NO one was as surprised as Richard Brown when he crossed the finish line first in the 70m open final at Maryborough yesterday.
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The 20-year-old scored his first win in an open race with a time of 7.55 seconds.
Off a mark of 9.5m, Brown finished second in his heat before winning his semi-final.
When it came to the final, he said he could sense his opposition closing at the end of the race.
“It was a really competitive race,” Brown admitted.
“I felt them closing at the line.
“I could see out of the corner of my eye I’d got through.”
Brown is originally from Balmoral, between Hamilton and Horsham but is now living in Ballarat.
Coach Rod Mathews said it was an impressive victory given it was not Brown’s preferred distance.
It was Brown’s first professional run over the 70m distance.
“He’s just started training with us and I’d say he’s going to be a 400m runner, so to win the 70-metre was a real surprise,” Mathews said. Mathews said Brown arrived late and had to jump over the fence to get ready for his heat. Bendigo’s Lonain Burnett won the 800m open final, while Mitchell Hocking was triumphant in the 400m open final.
Sisters Eleni and Rosamond Gilden were first and second in the women’s 400m final, Martine Beer in the 1600m women’s and veterans final, while Brian Wright (NSW) backed up victory in the 120m veteran final by winning the 300m veteran final.
