NSW Women’s Cross Country: Teammate inspires Campbell victory

10 October 2020

NSW Women’s Cross Country: Teammate inspires Campbell victory

Inspired my many of the tremendous Australian distance running performances this year, Sydney Uni’s Paige Campbell continued her dominance of the domestic season winning her second cross country title this winter.

In Wollongong today, at the 66th NSW open women’s cross country championships, Campbell’s challengers were the same as the Short Course race back in July. They were led by pretty handy distance runners, Marnie Ponton (Bankstown), winner of this title 12 years ago and last year placing an outstanding 44th at the World Cross Country and Australia’s fastest junior half-miler ever Keely Small (Kembla Joggers).

On the first lap a small pack of Campbell, Ponton, Small and Sydney Uni’s Sarah Marvin, piloted the field. When Campbell moved away from the pack towards the end of the first lap, surprisingly it was 800m specialist Keely Small who went with her. Small has been very fit in 2020 boosted by extra mileage. It would take until the later stages of the race before Ponton, who ran a 2:37 marathon last year, passed Small for the silver medal, while Small ran on strongly for the bronze.

Campbell won by 36 seconds in a time of 35:44, with Marnie Ponton recording 36:20 and Keely Small 36:43.

“It was pretty brutal,” said Campbell referring to the heat. “It felt pretty easy for the first two laps with the shady section. Out the back it was hot even as we had a tail wind, but it was not ‘hot hot’.”

Moments before she faced the starting gun, Sydney University teammate James Nipperess crossed the line first in a hard fought open men’s event.

“I was very inspired by Nipper then. Also watching Jess Hull and the girls in London.”

A steeplechase representative at the 2019 world championships, Campbell will now switches her focus towards the track as she seeks qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. She recently placed second to Rio Olympic 1500m semi-finalists Jenny Blundell over 5000m.

“That was my first track run since the Sydney Track Classic (in February) and Jenny was very good. But it was a good opener.”

RunCrew, with places fourth, fifth, sixth and 11th, won the women’s team event, led home by South Africa world cross country representative Aynslee van Graan who ran a tremendous 37:06, 23 seconds from a podium.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Images: Paige Campbell (courtesy of David Tarbotton)