Nardine Bainbridge is the talk of Western Athletics after a brilliant showing at the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival.
Competing in the Sydney Marathon, Bainbridge finished the 42-kilometre race in a club record and personal best time of 2:50.28.
The Point Cook resident came 39th out of 3567 entrants in last week’s event, seventh of all females and second in the women’s 25-29 age group.
She was competing as part of the Victorian state team that secured a team gold medal.
Only days later, Bainbridge’s club marathon record would tumble in stunning fashion.
Brianna Bunworth bettered her record time with a run of 2:49.08 in the Berlin Marathon.
Bunworth’s run was good for a 34th placing among all female entrants.
Closer to home, Western Athletics has completed a successful cross-country season.
The club won four premierships, including the under-20 men, under-16 and under-18 girls and division 2 men.
Cody Shanahan was an integral part of the under-20 men’s team, winning all six individual rounds to become the state champion in each cross-country and road-racing event, then securing the Athletics Victoria under-20 overall champion award.
Alan Hammond took out this honour in the 60-plus age group.
Western Athletics was well represented at the Australian Cross Country Championships.
Shanahan placed fourth in the under-20 eight-kilometres, Ebony Dodemaide secured third in the under-16 four kilometres and Jack Rayner placed ninth in the open men and third in the under-23 championships.
Western Athletics team manager Phil Dunstone said the results bode well for the future.
“Growing the open age group has been a key priority, with the view to being a premier division club in both the men and women’s competition,” he said.
“Last year, we were runners-up to the mighty Athletics Essendon, but this year we had the team – through a mixture of young guns, division 2 stalwarts and some recruiting – to win the men’s division 2 premiership, which means we will join our open women in the ranks of the premier division.”
Lance Jenkinson
