World discus champion Dani Samuels will lead the Australian team at the Brisbane Athletics Classic this Saturday night along with nine fellow Berlin World Championships representatives.
The Berlin golden girl will be joined by Australia’s top track and field talent including world championships long jump bronze medallist Mitchell Watt (long jump), world championships 4x400m relay bronze medallists Joel Milburn (400m), Ben Offereins (200m) and Sean Wroe (100m B, 200m), national 100m record-holder and Australian Flame athlete Patrick Johnson (100m, 200m), and fellow world titles campaigners Matt Davies (100m, 200m), Jody Henry (400m), Pirrenee Steinert (400m) and Jeremy Roff (800m).
After winning the gold in Berlin in August, Samuels became the youngest world discuss champion in history at just twenty one years of age.
She’ll be looking to recapture her form as Australia eads in to the second leg of the five-meet national series at the QSAC warm-up track in Brisbane.
Long jumper Mitchell Watt will be looking to the podium after his win in the Australia Cup meet in Canberra last weekend.
With a personal best jump just six centimeters short of our national record (8.49m, set by Jai Taurima in 2000), Watt is tipped to break that record this year.
But Australian team-mates Chris Noffke and Shaun Fletcher will give him a run for his money, along with a number of other Aussie hopefuls.
Men’s 200m national record holder Patrick Johnson, will line up against Berlin 4x100m relay teammate Matt Davies and world championships 4x400m bronze medallists Ben Offereins and Sean Wroe in one of the most hotly contested races of the night.
The Brisbane Athletics Classic is the second stopover on the 2010 Australian Athletics Tour, which continues with the Briggs Athletics Classic in Hobart on February 12, the Sydney Track Classic on February 27 and the Melbourne Track Classic on March 4.
Brisbane Athletics Classic
Saturday February 6, 2010
Action starts 5:30PM (AEST) / 6:30PM (AEDT)
QSAC warm-up track
Tickets at the gate
For more information and athletics news, visit www.athletics.com.au