SA’s top runners set for national athletics championships in Sydney this week

Adelaide’s top runners are in Sydney for the national championships starting on Thursday where they hope to book their ticket to the world titles and world uni games later this year.

Members of the Asics high performance running squad members Daniel Canala, Sarah Eckel, Riley Cocks, Caitlin Adams and Max Stevens at Athletics SA Stadium. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe.

Adelaide’s top runners are in Sydney for the national championships starting on Thursday where they hope to book their ticket to the world titles and world uni games later this year.

Team Tempo’s Asics high performance squad will be represented by the likes of Max Stevens, Daniel Canala and Sarah Eckel while racewalker Jared Tallent is set to go to Japan next week for his first 50km race since the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Stevens has been the No.1 ranked steeplechaser in Australia for the past two years but missed out on the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games after finished second at the nationals.

This Sunday he gets his shot at redemption and is in good form having won the 5000m, 3000m and 1500m at the state championships this season.

Stevens also won the Sydney Track Classic in 8mins 36secs and needs to go seven seconds faster in Sydney to qualify for the world championships in Doha.

“He needs to run an 8:29 for an automatic qualifier for world champs or he could get picked up on a roll down if the quota isn’t full,” coach Adam Didyk said.

“But he’ll head to America in May for some racing and try to hit those times as well.”

Canala was fifth in the national 5km title in February when he ran 13mins 59secs to break the 14-minute barrier.

The former triathlete will race the 1500m at nationals and has his eye on the world uni games in Italy in July. Cocks meanwhile ran a PB 28:46 for the 10km in California last week and is also hopeful of the world uni games.

Caitlin Adams has just returned from the world cross country championships in Denmark where she placed 69th and despite winning the Victorian 5km title this season won’t back up at the nationals this weekend.

Eckel is coming off the world junior championships last year when she also won the 800m and 1500m open events at the SA titles.

Having overcome a foot injury she is racing in Sydney then will head to the US for an altitude and racing block with Stevens.

Olympic champion racewalker Tallent has finally shrugged off a persistent hamstring injury and will have his first 50km hit-out in Japan next week since the 2016 Rio Games.

He hopes to qualify for the world championships in Doha which would be a gateway to next year’s 2020 Olympics.

His wife Claire continues to train and will be a medal contender in the 50km race in Doha, but is in limbo with uncertainty surrounding the racewalking program for Tokyo next year.