MATT Shirvington knows he is virtually a forgotten man in Australian athletics, but the veteran sprinter still feels he has one last good Olympic performance in him.
Shirvington surprised himself when he won the 100m at the grand prix meet at Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday night.
The winning time of 10.43 seconds was nothing special, but still good enough to give him the nod in a photo finish after 2003 world championships silver medallist Darrel Brown ran the same time.
With Josh Ross taking a break from the sport to attend to personal issues and national record holder Patrick Johnson also absent, some of the next generation of sprinters, including Victorians Aaron Rouge-Serret (10.46) and Daniel Burgess (10.53) trailed behind Shirvington.
Having contemplated quitting after a disappointing 2006 Commonwealth Games, 29-year-old Shirvington has rediscovered his motivation.
"I nearly did (retire) after the Commonwealth Games and I had eight, nine months off,” he said.
"I could’ve easily quit then but I was enjoying my training. I have a supportive family and they want to see me do it one more time and want to see me finish on a high.”
Shirvington served notice of his talents a decade ago when he finished an unlucky fourth at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in a then-national record time of 10.03.
It’s a time he has failed to match since, but Shirvington believes he owes it to himself to try to get a second Olympic Games on his resume following his 2000 Sydney campaign.
"Half of the people probably think I’ve retired, but I just want to give it one last crack,” he said.
"I’m enjoying it more than I ever have and the Olympic Games is a big motivation.
"Whether or not I go and do well there is irrelevant. Giving myself the opportunity to be there is the most important thing.”
Tamsyn Lewis was another athlete to impress, winning the 800m in a slick one minute 59.59 seconds to break the meet record.
The temperamental veteran then declared runner-up Madeleine Pape (1:59.92) had only managed to break the two-minute barrier for the first time due to her pacemaking.
"It would be nice to have other girls around me as well. I don’t see anyone,” Lewis said.
"It’s nice to have someone in front of me and I’m sure she’d go faster if she had someone I was chasing. I feel like I’m pacing. But it makes me stronger.”
Not surprisingly, Pape didn’t share that view.
"I don’t believe so,” she said.
"She’s got to give the pacemakers credit because every race we’ve had this season we’ve had a pacemaker and they do the hard yards for us.
"I love racing against Tamsyn but she’s not the only one doing the hard work out there.”
AAP
Source: Shirvo excited about last hurrah
