A contingent of Victorian Institute of Sport middle-distance athletes head to Darwin to contest the country’s richest road mile over the weekend.
Ryan Gregson and Linden Hall won the men’s and women’s races respectively.
The victories for the pair concludes a long yet rewarding season.
Gregson was crowned Australian champion for a fourth time, he managed a victory in the Osaka Golden Grand Prix, four top 8 finishes at IAAF Diamond League meetings, and a Commonwealth Games finalist throughout the season. Gregson’s season best over 1500m of 3:34.38 and ranks 20th in the world.
Hall etched her named into Australian history by breaking the mile record of 4:21.40 at the London Diamond League in July. Hall was proud to represent the country at Gold Coast 2018, but she wanted and deserved more for her efforts.
“It’s certainly hard to pick a highlight, Commonwealth Games was a huge highlight of course. Any time you get the chance to wear the green and gold is special, but to have the opportunity to do so on home soil was absolutely incredible,” said Hall.
“However, personally I fell slightly short of my goal of a podium finish.
“Breaking the Aussie record, is something I've been chasing for a long time and was definitely my performance highlight of the year!”
After a number of overseas trips, the win in the Northern Territory has set her up for the offseason by winning $15,000.
“It couldn't have finished off the year any better, pretty incredible prize to take home and by far the biggest prize money I've ever won!”
In the women’s race, Genevieve LaCaze finished a close second behind Hall.
