BIRD SMITH 1:23:01 and JEMIMA MONTAG 1:33:15 WITH THE VICTORY OF THE AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIP, THE WALKING TO 20KM IN ADELAIDE PROVIDED THE TICKETS TO THE TOKYO / SAPPORA OH. ANEŽKA DRAHOTOVÁ DID NOT ENTER THE RACE.

Dane Bird-Smith (QLD) and Jemima Montag won in the male resp. women's 20km walk at the Oceania and Australia Championships in Adelaide.

Both had already met the qualifying limits (men -1: 21.00, women 1: 31.00), Bird-Smith went 1: 20.52 in February 2019 and Montag went 1: 30.51 also in February 2019, and the victory in yesterday's national championship was both nominated for the Tokyo / Sapporo 2020 Olympics.

Bird-Smith, who with a time of 1: 23.01 she finished in the overall standings in third place, behind the winner Perseus Karlstrom (Sweden) 1: 21.57 and the other Evanen Dunfee (Canada) 1: 22.32, at the finish he said:

"Meeting the automatic nomination for the Tokyo / Sapporo 2020 Olympics was a plan for today - I am very happy, and he also talked about his upcoming plans to prepare for the Olympic Games in the next few months."

Jemima Montag she won the Žesnice race with a performance of 1: 33.15, her training partner finished second Katie Hayward with a performance of 1: 34.00 and a third Beki Smith in a time of 1: 35.06.

After securing an automatic nomination for the Tokyo / Sapporo 2020 Games, 21-year-old Montag said:

"It's an unbelievable feeling and a great childhood dream come true - my first Olympics, and a brilliant early birthday present and a huge relief," he said.

“It was very warm, much bigger than expected, but today it was more about winning than the final time, so the pace of the race was very very conservative - I went 4:45min / km, compared to the standard 4:30min / km, which gave me It allowed you to stay calm and focus on staying cool and relaxed. It was really a mental challenge, but as the end approached, I saw that my time was coming to kick it to the finish line, ”said the overjoyed Montag at the finish line.

Anežka Drahotová, even though she was on the starting list, did not enter the race in the end ......

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