Australia’s 4 x 400m relay team have run gallantly in the final of the World Championships in Moscow.
The team of Alex Beck, Steve Solomon, Craig Burns and Tristan Thomas ran quicker in the final compared to the heat, crossing for eighth in a season best time of 3:02.26.
Race debutant Beck admitted it was a great learning curve.
“The pace out there tonight was a lot quicker than the heat and it really showed in the second leg. I went out as hard as I could and they were on me straight away so it is a big learning curve for what happens at a championship of this calibre,” Beck said.
“We changed the legs up for this race to test me out at the second leg, and I think it was a great opportunity for me to have a crack and take home good lessons that will be important in the years to come.”
The United States team won gold, clocking two minutes 58.71 seconds, followed by Jamaica and Russia.
The Australian team finished second to Russia in their heat yesterday to automatically qualify for the final after Tristan Thomas ran a remarkable anchor leg in the opening round to lift Australia into the final.
Australia’s recent honour roll of success in the 4 x 400m includes silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, bronze at the 2009 World Championships and gold at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games.