JOEL Bee went within a breath of running his way into the Stawell Gift final on Monday.
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He was run out in a blanket finish in a semi-final.
Running off the back mark of 4.25 metres Bee finished third, just 0.027 seconds behind winner Adam Coote.
While he missed out on a spot in the $60,000 120m classic, he did walk away from Central Park in top shape for the Australian Athletics Championships and with an even bigger goal in his sights.
Bee returns to his specialty 400 metres event at the titles, which begin at Melbourne’s Lakeside Stadium tomorrow.
Under the guidance of Paul Cleary, Bee is looking to cap off what has been a benchmark season for the youngster.
One highlight was producing a personal best of 46.99 second.
Breaking the 47-second barrier was a massive breakthough – getting him into the nationals.
Can he now though take his career to an all-time high?
Bee is in the running for selection as a 4x400m relay runner for the London Olympic Games.
To earn a berth on the team though, a big run is essential in the nationals.
He did just this in his 400m heat at the Olympic selection trials early last month.
The 19-year-old qualified fifth for the final, but ruined his chance of a podium finish when he stepped on a lane line.
The 400m heats will be run tomorrow, with semi-finals on Saturday and the final the last event of the meet on Sunday,
Bee from Wendouree AC is part of a sizeable contingent of Ballarat Regional Athletic Centre members competing in the three-day championships.
World class race walker Jared Tallent (Ballarat YCW) headlines the representation.
The dual Olympic medallist will line up in the 5000m walk.
Eureka member Victoria Mitchell is also among them.
The 3000m steeplechase winner at the Olympic selection trials also ran at Stawell as a final hit-out ahead of the nationals.
She finished 11th in the frontmarkers’ handicap on Saturday.