Solomon wins bronze
Three years ago 19-yr-old Steven Solomon bought his first pair of running shoes…yesterday he won bronze in the 400m at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona in a personal best time of 45.52s…watch the race.
Steven Solomon rt with his bronze
Solomon, from the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, won his bronze in an extremely rare photo-finish with the judges enable to separate him from American Aldrich Bailey.
It was not going to be easy for the ex-Cranbrook student who found himself competing in lane 8 with only the runner from Trinidad placed further out than him.
But his performance caught the eye of the commentators calling the race and he acquitted himself well going down to Dominican Luguelin Santos who won the race in 44.85s. The silver medal went American Arman Hall who finished in 45.39s.
There will be no rest for Solomon. He starts competition today in the 4 x 400m relay, the event in which he will represent Australia at the Olympic Games in London.
Solomon’s family were in Barcelona to watch him run and the athlete plans to follow in his father’s footsteps having acquired a medical scholarship at the prestigious Stanford University in the United States.
When he bought his first pair of running shoes, Solomon yielded to family requests that he buy a pair larger than he needed so that they would last longer and the young Cranbrook student told J-Wire that “I had to wear twp pairs of socks to make them fit”.
Coach Fera Dvoskina has her own reward for Steven Solomon after his medal-winning run
His coach at Cranbrook recognised the rising talent and arranged for Solomon to be coached under the watchful eye of 78-yr-old Fera Dvoskina a legendary coach in the former Soviet Union who made Sydney her home in 1990.
No need for Solomon to be concerned about running gear in the future as the Nike-sponsored youngster prepares for the 4 x 400m…both in Barcelona and wearing the green and gold at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Steven Solomon’s father Michael told J-Wire from Barcelona: “He so much deserves the medal. He worked so hard at getting this result and we could not be happier for him.
The Olympics is a dream come true, what more can we say. In two and a half yrs he has gone from winning a school competition to winning a bronze at the world juniors and now an Olympian too.”
…and medal-winner Steven Solomon told J-Wire: “I’m very pleased with last night’s run. It was a new personal best, in a world championship final, after running two quick rounds. The bronze medal was the highlight. It shows true value and acts as a recognition for all the hard training and preparation both my coach and I have put in.”
Watch the race…
