Nelson hitting her stride

Sprinter Ella Nelson has continued to shine on the track by setting two new personal best times at the Canberra Track Classic.

Fresh off an Olympic qualifier in the women’s 200m at the ACT Athletics Championships, Nelson improved on her 22.84 from two weeks ago with another Olympic qualifier of 22.53 to win gold.

Complementing her 200m success, Nelson also clocked the fastest time since Melinda Gainsford-Taylor in 2000 by posting 11.42 in the women’s 100m. Nelson won gold by 0.01 seconds over Melissa Breen.

Rising star Jessica Thornton also lowered her personal best in the women’s 200m, placing second behind Nelson in a time of  23.26. Thornton’s new personal best is just 0.06 seconds away from an Olympic qualifier.

Other results from the Canberra Track Classic included Michelle Jenneke winning the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.07 and Brandon Starc taking silver in the men’s high jump.

Elsewhere, at the Adelaide Track Classic, NSWIS athletes Anneliese Rubie and Madeline Hills (nee Heiner) highlighted results with gold medals in the women’s 400m and 1500m respectively, while Angus Armstrong posted a world U20 qualifying mark of 5.35m in the men’s pole vault.