foul, a 59m and then a 62m to make the top eight. I knew I had those (bigger) throws in me because I'd been training well in Berlin last week - and they came out."

"I struggled with the delay and wasn't able to have a warm-up throw. My first two weren't good at all. I was a bit nervous, I think I tried a bit too hard on those first two. I was happy I got the second one in because I didn't want to be sitting on two fouls. Having the 62 under my belt made me relax and the others just came out."

 

What were you thinking when you threw 64 meres and moved into second?

"At 64m I was actually just enjoying the moment. I was loving and enjoying the competition because it was a real competition and places were changing a lot. Because I was enjoying it, I relaxed and nailed my technique."

 

Did you want to celebrate when you took the lead in the fifth round?

"No. It was definitely not over, there are six attempts for everyone and as we've seen at these championships there can be changes in the last round. Barrios and Grasu are great throwers and I knew they could pull one out. After it was all over running over to members of team was great, the support was fantastic."

 

You've won World Youth, World Junior, did you feel this was destiny?

"It was definitely in the plan. The overall goal is the Olympic Games and hopefully that happens in London. All things that come along are stepping stones. The world championships are sometimes tougher to win, so I knew it would be tough."

Samuels' Coach - Denis Knowles

"She's won everything and been very consistent at 62m but there's always been something bigger waiting to happen, and fortunately it came in the right competition, which is this one. I didn't want it to come next weekend, this is the one."

"She's been better prepared than she's ever been so physically she's in better shape, she learned a hell of a lot in Beijing last year and from her first world championships in Osaka two years ago.

"She's met some good, well-credentialed throwers this season - and done it well."

 

 

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'Hills are speedword in disguise '
Frank Shorter

The Leonora Golden Gift is a unique and prestigious athletics carnival held May 30-31st in the West Australian outback. The event carries $53,000AUD in prize money and has attracted the cream of Australian middle distance running in its 6 year history.

For an elite runner, the Leonora experience is like no other. Leonora, a town approximately ten hours drive east from Perth rides the wave of success and failure based on the mining industry. In that way, the people of Leonora relate to the ups and downs faced by runners in races and training. During such tough economic times, this event will lighten up and entertain the Leonora township and district like no other event on the annual calendar.

 

2009 has attracted a star line-up with very classy top ends in both the men's and women's races. On the men's side confirmed starters include Collis Birmingham (Australian record holder over 10,000m and a 3:37 1500m runner), Jeremy Roff (Berlin World Champs representative and a 3:37 1500m runner) and a number of local Western Australian runners, including Chris de Boer (1:48 800m runner). On the women's side there is Lisa Corrigan (Australian record holder over one mile and Beijing Olympic games representative for the 1500m), Kaila McKnight (2nd at the 2009 Australian 1500m championships) and Nikki Molan (2008 Australian 1500m champion).

The calibre of athletes attracted this year is quite impressive when considering the 2008-2009 Australian 1500m rankings lists. On the men's side we have two athletes ranked top four in the country (Birmingham 2nd and Roff 4th). While on the women's side we have three athletes ranked within the top five (Corrigan 1st, McKnight 2nd and Molan 5th). Such high class top end line-ups for both the men's and women's races, have never before been seen at the gift.

Elite Prize Money (all AUD) for the Elite Men's and Women's Mile

 

- First: $6000 plus gold nugget

 

- Second: $4000

 

- Third: $2000

 

- Fourth: $1500

 

- Fifth: $1000

 

- Sixth: $750

 

- Seventh: $500

 

- Eighth: $250

 

In events other than the mile, top Western Australian sprinters such as Jody Henry (ranked 3rd in Australia over 100m and 200m for the 2008-9 season and recently was part of the 4 by 400m women's relay team who ran a qualifying time for the world championships in Berlin later this year), and Felipe de Castro Cruz (ranked equal 5th in Australia over 400mH for 2008-9 season) will be attending, adding a great deal of depth and class to the minor events on offer.

Results, videos, and a full race review will be available here on runnerstribe.com within 24 hours post race.

Read Mark Tuckers Journal from the 2008 Gift

Entry form for the 2009 Leonora Golden Gift - 30th and 31st May 2009 - Western Australia

The Leonora Shire Council are minor sponsors of The Runner's Tribe

'Make the Journey, Reap the Reward, Australia's Richest Mile'

 

 

The Leonora Golden Gift is a unique and prestigious athletics carnival held May 31st to June 2nd in Australia's outback. The event carries $53,000AUD in prize money and has attracted the cream of Australia's middle distance runners in its 5 year history.

