Tokyo Hopes on 

the Line 

Old Virgilians Jack Hale (SVC 2011-2014) (holder of the Under 18 National 100m record) and Jacob Despard (SVC 2010-2013)  (2018 Stawell Gift winner) are among a group of nine 100m runners who will seek to break into the Australian 4x100m team into the world’s Top 16 and book flights to Tokyo.

The sprinters will live and train together on the Gold Coast for meetings on June 5 and 12, hoping to post a time in the top 16, the benchmark for which is currently 38.46 seconds.

Selectors will pick two teams, an A and B squad that will race off over the two meetings. If the team posts a qualifying time, selectors will narrow the group to five runners for Tokyo.