Melbourne, Feb 28: Jane Saville won the 20 kilometres walk at the Australian Olympic selection trials in Sydney today, four years after a gold medal went begging when she was disqualified near the finish line. Saville said she would aim to win gold in Athens in August after the heartbreak of missing out in front of her home crowd in Sydney in 2000. The crowd’s favourite, who was holding a comfortable lead, memorably broke down in tears after being waved off the track by an official as she was about to enter the Olympic stadium. Saville said she was relieved to record an Olympic qualifying time of one hour 32 minutes six seconds and ink her name on the team sheet which will be announced on Monday. ''Walking is a funny old sport. Anything can happen, as it shows at the Olympics,'' Saville told reporters. ''I've got my place now, so I am really happy. That's why you compete at the Olympics, to win a medal, and to win gold is the ultimate. ''I hope to go a bit better than Sydney, get to the finish line. ''I've still got a lot of improving to do if I want to mix it with the best girls in the world but I have got no illusions about that and I'll just keep training hard.''
Bureau Report