Australian Track & Field Championships - Day 7 Update

It was a triple golden treat for Team SA on Day 7 of the Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney with some great relay efforts cast in bronze.

Flight of gold

Jack Downey has claimed gold in the Men's Open Pole Vault in a major boilover at the Australian Track and Field Championships.

Coached by Kym Simons, Jack cleared 5.40m to claim his first national championship.

"I got lucky. I knew I jumped well,'' he said, having worked himself into a gold medal position while favourite and Commonwealth Gold Medallist Kurtis Marshall who bypassed the first two rounds, failed in his three round three attempts to proceed.

Kurtis, a former South Australian now competing for Western Australia, has a PB of 5.81m and has been selected as a member of the Australian Olympic team for Tokyo.

Jack's immediate ambitions are to gain automatic qualification for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham having increased his PB by 30cm over the past 12 months.

The 19-year-old nuclear medicine student at Uni SA says he enjoys the complexity and multi disciplines of pole vaulting.

"It's like half track and field and half gymnastics. You need to have the speed of a sprinter, the takeoff of a long jumper and a lot strength in the core after takeoff.''

He intends to spend the offseason doing more running, jumping and gymnastics while adding plyometrics to his routine.

Coach Kym Simons was full of praise of Jack's performance, having produced two solid vaults to put him in the position to take gold.

"You never know what's going to unfold,'' he said, highlighting the vagaries of the sport.

"It can be bitter sweet,'' he said pointing to Madeline Lawson's bronze the night before while Courtney Smallcombe bypassed round one but failed on her three attempts in round two.

Kym coaches both the girls and said both were capable of taking out bronze.

That's two ... with ice

Two gold medals, two National T37 records, and one troublesome ankle.

That's the story of Keira Post who still has her favourite long jump event to go.

Keira added to her gold in the Women's Under 15 Para 100 metre final, by taking out the 200m final in the record time of 31.61.

But it's not been plain sailing for Keira who continues to be troubled by an inflamed and bruised ankle after rolling it a week ago.

While heavy strapping has helped, Keira has had to resort to regular icing of her injury.

Out on the track, there was only one focus.

"All I thought of was 'run out hard and try to beat the other girls to the line'."

Some more icing overnight, some more strapping, and a new pair of shoes, Keira says she'll be all set for high jump.

Double act

If Pembroke athlete Jack Doney ever had to front the productivity commission, he'd probably get a gold medal. Because two bronze medals within eight minutes isn't a bad output.

Jack ran the second leg of the Men's Open 4x100m relay then backed it up minutes later opening the 4X400m.

"Ha. It was hard work. I was still huffing and puffing in the box in the 400m. I'm pretty stoked, " he laughed.

It was only the third-ever 400m for the final year Uni SA medical student who is in his second season back after four years off.

Jack was full of praise for the performance of his teammates against quality opposition saying it augured well for relay competitions in SA and track competition in general.

NSW took out the Men's Open 4x400m in blistering pace. But the real battle was played out behind them with the SA team of Jack Doney, Duncan Cameron, Robert Broadhead and Ryan Atkins taking a valiant bronze medal behind Victoria in 3:20.69.

Moments earlier, the 4X100m team of Tomas Semmler, Jack Doney, Joshua Love and Jack Downey who had won the Open Men's Pole Vault just a couple of hours later claimed bronze in 41.77 putting in a solid performance.

Perfect start

It was the golden scene-setter that Team SA wanted, Marley Raikiwasa taking the top podium position in the Women's Under 17 Discuss with a throw of 47:93.

"It felt pretty cool," Marley said of the throw that gave her victory.

"You can usually feel it, and I was pretty pumped," the Tea Tree Gully athlete said.

Embraced by coach Di Ferguson after scoring gold, Marley could reflect on a three-medal haul.

Accompanying her gold are silver medals in the Women's Under 17 Shot Put and Under 20 Discus.

Written by Andrew Holman