Perfect conditions give Aaron Stubbs, Melissa Breen perfect opportunity to qualify

SPRINTERS Aaron Stubbs and Melissa Breen will have the perfect platform to post Olympic 100m qualifying times at the Queensland championships.

GOLD Coast sprinter Aaron Stubbs and Canberra’s Melissa Breen resume pursuit of an Olympic qualifying time in Saturday’s 100m events at the Queensland athletics championships.

Stubbs’s 10.24sec 100m personal best time in Canberra last Saturday consolidated his position as Australia’s No.2 behind the qualified Josh Clarke and he will not have too many better settings to post the 10.16 qualifying time than he will on a forecast hot day at Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre.

Stubbs can expect to have Brisbane 19-year-old Trae Williams, with a 10.32 personal best this season, and Sunshine Coast’s Alexander Hartmann (10.35) to provide competitive tension in the 100m final.

Breen has no such competition driving her on in the women’s 100m, with the second fastest seed time being Toea Wisil’s 11.63 to her own 11.38.

Williams’s progression in an Olympic year creates extra youthful depth in Australia’s male sprinting ranks.

Queensland Athletics official Matt Lynch said Williams is within sight the Australian under-20 record of 10.29 held by Matt Shirvington, who went on to make an Olympic 100m semi-final in 2000.

“Trae’s without doubt one of the most talented junior athletes this country has ever seen and I expect he will be challenging for the top couple of podium places in the 100m and 200m at the state titles,’’ said Stubbs, who is favoured on times to win his first Queensland title in the 100m.

“His relay run in Canberra was one of the best I have ever seen and if there is a (men’s 4x100m) relay team that goes to Rio you can expect him to lead us off.’’

Ankle soreness and her attendance at a friend’s wedding in Sydney today will see Chelsea Jaensch sit out Sunday’s long jump event at the Queensland championships.

Melissa Breen at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix on in Canberra.

Jaensch, qualified for the Rio Olympics last weekend in the long jump with a 6.70m leap in Canberra, but coach Gary Bourne has confirmed she will not be contesting the state titles at Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre.

Having achieved her Olympic qualifying standard, Jaensch can schedule the rest of her season around making sure she finishes in the top two at the national championships in April.

Rio-qualified pole vault exponent Alana Boyd had three entrants in her event and is poised for another state title.

Originally published as Perfect conditions give Aaron Stubbs, Melissa Breen perfect opportunity to qualify