Bannister is back

March 4th, 2010

THROUGH all the injuries and all the time spent on the sidelines, Australian javelin record holder Jarrod Bannister never stopped believing he would return to action better than ever.

The Townsville product, the forgotten man of Australian track and field, is finally back after a wretched 18 months which began when he suffered a serious elbow injury midway through the Olympic final, cruelling his medal hopes in Beijing.

He was sitting in fourth place at the time, before eventually slipping to sixth - the best-ever result by an Australian male javelin thrower at Olympic level.

Bannister's big breakthrough came when he smashed the Australian record with a throw of 89.02m at the 2008 national championships - an effort bettered by only two other men worldwide in the following two years.

The knowledge that he has done it before buoyed the 25-year-old through two bouts of elbow surgery, plus operations on both ankles.

Having bettered the Commonwealth Games A qualifying standard with a throw of 81.05m last weekend in the first major meet since his return to competition, Bannister will again lock horns today with former world champion Tero Pitkamaki of Finland in one of the feature events of the Melbourne Track Classic.

''Six months before I threw the personal best I had problems with stress fractures,'' said Bannister.

''I had a sore elbow which eventually turned into a fracture at the Olympics.

''... Obviously you're going to look back (and think about what could have happened if he had stayed fit in the Olympic final). I was feeling great, I really felt like I could have done it.

''It's all ifs and buts and you've just got to let it go and know that what I'm working towards now is bigger and better.

''Basically I've learnt from it and I want to use it as a building block.''

Bannister divides his time between bases in Germany and Melbourne.

And he is now able to call on the expertise of coach Uwe Hohn all year round after the Australian Sports Commission hired the former East German javelin legend to head up a six-month pilot program.

In addition to coaching Bannister, Hohn can also assist Australia's other top-line throwers such as discus world champion Dani Samuels and shot putter Scott Martin, while identifying further young talent.

''I've always had that belief that I can be better than what I've already done - I believe I can throw into the mid 90m,'' said Bannister.

Townsville high jumper's high expectations - http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2010/02/25/118145_sport.html

ANTONY STEWART

February 25th, 2010

OVER-excitement may have cost him automatic selection for the Commonwealth Games but Townsville high jumper Josh Hall is adamant qualification is just around the corner.

The 19-year-old recorded his second B-qualifier with a winning 2.21m jump at an under-21 trans-Tasman athletics meet in Auckland, New Zealand on the weekend.

Hall then went for an A-qualifier 2.25m, but his feet knocked the bar off.

An A-qualifier gives athletes an automatic spot in the Australian team for the Delhi Games while a B-qualifier only makes them eligible for selection.

''I got over the A-qualifier but I tipped it with my foot, I didn't flick my legs,'' Hall said.

''I thought I was over, I just got a bit excited a bit early and lost a bit of concentration.''

The 2.21 jump equalled his personal best recorded in Townsville in October last year, although he said he cleared the bar with space to spare this time around.

''Back then I made the bar wobble, but I had a bit to spare, I cleared it quite comfortably,'' Hall said.

With the confidence taken from the near miss, which defeated his closest rival by 18cm, Hall is confident he can make up for the mistake before the end-of-April selection cut-off. His next focus is the Melbourne Grand Prix meet, which starts today week, before he has two local competitions and the national titles in Perth in April.

''I know I can make it over it, it's just a matter of time,'' Hall said.

''The selection policy is you have to have an A (qualifier) or at least two Bs to be eligible but it would be better to have three or four to be ahead of someone who did jump two, '' he said.

 Results from ANQ athletes at the recent U/14/U18 State Championships and Brisbane Athletics Classic can be found here.

Results from ANQ athletes at the recent Sydney Track Classic can be found here.

2010 Rankings up to the 1st of March can be found here - Men & Women

The Oceania Athletics Association is now calling for officials to be appointed to Oceania Open Area Championships to be conducted in Cairns, 23-25 September 2010. The Oceania Athletics Association would be pleased if any interested official would nominate on the attached nomination form with details of all necessary experience. 

Nominations for Officials will close at the OAA Office on the 28^th May 2010 and appointments are expected to be communicated by mid-June to ensure sufficient time for officials to make travel and accommodation bookings.  Positions to be filled are indicated at the end of this circular - Officials must complete the Call for Officials form at the end of this Circular.

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Click here to download the latest ANQ Event Calendar listed in date order.

Last Updated 12.02.2010

Please note that events are subject to change or cancellation with out notice.