Audain’s selection charge begins

Press, 21 February 1987, Page 88

Audain’s selection charge begins

By

ROD DEW

One of New Zealand’s most accomplished distance athletes, Anne Audain, of Auckland, bfegins in earnest her quest for selection for the world track and field championships in Rome when she strides out over 5000 m in the Canterbury grand prix meeting at Queen Elizabeth II Park this evening.

This will be her first appearance on the track since claiming the silver medal in the 10,000 m at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games last year, and ■ she is not sure how fast she will run.

"I have come down for a change of scene, and for a good skm race. I want to go through the first 3000 m in 9min ss, and will take it from there. A lot will depend on the conditions,” she said before a run round Hagley Park yesterday.

Audain spends much of her racing time on the road in the United States these days, and visits to the track are, regretfully, few. Her most recent success was running a leg for the New Zealand sixwontan team which won V •

the world relay championship in Hiroshima in December.

Four other members of that team — Mary O’Connor, Anne Hare, Hazel Steward and Sue Bruce — are also in the field for the 5000 m this evening.

In spite of her concentration on the United States road circuit, Audain has her sights firmly fixed on running in the 10,000 m at the world championships in Rome in August. She will run the 5000 m at the New 1 Zealand championships next month and after that make a special bid for a fast 10,000 m time in Auckland. Her target is the A grade selection standard of 33min.

“I should be able to do this relatively easily,” she said. “I have done my best build-up for a long time.”

%he returns to the United States road circuit on March 20. At the end of June, she will be joined by her coach, the former Olympic 1500 m medallist, John Davies, and they will fly to Europe to prepare for the world track championships. Audain was very disappointed by the lack of build-up races arranged before the Edinburgh Games. “I only ran one 2000 m race in England before the Games, and that was crammed with people. Arrangements for other races just fell apart,” she said.

This time she is leaving nothing to chance. She and Mr Davies will arrange preliminary races themselves. These races, Audain believes, are essential if she is to be at her best when she races against the world’s best 10,000 m runners in Rome.