Last weekend, the 3 - 4 February 2007 saw the staging of the 2007 Victorian Youth Track & Field Championships at Doncaster. The Coburg Harriers had two representatives at the Championships in our two walkers Adrianna Crea and Filip Cosic, who both competed in the U16 section of the 3000 metre Walk

Coached by club member and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Tim Erickson, both walkers acquitted themselves extremely well, posting personal best times in difficult conditions. With the temperature nearing thirty degrees, the eventual winner from Athletics Essendon was a minute off his best time, with the second placegetter some two minutes off his so for both our athletes to post personal bests was simply outstanding

Filip Cosic kept in touch with the main group throughout his race, only losing touch toward the end. In the end, there was not much in the placings, with Cosic crossing the line in a time of 17.45.53 for third place, with the runner up just 17 seconds in front. Only new to the sport, Cosic is showing a real talent for race walking and is a very bright prospect for the future

Adrianna Crea had a very steady race and her first few laps were remarkably consistent. In what was a class field, Crea held her own throughout and crossed the line in a creditable seventh place in the 11 person field. Crea was happy with her effort, particularly given how badly the condtitions were affecting the other competitors. To post her personal best time of 19:54.98 was certainly courageous. Look for big things from this walker in the future

On hand to support Adrianna and Filip were club president and summer captain Chris Harrap, summer vice-captain Jeremy Grey and club treasurer Diane Brimacombe. The latter should rate a special mention for assisting the meet in the role of an official. It is worth noting that this was not a rostered meet for Coburg to volunteer at, so Athletics Victoria no doubt appreciated having the unsolicited help, especially as track management was calling for help on the day from some of the more lax duty clubs