Commonwealth Games pole vault champion Alana Boyd will launch her Australian season at the Brisbane Track Classic tonight as she searches for a personal best after winning her first international crown in New Delhi last year.
After a small break at the conclusion of the Games, Boyd’s recent strong training indicates that she is in great shape and ready to better her best leap of 4.56m from Monaco in 2008.
Having moved to Perth at the start of 2010 to work with WA Institute of Sport coach Alex Parnov, Boyd is confident that a return to this mark, and better, is not far away.
“It always takes a bit of time when you change coaches but I’m pleased I made the move and feel that I’m making progress,” Boyd said.
“It is frustrating, every athlete would like to achieve personal bests every time they compete, but I have struggled with injury since 2009 and I did not move to Perth expecting to set the world on fire because it always takes time when you make changes.”
She came close to a personal best at the Commonwealth Games, narrowly missing out with the bar on 4.55m.
The Brisbane meet is the first of an expanded Australian Athletics Tour Schedule for 2011 that will see almost half a million dollars in prize money awarded to Australia’s top track and field athletes.
For the first time in Australian track and field history, the nation’s top performers will be pitted against one another in different divisions in a hard-fought race for cash.
The new-look Tour features four event divisions, with sprints/hurdles, jumps, throws and distance titles all on the line.
The pole vault competition will commence at 8.30pm AEST tonight at the Queensland Athletics Centre.