ATHLETICS
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Hawkesbury runner Sara Klein again starred at the 118th NSW State Athletics Championships winning her second consecutive Open Women’s 400m hurdles title.
Klein, 20, added to her 2014 crown after she obliterated the field to win the final at Homebush on Sunday in a time of 58.56 seconds.
The result, just outside her personal best, continued Klein’s hot form during an impressive month.
The Hawkesbury 2012 Sportsperson of the Year finished second behind Olympian Lauren Wells in the 400m hurdles in a wind-affected time of 59.12 seconds at the Perth Track Classic.
She also clocked a personal best time of 55.16 at the Hunter Track Classic in finishing fifth in an A seeded race.
This was on the back of Klein’s second place at the Briggs Track Classic in Hobart.
Klein, ranked second in Australia for the 400m hurdles, said her long term goal was still the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“These kinds of events are pretty important if I’m going to get there (the Olympics),” she said.
“This season my main goal was to get my times down and I’m doing some alright times at the moment.
“They are getting back down to my peak times from 2012. I did a 58.75 recently in Canberra. This weekend I wanted to do a low 57.”
Getting so close to Wells in competition has also given Klein the confidence to continue following her dream.
“Both Hunter and Perth were good, Hunter was a big PB. It was almost a second off what I’d been doing,” she said.
“But getting so close to one of Australia’s best hurdlers – that has been pretty good for me and shown that the hard work is paying off.”
It was a good weekend for a number of Hawkesbury athletes at the State Championships, including Klein’s twin sister Kirsty who won silver in the Open Women’s 5000m walk.
Junior athlete Daniel Keene pushed his way into his first Open Men’s 800m final with a personal best time, before he beat it again to run 1.55.45 for eighth place in the final.
Jack Bangel was a finalist in the Mens 400m hurdles, finishing ninth while Mel Smith ran personal best times in heats of the 400m and 200m.
