Latest news with #EliteMile
West Australian
8 hours ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Melhuish claims prestigious Elite Female Mile title in Leonora
ACT's Zoe Melhuish made her mark on Leonora's main street with a tactical performance during the Elite Female Mile on Sunday. Melhuish paced herself behind Stephanie Kelly and Georgia Winkcup before surging ahead on the final lap to record an impressive time of 4min. 42.79sec. as part of this year's $65,000 Leonora Golden Gift program. Kelly (4:45.99) and Winkcup (4.53.03) placed second and third, respectively. The headline event saw a field of experienced athletes face-off across three laps of the freshly resurfaced Tower Street. Melhuish said she enjoyed the street circuit layout of the race. 'I think the corners suited me quite well,' she said. 'It was nice going past every so often and you get the same people (cheering), and the same music going. 'I think a mile is a really good distance, I quite enjoy the mile.' The Canberra-based runner said she had dedicated more time to athletics this season and achieved success in Perth and Sydney. 'I don't think I really raced an awful lot until about this last athletic season,' she said. 'Quite a few things went my way, so I've just had a few good races. 'I went to nationals . . . in Perth and then I've been at Sydney for a 10k and then out here. 'It's my first time in Leonora, I never been before so it was really exciting. 'It has been so nice having everyone out here and having people lining down on the streets. 'All of the other races, like the sprints earlier, I loved watching those.' Melhuish said the event had a 'great atmosphere' and planned to return next year to defend her title. 'The atmosphere was very exciting and having the bands (perform) the night before was really great,' she said. 'It was great to see how many people were out . . . it's exciting to see kids playing and getting photos afterwards. 'It has been an awesome weekend so yes, I will definitely be back next year.' Elite Mile winners pocketed $7500 in prize money and a one-ounce gold coin valued at more than $5000.
West Australian
3 days ago
- Sport
- West Australian
Bol headlines crack men's field for Elite Mile at Leonora Golden Gift
A three-pronged WA attack of Matthew Ramsden, Luke Shaw and Jack Wilson will each be vying to upstage race favourite Peter Bol in Sunday's Men's Elite Mile, as part of this weekend's $65,000 Leonora Golden Gift program. Bol, 31, arrives in the northern Goldfields with the fastest 800m time in Australian history, 1.43.79 seconds, set in Perth in April. A veteran of three Olympics (2016, 2021, 2024), Bol won his semifinal at the Paris Games in 2021 before running a close fourth in the final — missing out on a bronze medal by 0.53 seconds. Ramsden, 27, is a nine-time member of the national athletics team who won the 1500m gold medal six years ago at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville. With an 800m personal-best of 1.47.27 seconds, Shaw, 23, is considered a dark horse while Wilson, at just 19 years of age, is a world under-20 800m finalist. All four, however, face seasoned competition from eight-time New Zealand 800m champion Brad Mathas. Among the Women's Elite Mile field, NSW's Georgia Winkcup joins other top fancies, Queenslander Brielle Erbacher, ACT's Zoe Melhuish and Victorian Stephanie Kelly. Each Elite Mile final carries $25,500 in prize money. The men's event includes three heats on Saturday with the first two in each, plus the next two fastest, qualifying for Sunday's eight-man final. Among the women, two heats will be raced with the top three in each, plus the next two fastest, progressing.
