All posts by Matt Beckenham

Elite track and field coach, 2000 Olympian
2009/10 Press Releases and Media Coverage

Melissa Breen – ACT Junior Sports Star of the Year

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Breen Crowned ACT Junior Sports Star of the Year

Melissa Breen was crowned the ACT Junior Athlete of the year at the 26th Sportsmans Warehouse Sportstar of the Year Awards 2009 at the National Convention Centre in Canberra last night.

The award follows Breen’s breakthough season in 2008 where she became Australia’s fastest sprinter of the year after running 11.33 in Canberra in November. Breen was subsequently selected in the Australian team for the World Championships in Berlin and in July made the final of the 100m at the World University Games in Belgrade at her first open international competition. Unfortunately, Breen lost form later in the season and could not take her place in the squad for the World Championships.

Breen follows in the footsteps of training partner Lauren Boden who won this award in 2005. Boden went on to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 and three World University Games including Belgrade this year.

Other  award winners were Christine Wolf – Athlete with a Disability of the Year, Heath Francis – AIS Athlete of the Year both winners of their respective events at the Paralympic Games in Beijing last year.

By Patrick Birgan for Athletics ACT

Total 2009/10 Squad Gift Prizemoney is over $72000 - Click for Results

NATIONAL AWARDS TO ACT ATHLETIC PERSONALITIES

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NATIONAL PRO AWARDS TO ACT ATHLETICS PEOPLE

 

The national organisation responsible for professional athletics in Australia, the Australian Athletic Confederation recently awarded two prestigious accolades for the 2008-2009 season to prominent local track identities Lauren Boden and her coach Matt Beckenham.

Boden received the highly prized top award of “AAC Athlete of the Year” for the 2008-2009 season while Beckenham adds the “AAC Trainer of the Year” to his impressive resume of awards.

Lauren Boden won the Queanbeyan and Canberra Women’s Gifts as well as making the finals of Blacktown and North Sydney Gifts and taking out the Blacktown Invitation Back-Markers Handicap, resulting in her winning a total of $6600 in prizemoney for the season.

In addition she ran several ‘B’ World Championship qualifiers in her pet 400m hurdles event and finished fifth in the World University Games in July, a very impressive record for the year.

Matt Beckenham built an incredibly impressive record over the 2008-2009 season with his extensive, impressive stable of athletes winning a nation-topping prizemoney total of $32420. His athletes won the Queanbeyan Mens and Womens Gifts, the Temora Gift and the Canberra Women’s Gift as well as a very big number of additional races throughout the season. His top prizemoney winners were Brendan Matthews with $9780, Lauren Boden, Tom Burbidge, Catherine Wild-Taylor and Melissa Breen; and who knows what Brendan Matthews would have done if he had been able to run in the final of the Stawell Gift and not suffered an unfortunate hamstring pull in winning his semi final!

Many of Beckenham’s runners will again be utilising the handicapping system of competition in professional athletics to toughen them up for realistic tilts at selection for the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010. The rich Queanbeyan Leagues Club Gift Carnival on 5 December 2009 and the Canberra Pro Am at the AIS on 16 January 2010 will be two of the locally staged events that will be in their sights for this season. In fact the Queanbeyan Carnival with $30000 remains Australia’s third biggest in prizemoney behind the Stawell Gift and Adelaide’s Bay Sheffield Gift Carnival.

Press Release written by:

CONTACT

Ken English

General Manager

NSW Athletic League

Ph:  0409 512 804  and  62511565

Email:   kensally@grapevine.net.au