Australian marathoner Sarah Klein chases 10km road race win on Gold Coast

SARAH Klein first tasted success on the Gold Coast eight years ago when she won the 10km road race at the Gold Coast marathon carnival.

Sarah Klein represents Australia at the world championships last year. Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images

SARAH Klein first tasted success on the Gold Coast eight years ago when she won the 10km road race at the Gold Coast marathon carnival.

The 31-year-old is hoping she can repeat that on Saturday when she lines up in the event again after finishing second last year to Olympic steeplechaser Victoria Mitchell despite recording a personal best.

But Klein, who represented Australia in the marathon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 world championships, is unlikely to have things all her own way on Saturday.

Gold Coast triathlon representative Ashleigh Gentle will use the event as a hitout for Rio and could push Klein.

Gentle is a bike/run specialist who is likely to be chasing down the favourites in Rio as she attempts to get on the podium.

The 25-year-old former world junior champion has won two silver medals in the world triathlon series this season, at Abu Dhabi and Yokohama, where her run leg was among the best in the field.

At Yokohama last month, Gentle posted a 33min 34sec split for the 10km run after a 1500m swim and 40km bike leg.

Klein’s 33:15 for silver on the Gold Coast last year is slightly faster but the pair are likely to wage a good battle on Saturday.

Both may trail in the opening stages though, with Australian 3000m steeplechase representative Madeline Hills to take advantage of the flat and fast Gold Coast street course to hone her Rio preparations.

Hills will run 5000m as part of her Games preparations, giving Klein, Gentle and 2015 world cross country representative Gemma Maini with a rabbit to chase.

Hugh Williams, who finished second in this event in 2012, will lead the men’s field looking to add to his impressive form this season.

The ACT runner, 24, has notched four personal bests across various distances this season, including a 29:20 to finish fourth at the Launceston 10km last month.

Andrew Buchanan is the only other man in the field to have broken 30 minutes and is set to give Williams a run for his money after setting personal bests over three distances this season

Queensland’s Louis McAfee will take a break from training at the Boise State University in the US to try to better his sixth place last year and will become the second person in his family to notch a Gold Coast marathon carnival title after his mother, Janet, claimed victory in the ninth staging of the marathon in 1987.