It’s a strange and surreal spectacle; a collection of Australia’s most elite middle distance runners all gathered in a remote outback town in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields. Why make the journey to Leonora, a town approximately ten hours drive east from Perth? The general answer to that question is the money, with over $53,000 up for grabs it’s a tempting proposition. However, there is more to the Leonora Golden Gift than the chance to back yourself to win big. It’s the experience that makes the meet, the atmosphere and community spirit. We catch up with the Shire of Leonora President Graham Dawes and race organiser Rafael Baugh for the inside goss on this year’s gift.

 

RunnersTribe (RT): Graham, from the Shire of Leonora’s point of view, what is the motivation behind the Golden gift?

Graham Dawes:One of the major reasons behind the Golden Gift weekend is to put Leonora on the map. The weekend isn’t just about Australia’s richest mile, we have a wealth of events and activities; including numerous other running races, racing pigeon auctions, horse shows and races, 100% ABBA, a concert with singing great Kate Ceberano, as well as many other community-based activities.

     

RT: In terms of the elite mile races, why is so much money put up for the race?

Elite Prize Money (all AUD)

 

- First: $6000 plus gold nugget

 

- Second: $4000

 

- Third: $2000

 

- Fourth: $1500

 

- Fifth: $1000

 

- Sixth: $750

 

- Seventh: $500

 

- Eighth: $250

GD: I was amazed to learn a few years ago that many of our elite runners get very little financial assistance from the government or sponsors. In comparison to swimming, runners seem to get a raw deal. So I guess it is great to see these amazing runners getting some financial gain for their hard work and success. Also, if one of these runners was to go on and represent Australia or win some big race overseas, it would be rewarding to think that the Shire of Leonora helped these athletes to reach such heights.

RT: What about the local and surrounding communities; it must be a great weekend for the kids?

GD: Yes; we have a reasonable number of Indigenous Australians in our community and it’s great to see the young kids racing in the junior races. The speed of some of these kids is simply amazing. Without a doubt it is the biggest weekend on our calendar and it definitely brings the community together.

     

RT: Raf, you have organized the elite male and female races a few times in the past, what are we to expect from this years race and who are the confirmed starters?

Rafael Baugh(RB):This year we have attracted a different type of field compared to previous years. As Australia’s very top middle distance runners are obviously focusing specifically on the Olympics this year, the event is much more open. In previous years, once word got out that a few of those top athletes were racing, the next tier seemed to step back and stay away. This year a lot more athletes think they have a chance to win and hence we are seeing the deepest fields in the events history for both men and women. For the men we have a host of talent including Victorians Paul Hoffman and World Junior Rep Craig Huffer. From New South Wales we have David Byrne, Brett Halls and Ben St Lawrence. We have Jason Woolhouse, a New Zealand athlete living and training in Melbourne. And from West Australia we have Chris DeBoer, Sam Burke and Courtney Carter. In addition, we have former French Junior Cross Country Champion Yoan Meudec. I expect that we will see the closest race in history and the crowd will be on the edge of their seats. In the women’s mile, we have numerous National representatives including Emma Rilen, Nikki Molan, Madelaine Heiner, World Junior Rep Bridey Delaney, Chavon Livey and UK’s Linda Spencer.

RT: How did the race concept originally come about and what has made the event such a success?

RB:The primary reason for the event and its success is that the people of Leonora have a “can do” attitude. The place rides the wave of success and failure based on the mining industry and the people in the town always tough it out. In that way, the people relate to the ups and downs faced by runners in races and training.

The town used to hold the Sons of Gwalia biathlon (run and bike), which carried $8000 prize money, for 5 years in the late 90’s but then the mine shut down and the event stopped. The Leonora Shire was keen to continue the athletic tradition so added “WA’s richest Mile” to the town’s Foundation Day celebrations in 2003. After the event, a few local athletes were at the pub and Shire President Graham Dawes, the legend that he is, said to us “Look boys, we know it is great to have WA’s richest Mile, but how much would it cost to get some decent athletes and make it Australia’s richest?”. After some discussion Ray Boyd (Australian Marathon Rep) suggested a figure. Two weeks later, while back in Perth, I got a phone call from Graham saying “Raf, it’s Graham from Leonora, we have the money, now you have to help us organise the thing”. That was basically it. The organisers, sponsors, community and council of Leonora and the Goldfields region work very hard and are justifiably proud of the way the event has grown since then and they deserve a big pat on the back.

Results and a full race review will be available here within 12 hours post race. This article has been produced by The Runner’s Tribe with help from the Leonora Shire Council and Rafael Baugh.