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Jack Rayner has reached the point in his career where winning a third successive 10,000-metre national title is little more than a box ticked on the road to the Paris Olympics.
That is a good thing.
Jack Rayner on his way to winning the national title.
Rayner won the national 10-kilometre title at the On Zatopek:10 at Melbourne’s Albert Park on Saturday night, but he didn’t win the race. Irishman Andrew Coscoran won the 10,000m in 27 mins 56.37, with Rayner coming second – the first Australian over the line at 27:57.87 – and so won the national title, his third in succession.
“It was pretty brutal for running fast, but it wasn’t too slow at the end. I think it was the quickest I have ever run here,” Rayner said.
Rayner became the first person since Stewart McSweyn in 2017, ’18 and ’19 to win three successive national titles at the On Zatopek.
Two-time Olympian Pat Tiernan led for most of the night, with the tall former national record holder shouldering the burden of driving into the wind on a cold, blustery night.
“Pat Tiernan did most of the work out the front and I was listening to the commentary and they said Andrew Coscoron, the Irish bloke was still in the pack and I was like ‘Oh gee I don’t want him here with a few laps to go’ because he has run 3.30 for 1500 so I knew he has got the speed. When I made the move [near the end] I thought it would be enough to break him, then I was quite surprised he came shooting around me. I tried to go again in the last 80 metres and it wasn’t enough.
“Three Australian titles in a row, I won’t count it as a win but three Aussie titles is good.
“It’s a tick in the box for Paris. I’ll go to US like last year and run a 10k there [to get the qualifying time].
“It is good. It’s my eighth or ninth time doing Zatopek. For a few years I was just a young boy doing it so it is a bit surreal to be up there winning it. I finished third a few years ago, so to now win three in a row is pretty special. Persistence pays off.”
Victorian Lauren Ryan won the women’s 10,000m national title in 32 mins 54, ahead of Holly Campbell in 32.54.94 and Rose Davies a second behind.
Peking Duk performing at the Zatopek.
The On Zatopek:10 was a reimagined athletics meeting with crowds brought right up close to the track, DJs playing throughout, a covered bar trackside on the back straight and world-class DJ Peking Duk performing after the competition.
The only thing missing was the weather.
The success of this style of entertainment-first event should not be judged by attendance figures on a night like this, given the unseasonably cold weather and a full day of rain.
The innovations of bringing fans inside the track and music being played throughout brought a joy to what have previously been staid events.
Early in the night, Tokyo Olympian Benderere Oboya, in her return to racing after a brief retirement and a decision to shift up from the 400m to the 800m, competed in the unusual 600m distance, won in an event that as it turns out suits her well.
“If the 600 was an actual event that would be amazing. I was so excited to pull the spikes on
coming out – being in the call room, I got the chills,” Oboya said.
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