Australian nationals, or "nationals" as they shall be referred to from this point forth, began today on an initially forboding morning characterised by cold temperatures and long warm ups. Long enough, in fact, to allow for your eternally absent-minded man-on-the-ground, moi, to forget his victorian skinsuit but still have time to make the hour-long round trip home and back to retrieve it.
Meanwhile, Keiran Garriga is caught with his pants down...
Thankfully, I got back in time for the time trial, a race in which I am not traditionally known for placing well in. This year was no different (see results). Mark Gainsmith, however, snatched his first nationals time trial gold medal with a scorching time, and venue record of 17.560. Young Gethyn Sharp-Bucknall, aslo from victoria, won the junior international mens division with a time which would have shamed most of the senior men. Other honorable mentions go to Janelle Cornish of queensland who won the junior girls division by more than a second and Craig Hawke of victoria for winning his division despite having to re-run his time trial due to technical difficulties
The 5k/3k races for all the divisions were the order of the afternoon with exciting racing coming from all quaters. Fast pack sprints at the finish line made matters difficult for the place judges, but the officials handled the job well. Victorian Brooke Lochland won the junior international ladies division with an awe-inspiring sprint which went for a good half-a-lap and left runners up Anna Tilley and Sandra Lorincz from western Australia hurting in her wake. Other memorable performances came in from Robbie Cook from south Australia who snatched victory in the final centimeters of his race from queenslander Corey Stevens, and the victorian trio of Sam Evans, Daniel Greig and James Nicholson who very nearly grabbed a victorian 1-2-3 at the last minute but were foiled by newcomer from Cairns, Alister Dugdale.
The senior ladies field picks up the pace in the 5000m. Alison Weppler can be seen the Bont skinsuit making a comeback to the sport.
D-rock "pins" Burton leads the senior mens 5k - a deceptively fast 8:24.19
In the masters divisions, Andrew Teiken from queensland asserted his dominance while Stephen Cook battled it out with Peter Garriga and was victorious over the victorian.
Shaun Thompson came down for Nationals and it was good to see him. Here he can be seen chatting with friend and fellow Junior World Champion, Corey Price.
The second day of road nationals kicked off with 500m heats in most of the divisions. They were, in general, very exciting affairs with some hotly-contested racing just for a place in the semis or finals. The junior and senior international mens provided some spectacular racing, as they had the largest numbers, they had the most to eliminate. Although I was one of the first to go, I'm not bitter (despite being in a heat with, count them, FIVE victorians)
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Jon Evans, victorian speed VP dutifully mans the fundraising stall where cool drinks and lollies could be purchased. As the day wore on, temperatures soared and shade quickly became one of the most soughtafter commodities. The rise in temperature also wreaked havoc on everyone's wheels, because the dandenong netball courts have a reputation of turning inline skating wheels into pizza-cutters when the temperature is high.
Juan Carlos Valencia (middle) spent the day massaging skaters for the small fee of $20. Here he can be seen taking a break and chilling out with the ever-vigilant Pauline Robertson and Corey Price.
Quick starts were the order of the day, as your position into the first corner of a 500m is so vital. However, that is not to say that one can rely entirely on one's start. Otherwise I would have done much better.
The team tents became quite crowded as everyone tried to stay out of the scorching heat. There were many close finishes in the 500m final, notably the masters which began with Craig Hawke hammering it straight out of the blocks, however by the finish line he was singing a different tune (probably the "I hate lactic acid" song) and all four finalists bunched up at the finish line with Geoff Rushen in the lead, Andrew Tieken in second and Tim Stannage in third.
Many of the finishes were very close. Here we can see queenslander Corey Stevens and south Australian Robbie Cook at full extension at the finish line. Some memorable performances today came from Daniel Greig, Sam Evans and James Nicholson who brought home a 1-2-3 for victoria. The senior international men did likewise with Michael Byrne, Mark Kinzett and Mark Gainsmith taking out another 1-2-3 for victoria. Later in the day, the junior boys brough home a 1-2 in the relay with victoria-1 leaving the rest of the field for dead and victoria-2 gaining their second placing after a western Australian tag was judged illegal. Before we had time to catch our breath, the masters men relay were going at it and the long-standing rivalry between victoria and queensland once again made itself known. This year, however, it was victoria with the gold, queensland with the silver (and victoria 2 with the bronze).
The victorian senior men putting together some shade for themselves. To finish the day, the international grades had to put together a points race. For a gruelling 10 kilometers, there was no shade for the skaters while they battled out points sprints every lap for the measley one point which is awarded only to the winner. In all divisions except the junior international men, the field ended up quite spread out as everyone had to push the pace to stay in the race. For full results of day 2, click here.
Day three of nationals began at an ungodly hour of the morning. Many of the skaters woke up and began driving to the venue before the sun had even come up. The day began with the 1000m heats in all divisions. Slowly (well, not from the skaters point of view) but surely we worked through all the 1000m heats and semis and finally, to the finals. The finals, although not as fast (because nobody needs a fast time to get through to the next round), were no less exciting than the semis. In fact, in most cases they were more exciting...
Brooke Lochland showing the rest of the Junior International ladies that she means business in her 1000m. Brooke went on to win comfortably (and we were all very surprised, really). In other divisions Daniel Greig won his 1000m final, Angie Thomas won hers, Corey Stevens his, Janelle Cornish hers, and Michael Byrne his in the junior boys, senior international ladies, junior international mens, junior girls and senior international mens respectively.
After noon, temperatures soared to a whopping 33 degrees in the shade prompting many people to slip slop slap (or spray as the case may be). Here Mark Gainsmith demonstrates how not to use spray-on sunscreen. As the temperatures soared, the wheels wore causing many to slip and slide going around the corners, especially at corner 2, a corner which has been dubbed by some commentators as "death corner".
Later in the afternoon, 20k elimination races were run in the international divisions. 20k is a long way for some, but these junior boys can be seen doing it tough, with many of them making it to the end of the distance AND have a sprint left in them. Brooke once again asserted her dominance by winning her 20k in front of Sandra Lorincz and Anna Tilley, both from western Australia. In the senior international men Michael Byrne overcame a strong challenge from New Zealander Shane Dobbin to take gold in his 20k elimination.
During the breaks in racing, many of the younger victorians sought shelter from the sun under the victorian tent. Here they can be seen relaxing to a game of cards.
Brooke and Angie both seem to have taken up the sport of "synchronised warming up". The road program finished off with the 5k relays. The senior international ladies relay was won by queensland over two western Australian teams. The rest of the relays were won by victorian teams with some very strong performances being put in by victorian "B" teams, although the team which I happened to be on only managed a close 4th.
Gethyn Sharp-Bucknall enjoying his ice cream just a little too much methinks ("...hey, you never know, you might like it..."). Gethyn is always a constant source of inspiration for the victorian team, not only for his skating, but for the constant amusement he provides for his fellow skaters. To see what I'm talking about, click here.
With the road program over, with Victoria victorious, everyone retired from the infamous Dandenong netball courts for a well-earned rest day. For a list of all road results, click here.
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