Hooker Eyes Maiden Indoor World Crown
World, Olympic and Commonwealth pole vault champion Steve Hooker will tomorrow night launch his bid to claim the only major medal missing from his trophy cabinet when he joins four fellow members of the Australian Flame in action at the IAAF world indoor championships in Doha, Qatar.
Hooker will hit centre stage at the Aspire Dome alongside world championships long jump bronze medallist Mitchell Watt (long jump) and Berlin teammates Fabrice Lapierre (long jump), Scott Martin (shot put) and Petrina Price (high jump) on day one of the three-day meet, as a small but world-class team flies the flag for Australia in tomorrow night’s qualifying rounds.
With victory at the Sydney and Melbourne Track Classics to kick-start his 2010 season – the former with an impressive leap of 5.91m – Hooker will start hot favourite to take out his maiden world indoor title in Doha this weekend.
In early 2009 the world, Olympic and Commonwealth title-holder turned on a stunning indoor season, launching his campaign with a winning leap of 6.01m at the Millrose Games in the USA in January before going on to claim victory at the Boston Indoor Games (USA, 6.06m), Meeting Seat (FRA, 6.00m), Zepter Pole Vault Stars (UKR, 5.92m) and GE Galan (SWE, 5.86m) meets the following month, his win in Boston bringing with it the national indoor record.
On the runway 27-year-old Hooker will face up to a field that includes Berlin bronze medallist Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) and one of Hooker’s own childhood heroes, 2004 Olympic champion Tim Mack (USA).
In his only other appearance at a world indoor titles in Valencia (ESP) in 2008, Hooker took bronze with a leap of 5.80m but two years on, the inaugural captain of the Australian Flame will step out in Doha in almost unstoppable form.
Joining Hooker in action on the opening day of competition will be long jump duo Mitchell Watt and Fabrice Lapierre, the world championships third and fourth place-getters set to go head-to-head against a quality line-up of international contenders.
Watt takes to the runway with wins at the Australia Cup, Brisbane Athletics Classic and Sydney Track Classic and a second placing at last week’s Melbourne Track Classic to his name, the 21-year-old showing no signs of letting up the good form that took him all the way to world championships bronze in 2009.
In one of the most impressive line-ups in Doha this weekend Watt and Lapierre will meet defending world indoors champion and world and Olympic silver medallist Godfrey Mokoena (RSA), Beijing Olympics victor Irving Saladino (PAN) and flying Frenchman Salim Sdiri.
Shot put stalwart Scott Martin rounds out the men’s action, fronting up for his second world indoor campaign following his seventh placing in Valencia in 2008.
In his way stands Christian Cantwell (USA), who this weekend is out to become the first man in history to snare three consecutive world indoor shot put titles, and reigning Olympic champion Tomasz Majewski (POL).
Martin posted a Commonwealth Games A-qualifying distance of 20.06m at the Sydney Track Classic late last month and is a seasoned campaigner who, with plenty of international experience under his belt, will be aiming for a big performance this weekend.
New South Wales high jumper Petrina Price is the only Australian female in action at the 2010 edition of the world indoor titles, fronting up for her second world indoor championships campaign after taking out 12th place in 2004.
Price enters the meet in impressive form following a solid few weeks on the Australian Athletics Tour, highlighted by Commonwealth Games A-qualifying performances at the Briggs Athletics Classic in Hobart (1.90m) and again at the Sydney Track Classic (1.90m) that saw her 2010 campaign off to a flying start.
Price will meet high jump star Blanka Vlasic in the women’s field, the Croatian out to claim back-to-back indoor titles at the Aspire Dome this weekend.
Held every two years since 1985, four Australians have won gold at the world indoor championships; Mike Hillardt (1500m) in 1985, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor (200m) in 1995, Kerry Saxby-Junna (3000m walk) in 1989 and Tamsyn Lewis (800m) in 2008.
Australians in action at the 2010 world indoor championships in Doha, Qatar (AEDST) :
Friday, March 12
17:15: Steve Hooker – Men’s pole vault qualifying
17:20: Scott Martin – Men’s shot put qualifying
17:30: Petrina Price – Women’s high jump qualifying
Saturday, March 13
00:45: Mitchell Watt and Fabrice Lapierre – Men’s long jump qualifying
Sunday, March 14
00:15: Men’s pole vault final
00:20: Men’s shot put final
01:05: Women’s high jump final
01:45: Men’s long jump final
– Athletics Australia