Jack Rayner has done it the hard way to finally win his first Australian 10,000m title at the seventh attempt.
Rayner, 26, and the battle-hardened Dave McNeill broke away from the leading pack in the closing stages of the race on a humid evening at Lakeside Stadium.
But it was the 26-year-old Rayner who finished the stronger, crossing the line in 28 minutes 16.86 seconds ahead of McNeill (28:22.08) and Liam Adams (28:46.35).
“It feels amazing,” said Rayner.
“It’s my seventh time time doing the Zatopek (national 10,000m race), I’ve finished second a few times in the past and I did everything to finally get the win.
“Dave is a seasoned veteran so I knew he’d be very hard to shake.
“When I was looking up at the big screen and seeing he was just behind me I knew I just had to keep pushing until he had nothing left.”
Rayner had a disappointing time on his Olympic debut last year in Japan where he was forced to withdraw from the marathon due to a stress reaction in his femur.
His main target in 2022 is the Commonwealth Games marathon in Birmingham.
In the women’s race, Rose Davies made a flying start to what is shaping as a year full of possibilities by winning a second straight national 10,000m title.
The 22-year-old from Newcastle kicked clear of evergreen Eloise Wellings to win in 32:58.45.
Davies made her Olympic debut last year in Tokyo, where she was eliminated in the 5000m heats.
Her plan is to better the tough qualifying standards for both the 5000m and 10,000m for the world championships in Oregon in July.
The Birmingham Commonwealth Games in early August are also firmly on the agenda.
“Whether I do both events or I get the times, I’m definitely aiming to do both,” she said.
“I really enjoy the 10K and getting the chance to relax into the race, whereas the 5K is a little more challenging.”
The 39-year-old Wellings was second in 33:00.87 and Izzi Batt-Doyle – who made her Olympic debut alongside Davies in Tokyo – was third in 33:04.69.
With the biennial world championships pushed back a year due to COVID-19, many of Australia’s leading distance runners and multi-eventers will face a tough choice of whether to prioritise that event or the Commonwealth Games.
The opening ceremony in Birmingham on July 28 is only four days after the conclusion of the world track and field titles.
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