Illawarra Blue Stars winter track and field series is once again proving popular with athletes of all ages over the last two meets, a great place to meet qualifying distances. Over the May and June series the club has welcomed some of the Para Games athletes trying to meet the standards for the Rio Olympics. Last month’s meet saw discus/shot competitor Nicole Harris just missing the standard for the B qualifying mark but she has met this standard twice before so a spot on the plane with javelin thrower Rae Anderson looks very positive.
But other athletes are using these winter meets to judge how they are going and it was great to see master’s sprinter, John Van Stappen back on the track again after a bout of injuries. John tested himself out over the 200m and had another good challenge with female master’s athlete Gianna Mogentale.
The field events saw some good throwing with Nicole outstanding and a great dual between Rina Flynn and June Lowe in the discus, seeing Rina take the honours this time round. Lachlan Parry was too strong for his rivals over the 200m with a very sound hit out for this time of the year.
Meanwhile, thrower Mary Thomas has had another win being awarded Thrower of the Year of the NSW masters Club. This adds to her impressive collection of Australian Masters Thrower, ANSW master’s Thrower and IBS Thrower of the year, an impressive list of awards for the season for this top master’s athlete.
The winter series continues in July and August on the track and any athlete is welcomed to come along and see how they go. Next meet will be 24 July with 60m, 150m javelin, walk, triple/long jump for all ages, male and female. These events will commence on the track at 10.30 am, with the cross country run commencing at 10.00 am on the bike track.
Next round of cross country for the club will be held on the demanding course of Mount Kembla. One of the hardest but one of the most popular meets at the Mount Kemble Lookout, Cordeaux Road, Mount Kembla. The course is tough but presents a strong challenge to athletes of all ages. IBS welcomes anyone who would like to test themselves out on this very scenic course, whether it be for fitness, preparation or just have a strong hit out.
Our cross country runners have performed well again with Geoff Hynoski running well in his age group at the recentState cross country along with Charlotte and Josh Smith, who took part in the first combined Little A’s ANSW event held on the very challenging Cambewarra course, classed as not only one of the best courses but also one of the toughest. Well done to all who took part.