Olympic dream may be reality for Tasmanians - Still all to play for on road to qualifying
By ROB SHAW
AN Olympic Games scheduled to begin at 8.08 on 8/8/08 will have at least eight Tasmanians involved.
And the State's Olympic role call looks set to rise further this month.
Stephanie Grant's victory at judo's Oceania Championships confirmed her nomination for the squad alongside Hobart steeplechaser Donna MacFarlane and six of the best from Tassie's bumper crop of rowers.
But by the end of April that figure could be approaching double figures.
Launceston's Brendan Long and Kerry Hore, of Hobart, are both ideally placed to confirm their spots on the rowing team at the final selection trials at Penrith next week.
Hobart boxer Luke Jackson is also looking a strong bet to book his nomination by winning the 57kg featherweight class at the Oceania Championships in Samoa from April 21.
And Burnie cyclist Trent Deacon could take a significant step towards joining Launceston rower Dominic Monypenny at the Paralympics with a strong performance at the national AWD road championships in Sydney.
Meanwhile, another quota of talented Tasmanians are already named in Olympic squads which will be gradually trimmed before August.
Evandale basketballer Hollie Grima is all too familiar with that process, having been the last squad member to be cut before Athens, while Devonport's Kim Walker is in the Hockeyroos squad and the Kookaburras feature the Tassie trio of Matthew Wells and Eddie Ockenden, both of Hobart, and Burnie's David Guest.
Nook cyclists Mark Jamieson and Belinda Goss did their Beijing chances no harm by both claiming bronze medals at the track world championships in Manchester last week while the future prospects of mountainbikers Sid Taberlay, of Blackmans Bay, and Launceston's Rowena Fry are dependent on their results in the World Cup series.
Judo's Oceania championships in New Zealand saw two Tasmanians teetering on the verge of Olympic selection.
On her 21st birthday, Sandy Bay lifeguard Grant clinched a winner-takes-all under-78kg final to endorse her decision to take a year out from studies to concentrate on her sport.
"Stephanie has done the hard roads to get to Beijing," said Carl Saunder, athlete and coach services coordinator with the Tasmanian Institute of Sport.
"She dislocated her elbow at the national championships in Adelaide last June which is a pretty horrific injury but she has worked hard to get back, so to do what she has is fantastic."
But there was disappointment for Dromedary's Priscus Fogagnolo who found himself in the same cut-throat position against Victorian Dan Kelly.
The pair were equal on points in a nail-biting final when a controversial late penalty denied the 24-year-old personal trainer victory.
FONTE: Examiner - Launceston,Tasmania,Australia
AN Olympic Games scheduled to begin at 8.08 on 8/8/08 will have at least eight Tasmanians involved.
And the State's Olympic role call looks set to rise further this month.
Stephanie Grant's victory at judo's Oceania Championships confirmed her nomination for the squad alongside Hobart steeplechaser Donna MacFarlane and six of the best from Tassie's bumper crop of rowers.
But by the end of April that figure could be approaching double figures.
Launceston's Brendan Long and Kerry Hore, of Hobart, are both ideally placed to confirm their spots on the rowing team at the final selection trials at Penrith next week.
Hobart boxer Luke Jackson is also looking a strong bet to book his nomination by winning the 57kg featherweight class at the Oceania Championships in Samoa from April 21.
And Burnie cyclist Trent Deacon could take a significant step towards joining Launceston rower Dominic Monypenny at the Paralympics with a strong performance at the national AWD road championships in Sydney.
Meanwhile, another quota of talented Tasmanians are already named in Olympic squads which will be gradually trimmed before August.
Evandale basketballer Hollie Grima is all too familiar with that process, having been the last squad member to be cut before Athens, while Devonport's Kim Walker is in the Hockeyroos squad and the Kookaburras feature the Tassie trio of Matthew Wells and Eddie Ockenden, both of Hobart, and Burnie's David Guest.
Nook cyclists Mark Jamieson and Belinda Goss did their Beijing chances no harm by both claiming bronze medals at the track world championships in Manchester last week while the future prospects of mountainbikers Sid Taberlay, of Blackmans Bay, and Launceston's Rowena Fry are dependent on their results in the World Cup series.
Judo's Oceania championships in New Zealand saw two Tasmanians teetering on the verge of Olympic selection.
On her 21st birthday, Sandy Bay lifeguard Grant clinched a winner-takes-all under-78kg final to endorse her decision to take a year out from studies to concentrate on her sport.
"Stephanie has done the hard roads to get to Beijing," said Carl Saunder, athlete and coach services coordinator with the Tasmanian Institute of Sport.
"She dislocated her elbow at the national championships in Adelaide last June which is a pretty horrific injury but she has worked hard to get back, so to do what she has is fantastic."
But there was disappointment for Dromedary's Priscus Fogagnolo who found himself in the same cut-throat position against Victorian Dan Kelly.
The pair were equal on points in a nail-biting final when a controversial late penalty denied the 24-year-old personal trainer victory.
FONTE: Examiner - Launceston,Tasmania,Australia
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