Sport
5 January, 2023
Picture perfect finish for Bendigo’s Nathan Crowley
It was a local win to remember for Nathan Crowley, with the Bendigo runner timing his finish to perfection to take out the 1600 m Masters/Women’s final. Running from a handicap of 40 metres, Crowley overhauled Phillip Turville and Mark Tapping to...
It was a local win to remember for Nathan Crowley, with the Bendigo runner timing his finish to perfection to take out the 1600 m Masters/Women’s final.
Running from a handicap of 40 metres, Crowley overhauled Phillip Turville and Mark Tapping to take victory with a time of 4.37.3.
Turville (4.39.16) was still strong enough to take second, while Tapping (4.42.27) held on for third.
The significance of taking his first victory in Maryborough was not lost on Crowley, who would also go on to see Glenn Stephens — a man he coaches — go on to win the 400 m event later in the day.
“For me, there’s a couple of big pro races every year, Stawell is the big one, but there’s meets you always want to do well at, and Maryborough is one of those. Having it on New Year’s Day is right up there with the big events like Devonport, Burnie, Bay Sheffield. It’s right there, but having it right on the back door is great. Coming here and having a win is extra special,” he said.
“It was an easy preparation, being able to have a normal sleep and jumping in the car not too early. I’ve got really good memories of Maryborough — I’ve never been able to win here and it’s always been hot, but it feels good to finally get a win and get a sash.
“You go to some meets and it’s just you, and it is nice, but the big meets where you have your family watching you, barracking for you and hoping to do well, to come away with the win is really nice.”
Crowley said he was pleasantly surprised with the ease of which he was able to carry out his game plan.
“It worked out perfectly. I was saying to my squad earlier that it was a bit of a different day, so I didn’t bother with a warm-up jog, the heart rate was already high, so I did some run-throughs and got myself ready for the event. I was lucky enough to get a tow early on, so with 150 to go, I felt I had the speed to kick on, so I’m pleasantly surprised,” he said.
“I knew it was going to be a good track — it always is. It’s always firm, it’s easy to run fast, you don’t have to put much effort in to get the feet off the ground. But having the grandstand full, I could hear my name getting called, so to have my family here, my parents and my wife’s family as well gives me an extra lift coming through.”