Two Sydney University Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarship holders and Sydney University Athletics Club representatives were in the medals over the weekend at the Sydney Track Classic.
Lachlan Renshaw secured bronze in the men’s 800m, finishing behind Olympic and World 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop. It was a strong perfomance for Renshaw (B. Commerce), who posted a time of 1.46.98. It augers well for him in his next crack at the 800m which will occur at the Olympic trials held in Melbourne March 3rd and 4th. Renshaw is looking to qualify for his second straight Olympic Games.
Nic Hough (B. IT/B. Laws) showed he has the potential to be one of the big names in sprinting in years to come finishing second in the 200m and third in the 100m. At only 18 years of age Hough will be a contender at the World Juniors later in the year.
Fellow EAP scholarship holder James Nipperess also put in a mighty performance in the Men’s 3000m steeplechase finishing fourthin a time of 8.39, which was a huge personal best and moves him within a reasonable distance of an Olympic qualifying performance. In front of him was Yousef Abdi, who finished sixth at the Beijing Olympics, and Jairus Kipchoge a rising star of Kenyan steeplechasing.
Larissa Pasternatsky also made a return to the top flight of domestic competition after a long absence with injury competing in the 100 (eighth) and 200m (seventh).
This weekend sees competition move to the NSW Masters Championships where SUAC will have a number of favourites to win their age categories including Larissa Stanley (800), Piyush Kumar (100) and Brett Halls 800m.
