History shows that Olympic track and field gold medals are fiendishly difficult to win. In the last 20 years, the only Australian to stand atop the Olympic podium in the Games’ premier sport was Cathy Freeman in Sydney.
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And the chances of any Australian emulating Freeman’s unforgettable 400m triumph in Beijing have plummeted following the withdrawal through injury of the teams’ two great golden hopes – 400m hurdler Jana Rawlinson and walker Nathan Deakes.
After interrupted buildups, the reigning world champions were cut down by foot and hamstring injuries respectively.
“Our overall chances of medals are clearly taken away by these two who would have to have gone in as distinct medal prospects and, in Jana’s case, as the outright favourite for the event,” said Athletics Australia national performance manager Max Binnington.
Australia will now be represented by a 41-strong team in Beijing, 26 of whom will be Olympic debutants.
“We have so many young athletes who are there to do their very best and will be excited by the occasion,” said Binnington.
“The important part for us as a team is to keep that excitement going in the right direction and to encourage them.
“… Because it’s such a strong individual event, the athletes are concentrating on their own preparation and where they’re at in their event.
“What tends to happen in our sport more than a team sport is that the likes of Jana and Nathan are able to inspire others once they’ve performed very well.
“And the team can get on a roll.”
That responsibility will now fall more to the likes of pole vaulter Steven Hooker, 5,000m runner Craig Mottram, hurdler Sally McLellan and the men’s 4x400m relay team.
All of them have a realistic shot at medals.
But – unlike Rawlinson and Deakes – none can draw on the experience of previously having won gold at the highest level.
No other Olympic sport can match the global depth of track and field, making medals that much tougher to win.
Four years ago in Athens, 22 nations claimed at least one athletics gold medal and a further 18 – including Australia – won medals of a minor hue.
It’s been said plenty of times before but it’s worth repeating: just about everybody on the planet runs. And many of them jump or throw things too.
Perhaps the best remaining gold medal hope is Hooker, who at his best is as good a chance as anyone of unseating American gold medal favourite Brad Walker in the pole vault.
“(The likes of Hooker, Mottram and pole vaulter Paul Burgess) are world-class athletes, who know that they should certainly be finalists and should be looking at medal opportunities,” said Binnington.
“That’s the standard they should be aiming to achieve.
“We also have a number of younger athletes who have indicated they’re fairly close to finals level.
“(Shot putter) Scott Martin and (discus thrower) Dani Samuels only just missed out on the finals last year at the world championships.
“Then there’s Sally McLellan, my view is that she will certainly be a finalist and she has her eye on medals.
“Now that might be a bit ambitious at this stage, but she’s an ambitious and courageous young lady and we know she responds to great competition.”
The bulk of the team will put the finishing touches on their preparations at a training camp in Hong Kong in early August, although the walkers will return to the base in Kochi, Japan which served them so well last year.
The most controversial decision by the selectors was to overlook the claims of the men’s 4x100m relay team, meaning for the first time since 1936, Australia will be unrepresented in all of the sprints at Olympic level.
But there is strength in depth in other areas, including the men’s throws and the walks – even in the absence of Deakes.
In Commonwealth champions Scott Martin and Justin Anlezark, Australia will have two men’s shot putters for the first time since 1956.
Twenty-six members of the team will be making their Olympic debuts in China, while walker Jane Saville becomes just the sixth Australian track and field athlete to compete at four Games.
And Deakes is confident that his teammates will step up in the enforced absence of their two biggest stars.
“You can look at it historically and see that we always have athletes who come through and win medals that aren’t expected, so I can’t see how this is going to be any different this year,” he said.
” … we’ve still got some great athletes who will perform very well.
“They only have to make the final and once they’re in the final they’re a chance for a medal.
“I don’t foresee that the Australian team will come away empty-handed.”
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