Coach wants Gander running on aggression
Newcastle Herald
Thursday March 31, 2011
MAITLAND sprint coach Tony Fairweather hopes to see more aggression on the track from his protege Liam Gander today in the Australian Athletics Tour Final in Perth.The meet will be a final chance for Gander and Maitland speedster Laura Whaler to race before the Australian Open Championships from April 15 to 17 in Melbourne.The event doubles as a qualifier for the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in August.Gander opens his program with the 200 metres tonight, followed by the 100m tomorrow.His confidence is high after the Elermore Vale flyer beat Delhi Commonwealth 4x100m relay member Jacob Groth to win the 200m final at the NSW Open Championships at Homebush on Sunday.The day before Gander had sluggish times of 10.80 and 10.84 seconds in his 100m heat and semi-final.A pep talk from Fairweather produced a more aggressive approach in the final and a 10.62 run to claim third."In the races in Sydney he was more aggressive and because his heat and semi weren't great we spoke about the final and revved him up a bit and he performed much better," Fairweather said. "In the 200m he used that approach again and came home faster than he ever has in the final 50m to beat Groth. He took a major scalp and lots of confidence to the next meet, knowing he can beat those guys."Whaler will compete in the 100m and 200m in Perth after winning both sprints at the NSW titles.Whaler won the 100m in 11.87, beating Victorian runner-up Angela Byrt by 0.22 seconds, before claiming the 200m in 24.35."I was expecting Laura to win the 100 and 200, and backing up was the big test," Fairweather said."She proved she's fit enough and strong enough to do that."Fairweather stablemate Pirrenee Steinert made a successful return from a hip stress fracture on the weekend to finish second in 55.28 in the 400m behind Ireland's Michelle Carey to become the NSW champion."Her first race back from stress fractures was to feel racing again and get some confidence back, and we're hoping to race her at nationals and qualify for the relay team," Fairweather said. "She had to start somewhere, and becoming NSW champion was a bonus."Merewether discus thrower Liam Speers won gold in the NSW open men's final with a throw of 51.82m.
© 2011 Newcastle Herald
