Australia's 4x100 metre runner
Matt Shirvington.
Not content with a fifth place finish on Dancing With the Stars on Australian television, sprinter Matt Shirvington has vowed to do better at the Games in the 4 x 100m relay with a home-crowd advantage.
“I want to be as competitive as I can be and I think if we run what we’re capable of running, we can get a medal,” he says.
“To be honest, and pardon the pun, everything’s on track,” he quips. “In the lead-up to the (Games) trials, I felt I was back to my old shape.”
Recently Shirvington has been testing his media skills not only in the ballroom dancing competition but also as a presenter on the science and technology television program, Beyond Tomorrow.
Shirvington is adamant his media profiling hasn’t impacted on his training for the Games.
The 27-year old’s recent back-to-best performance was proven when he ran his fastest 100m in three years – 10.26 seconds in Canberra. However, due to timing, he was not selected for the main event: the 100m, but will be a keen observer of his pet event.
“The 100m is one of the most competitive events in the Games,” he says. “Basically you’ve got the top six out of the top eight in the world who will be in Melbourne. Take out a couple of Americans and you've got the best guys in the world. It's very, very competitive.”
Having competed at the Sydney Olympics, Shirvington believes the home-crowd advantage will help the Australian team.
“It’s an amazing thing to experience, and this will be the second time for me,” he says. “To do this in front of a home crowd once in a career is phenomenal but to get it again is truly amazing.
“At Sydney, at the age of 21, I didn't really understand the situation and use the home crowd to my advantage. With Melbourne, I'm geared to take advantage of the crowd and I can't wait.”
At the Athens Olympics, the British 4 x 100m relay team took gold but at the recent International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) meet in Melbourne, (Thursday 9 March) the Jamaican team put together a very strong performance and won the Men’s 4 x 100m relay, led by world record holder Asafa Powell.
The Athletics competition begins on 19 March and concludes on 25 March at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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