Walker Jarred Tallent broke Australia’s medals duck on day five in Moscow, leaving the team still with at least three good shots at adding to the tally in the concluding four days.
Tallent battled fatigue early in the 50km walk at the world athletics championships in Moscow on Wednesday, but pushed through to win the bronze medal – his fifth podium finish at world and Olympic level and the first by an Australian at the 2013 championships.
There is more to come; Sally Pearson is raring to go in the defence of her 100m hurdles title, with the heats scheduled for Friday.
Zoe Buckman has come from the clouds to be right in contention for a medal tonight after smashing her personal best and qualifying fastest for the women’s 1500m final.
And Kim Mickle has finished on the podium in her past 10 javelin competitions.
You might like
If all were to finish in the top three – and it’s a big if – it would equal Australia’s best haul of four medals, previously achieved at the 1997, 1999 and 2009 world championships.
Tallent, meanwhile, is still striving for that elusive first major gold.
But he keeps putting himself in contention – so much so that he now has the largest haul of combined Olympic and world championships individual athletics medals by any Australian in more than half a century.
By finishing on the podium at least once at every major meet since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Tallent’ five podium finishes goes past Cathy Freeman’s haul of four – although it’s well worth noting her tally included two world 400m titles plus the unforgettable gold at the Sydney Olympics.
Stay informed, daily
Freeman also anchored the Australian 4x400m relay team which took bronze at the 1995 world titles.
But to match Tallent’s individual haul you have to go all the way back to sprinter-hurdler Shirley Strickland, who won a record seven Olympic athletics medals – five of them in solo events – across three Games from 1948 to 1956.
It’s fair to assume that Strickland would have added further to that impressive tally had there also been world championships on the agenda back in the 1950s.
As Tallent wonders when a major gold medal may finally come his way, he can take heart from the example of 35-year-old Irishman Robert Heffernan, the surprise winner of the 50km walk in Moscow.
“He’s had a lot of championships and it’s a great thing to finally get a medal,” said the 28-year-old Tallent.
“And the one time he gets a medal he gets a gold medal.
“I’m just slugging away hoping to get a gold.
“It’s my fifth medal at a major championships and hopefully it will come one day.
“I’ll definitely push on to the Rio Olympics.”
