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Runners on pace for medals |
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CAPT Dee-Ann Jackson put an Achilles injury to the back of her mind in winning 400m gold and 800m silver at the Arafura Games in Darwin. The diminutive ACW Cassie Fien may have stolen the limelight with her four golds including the 5000m and 10,000m in ADF open women’s track and games records, as well as the 1500m and half-marathon, but Capt Jackson drew plenty of admiration for her perseverance and determination. “It was amazing just to see Dee even compete and showed how committed and resilient she was to the team throughout the games,” ADO athletics team manager Cpl Gary Ewart said. Capt Jackson was as solid as ever in winning the 400m in 57.98sec well ahead of the Northern Territory’s Krystal Tomlin in 1:03.43 and was second in the 800m in 2:26.07. Sgt Simon Oregan also ran extremely well throughout the competition on his competitive return from a five-year absence. He was third in the 1500m in 4:09:31, third in the 3000m in 9:19:18 and fifth in the 5000m in 16:18:52. “They were all strong performances and solid runs,” Cpl Ewart said. Cpl Rebecca Christou was the most improved athlete of the meet. “Rebecca, who is also raw in athletics, knocked 20sec off her ADF national 800m (2:46) time to record a new personal best of 2:26.10 with her third place just behind Capt Jackson in the 800m,” Cpl Ewart said. “Rebecca also improved her 1500m time too, to 5:13.09.” Cpl Stephanie Hall had a night to forget when she became over-heated and did not finish the 10,000m, but bounced back for second behind ACW Fien in the 5000m, with her 18:38 also breaking the Arafura Games record. Cpl Dan McBean, the ADO’s lone sprinter, ran hard in fields with plenty of depth and talent. He just missed out on the 100m final by 0.1sec and, unfortunately, was disqualified in the 200m for running out of his lane. He gained some consolation by winning bronze in the men’s 400m in 50:50. Cpl Ewart was elated by the ADO’s athletics tally of nine gold medals, six silver and five bronze. |