Magic Moment: From Wyndham to Aussie Champion
“With 100m to go I knew I had the race won and had enough energy to kick home first in 51.98, the only time under 52 seconds.”
Southland athletics has produced many magical moments so as part of a Tribune series we are recalling some of them. Today we turn the clock back to the 2006 Australian Championships in Sydney when Wyndham sprinter Jane Arnott showed her quality.
Jane Muir has had many magic moments in a long career as Southland’s most accomplished sprinter and one of New Zealand’s best ever. Included are two Commonwealth Games, a world championship, world junior champs and 18 national championship titles.
But the one she picks as the highlight is the 2006 Australian Championships in Sydney. Then, as Jane Arnott, the Wyndham born sprinter was not considered a threat to the two Aussie favourites Tasmin Lewis and Jana Pitman.
In her words; “All the talk before the race was about Tasmin and Jana who had a ‘healthy’ rivalry.
“They thought I’d be too tired after a big season’s programme of chasing a Commonwealth Games qualifying time. I was drawn in lane 6 so ran my own race.
“With 100m to go I knew I had the race won and had enough energy to kick home first in 51.98, the only time under 52 seconds.”
This was New Zealand’s second-best time ever (now third) and gained her a Melbourne Commonwealth Games qualifying time in her last opportunity.
She says is sits head of twice doing the national championship sprint triple (100m, 200m 400m) in 1997 and 1998.
Muir still holds 13 Southland individual records and well as sharing in three relay records.
“Definitely my most magical moment was winning the Australian 400m title in Melbourne in 2006 and beating the two Australian top 400m runners Tasmin Lewis and Jana Pitman and qualifying for the Melbourne Commonwealth games in my last opportunity.”
She can claim a win over Cathy Freeman, the 2000 Olympic 400m champion, but as she says; “it was a heat and Cathy was jogging while I was running hard.”
Today Jane farms with her husband Bathan near Wyndham (her original hometown) and is giving back to her sport as a leading light at the Wyndham Athletic Club and chair of the Southland Track and Field committee as well as coaching up-and-coming young athletes.
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