Athletics AustraliaJoined by Japanese competitors Mara Yamauchi and Hiromi Ominami in the lead pack early in the race, Chapple broke away at the 7km-mark to set up a comfortable lead and take victory in 1:08.37, more than a minute clear of her nearest rival.
Jeff Hunt - Competing for the first time over the full 42.195km marathon distance at the weekend's Beppu-Oita event, Hunt’s time of 2:11.00 was the fastest ever performance on debut by an Australian, surpassing the 1986 Commonwealth Games bronze medal effort of national distance legend Steve Moneghetti. ©Athletics Australia
Australian distance running has enjoyed an outstanding weekend of results with New South Welshman Jeff Hunt and Victoria's Nikki Chapple each posting medal-winning performances in Japan.
Competing for the first time over the full 42.195km marathon distance at the weekend's Beppu-Oita event, Hunt’s time of 2:11.00 was the fastest ever performance on debut by an Australian, surpassing the 1986 Commonwealth Games bronze medal effort of national distance legend Steve Moneghetti.
Now an Athletics Australia selector Moneghetti was impressed by Hunt’s performance, saying “to do that on debut shows that he has a great future.”
“The important thing was that he ran on through the field, getting up to second at one stage and then finishing third. It’s not as if he was just dragged along for a good result, he was really competitive throughout, challenging across the whole distance.”
The 2007 national cross country champion has continued to go from strength to strength on the distance running circuit since winning the Gold Coast half marathon in July last year and gaining selection to the world titles in Birmingham (GBR) in October, where he placed 43rd in a time of 1:04.16.
The 27-year-old joins Martin Dent, who placed 11th in the Beppu-Oita event in a time of 2:13:37, and Berlin world championships representative Scott Westcott on the Commonwealth Games A-qualifiers' list.
Also competing in the land of the rising sun at the weekend was a resurgent Nikki Chapple, who improved on her personal best time to take out the Marugame half marathon.
Joined by Japanese competitors Mara Yamauchi and Hiromi Ominami in the lead pack early in the race, Chapple broke away at the 7km-mark to set up a comfortable lead and take victory in 1:08.37, more than a minute clear of her nearest rival.
“The conditions during the race and the flat course made it easy to run and I was hoping for a fast time,” Chapple said.
“To finish with a personal best is great, you can’t really hope for much more than that.”
Under the guidance of coach Nic Bideau, Chapple has burst back onto the distance running scene in recent months. Together with the weekend's result, her victory at the 2009 Great Australian Run in November in trying conditions is testament to her road running prowess.
Such is the current depth of distance running in Australia, national distance coordinator Tim O’Shaughnessy said selectors would face some tough decisions in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games.
“Results across all of the middle and long distances continue to improve, making spots on the Commonwealth Games team very hotly contested,” he said.
“It’s looking like there could be more runners eligible than spots available, which is great for distance running but tough for selectors in their decision-making.”
“Jeff’s result was really outstanding, I don’t think even he would have expected that fast a time and Nikki has continued to improve on the road after her victory at the Great Australian Run late last year.”
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