Athletics: Farrell sees Olympic qualifier in his grasp

CHRISTCHURCH -- Olympic 800m contender Shaun Farrell flies to Melbourne today determined to secure his ticket for the Sydney Games.

The target is the international grand prix 800m event tomorrow night. It represents a golden opportunity to nail the Olympic qualifying time he wants so badly.

"I have just got to hammer the whole way," he said. "I am quietly confident."

The Christchurch middle-distance runner knows it is his best chance of joining the four New Zealand athletes who have already qualified - Toni Hodgkinson, Beatrice Faumuina, Craig Barrett and Chris Donaldson.

He will line up against a world-class 800m field in Melbourne. The field includes Algerian world No 2 Assia-Djabir Said-Guerui, outstanding Kenyan David Lelei and Australian No 1 Kris McCarthy.

The chances of stealing a win in this company are not great, but Farrell believes he is ready to better the Olympic qualifying time of 1m 46.3s. His career best is an international class 1m 45.45s, although his best so far this summer has been almost a second slower.

Farrell's surprise non-appearance at the Australian championships in Sydney last weekend put a question mark over his fitness, but he said there were no problems.

"I wanted to settle down and do a couple of weeks of solid training. There have been a few injury niggles, but that is just part of track and field. Things have been going well," he said.

"If I can come back from Australia injury-free and with a qualifying time I will be pretty happy."

Said-Guerui won the Australian championship in 1m 44.2s last weekend.

- NZPA