Jack Hale heads to Canberra in search of Commonwealth Games qualification after Perth time fails to count

AUSSIE teen sprint star Jack Hale might have been the fourth-fastest Australian man over 100m in history but for a bad blunder by Western Australian athletics officials.

Jack Hale was denied the fourth fastest time by an Australian.

TEEN sprint star Jack Hale might have been the fourth-fastest Australian man over 100m in history but for a bad blunder by Western Australian athletics officials.

Hale ran a phenomenal time in his 100m sprint preliminary at the WA state championships on Friday night, only to finish and realise the all-important photo finish timing equipment had not worked and the wind gauge had not started.

According to the 19-year-old’s camp, hand-held timing indicated he had clocked about the equivalent of 10.10 seconds, which would have been a significant personal best and the fastest time by an Australian in nearly 11 years since Joshua Ross ran 10.08 in 2007.

It would also have elevated him to fourth on the all-time list behind Patrick Johnson (9.93 in 2003), Matt Shirvington (10.03 in 1998) and Ross.

As it happened, Hale ran 10.10 last weekend at the Perth Track Classic but an illegal tailwind of 2.1 meant the time could not count as an official Commonwealth Games A qualifier of 10.15 or under.

Reports from the Perth track on Friday indicated wind was unlikely to have been an issue here, with the gauge measuring a tailwind of 0.3 in Hale’s final, which he ran in 10.23.

Hale’s previous fastest time was 10.13, but that was also achieved with an illegal tailwind.

His quickest official time is 10.21, achieved in 2016 in Germany.

It’s understood Hale’s coach Adam Larcom is furious about the mistake, which his manager Richard Welsh said was not good enough.

“It’s disappointing Jack has gone all the way to Perth in great conditions, he’s in fantastic shape, and he’s put a performance down that wasn’t able to be measured,” Welsh said.

“That’s disappointing for Jack.

“His coach went all the way over from Melbourne to support him in the performance.

“To his credit, Jack dealt with it very well.

“He jumped straight on a plane and came back to get ready for his next race in Canberra next weekend.”

Welsh said Athletic’s WA’s sports science department had filmed the race and were hoping to send it to Athletics Australia so officials could assess whether it is accurate enough to stand as a Gold Coast qualifier, or at least be used on a discretionary basis by selectors.

If not, Hale will have everything to race for at next weekend’s ACT championships in Canberra, a famously fast course set to attract a stacked field.