Emily Brichacek and NSW women claim national cross country titles
Published Mon 02 Sep 2019
NSW athletes have had a highly successful day at the Cross Country Championship of Australia held in warm weather conditions, with temperatures in the mid-20s at the idyllic Kembla Joggers Cross Country Park in Wollongong on Saturday. Thousands of the best distance runners from around Australia contested the U20 and open championships and schools 10 to 18-year events. NSW athletes were everywhere including on the podium winning the open women’s individual and team events.
OPEN WOMEN
Emily Brichacek (SYU) has led home a marvellous performance by our NSW women winning the national title – the first NSW win since 2013 and helping NSW to the teams title our first for 11 years, since 2008.
Brichacek was favourite and she didn’t disappoint.
“I needed to run smart today, there was a quality field and you couldn’t underestimate anyone, so I watched what was going on and looked for the moves,” she said.
For nearly all of the 10km journey held over laps of one 2km and two 4kms laps, there was a lead pack of six well credentialled athletes – World Cross Country team mates Emily Brichacek and Caitlin Adams (SA); Zatopek U20 3000m champion and still a teenager Rose Davies (NSW); Kiah Fry (VIC) the leading Victorian from the their 10km road and XC championships; the 2014 and 2015 champion Courtney Powell (VIC) and super vet Belinda Martin (NSW), the 45-year-old former national 5000m & half marathon champion.
They snaked around the course with teenager from Adamstown, Rose Davies, who fell one place short of selection at for the World Cross Country team this year, doing much of the leading.
“I felt amazingly good. I felt so strong. I was holding back a lot of the time,” she revealed after the race.
Rather than wait for a final sprint, she took the initiative to break up the lead pack within 1km of the finish tape.
“I knew I had to go to get a medal and I knew when I went Emily would go with me and it would be bit of a battle.”
But the NSW duo Brichacek and Davies didn’t shake off all the competition.
“I was trying not to look around too much and stay focused, but could see Kiah (Fry) was just off the back too.”
The title was decided approaching the notorious final hill, just 300m from the finish.
“Just before the last hill, Emily put in and I had nothing,” said Davies.
Brichacek ran on to take the title in 35:42, ahead of Davies 35:48 and Fry with 35:52. The top-six were close with two-time winner Courtney Powell fourth in 36:01, WXC representative Caitlin Adams fifth 36:02 and NSW’s third athlete, Belinda Martin sixth with 36:09.
Rio Olympic 1500m semi-finalist Jenny Blundell, who ran solo for most of the event, was eighth and the fourth member of the winning NSW team – the first team title for NSW in 11 years. NSW scored 15 points, ahead of Victoria 21 points with Queensland third with 54 points.
OPEN MEN
Over the first 2km lap nearly the entire field were grouped in a large pack, but the action started to unfold during the middle 4km lap when 2017 World Championships marathon representative NSW’s Brad Milosevic (GIR) gapped the field which was extended to about 20 metres going into the final 4km lap. But the lead chasers, now down to six athletes, Olympian David McNeill (VIC), two-time and defending champion Andrew Buchanan (VIC), 2017 and 2018 podium athlete Ed Goddard (NSW), Victorian Jack Davies and Queensland pair Tim Vincent and Louis McAfee, worked hard to close the gap. Within 2km, midway into the last lap, they had caught Milosevic and in the back loop, they passed him with David McNeill now leading by five metres from Buchanan and Goddard together, with Davies a further 10 metres back.
They remained in that formation over the final mile with just Riley Cocks (SA) making a move into fourth.
McNeill hit the line in 30:21, ahead of Buchanan 30:29, Goddard 30:31, Cocks 30:41, Davies 30:43, Tim Vincent (VIC) 30:50 and Milosevic seventh with 31:00. Other leading NSW athletes were 12th Charlie Doherty 31:40, 17th Kieren Tall 32:09, 20th Joe Burgess 32:27 and 22nd Sam Byrne 32:50
For UTS Norths athlete, Ed Goddard, it was his third consecutive national podium in this race.
The NSW team of Goddard, Doherty, tall and Burgess placed third with 39 points, behind Victoria 14 points and SA 31 points.
Full results: https://www.athletics.com.au/2019-australian-cross-country-championships-live-results/
Photos appear in Athletics NSW media.
A NSW juniors wrap to follow soon.
David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Image: Open women NSW athletes (19) Rose Davies, (28) Belinda Martin and Emily Brichacek, with SA’s Caitlin Adams. (courtesy David Tarbotton)
