Cult hero Rohan Browning has finished sixth in the final of the 100m at the Commonwealth Games.
Just an hour after he became the first Australian to reach a Commonwealth Games 100m final since 2010, Browning endured a disappointing final run that left him just 0.06 seconds short of the bronze medal at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.
It was the closest Australia has got to winning a medal in the men’s blue ribbon event since Matt Shirvington’s lightning time of 10.03 still wasn’t enough for him to get a medal at the 1998 Games.
Australia has never won a medal in the men’s event since the Commonwealth Games changed the distance to 100m in 1970. Now we have to wait at least four more years.
Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala won gold in 10.02 and reigning champion Akani Simbine won silver in 10.13. Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon took bronze with 10.14 with Browning crossing the line in 10.20.
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24-year-old Browning exploded out of the blocks and was right there in the mix with 40m to run. However, he slipped back slightly in the final run to the line and had to settle for a result that Aussie athletics great Tamsyn Manou said would have made him “bitterly disappointed”.
“He wasn’t far off,” she said in commentary on Channel 7.
“He looks bitterly disappointed, but I’m OK with that because that means he wanted more.”
In a cruel twist, Browning’s time of 10.10 seconds he set in the heats would have been enough for the silver medal.
Browning was philosophical when assessing his performance after the race. Browning said he “didn’t quite have the gas”.
“It’s nice to make a final and go through rounds of running. It’s a step in the right direction, I would’ve loved to be on the podium,” he added.
“I’m not satisfied by any means, but not too beat up. It’s been one of those seasons, and always learning.”
Browning is also just the fourth Aussie to make a Commonwealth Games 100m final in the past 30 years.
He joins Aaron Rouge-Serret (fifth in 2010) and Patrick Johnson (sixth in 2006) in the list of Aussies who have fallen agonizingly short.
Browning produced his best run of the year to send a message in the heats on Tuesday night (AEST).
He won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, was unable to reach the final, finishing eighth in Heat 2 in a time of 10.40 seconds.
“If you wind the clock back 12 months ago,” Ange Postecoglou said today, “it was pretty chaotic.”
That is something of an understatement. The Australian mastermind had been plucked from Japan to take over Scottish giants Celtic. It was a shock move, and one widely slammed by pundits, rivals, and even some fans of the Glasgow club. He arrived with limited experience in European football and therefore a deeply undervalued global reputation. He took over a club in shambles, particularly a hodgepodge squad in need of overhaul. No wonder his first month of it was ‘pretty chaotic.’
Having been handed the reins just days before pre-season games kicked off, Postecoglou endured a frenetic few weeks in the transfer market, with well over a dozen player movements. After an equally tricky start to the season, Postecoglou proved the doubters wrong to guide Celtic to a league and league cup double. Out of the chaos, Postecoglou created magic.
The new season begins on Monday morning (1.30am AEST) – and things are very different at Celtic.
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Postecoglou and Mooy with the Socceroos in 2017.Source: Getty Images
12 months on, Postecoglou’s transfer dealings this time around were totally different. Instead of a last-minute transfer flurry that stretched to a manic deadline day, Postecoglou quickly and smartly did his transfer business early in the window.
The Hoops have picked up keeper Benjamin Siegrist, left-back Alexandro Bernabei, centre-back Moritz Jenz and Australian midfielder Aaron Mooy.
Arguably even more importantly has been converting last season’s loan stars Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers into permanent signings, despite plenty of competition from elsewhere.
“We’re happy with the ones we’ve brought in,” Postecoglou said. “There were some areas I felt we needed strengthening from a squad perspective: Goalkeeper, left-back, centre-back and midfield were definitely areas that I wanted to make us a bit stronger and more robust and it’s great we’ve done that.
“Re-signing Jota and Cameron on permanent deals was also an important part of what we are trying to build. I’m pleased with where we’re at, but there’s still four weeks of the window open and we’ll still be active and agile to see where we can strengthen.”
That’s not the only big change Postecoglou has wrought. Socceroos legend Harry Kewell has also joined the Postecoglou project as first-team coach, having been out of work since his axing him as Barnet manager last September.
It marks another massive shift in the landscape from 12 months ago, when Postecoglou was barred from bringing in his own staff, and instead inherited assistants from the previous manager.
Pre-season has been very different, too. Rather than last-minute chaos, Postecoglou says it has been “meticulously planned” – and the results have followed. Celtic has gone unbeaten, including a hugely impressive win over recently-relegated Premier League side Norwich.
It’s a far cry from last year’s topsy-turvy opening weeks, which included a brutal baptism of fire in Champions League qualifiers. The Hoops have automatically qualified for Europe’s top competition this time around, and Postecoglou will be desperate to make amends for the team’s failure in continental competitions last season.
With a settled squad and reorganized backroom, a board and fans firmly on his side, no wonder Postecoglou says “we’re in a different space.”
“To be honest, [going in as champions] isn’t really something that’s in consciousness,” he said. “It’s more that we’re in a different space in terms of where we’re at as a club and a squad.
“If you wind the clock back 12 months ago, it was pretty chaotic. We were going into the first games with players in quarantine, and others flying in, others we hadn’t even signed yet, so pre-season was pretty frantic, with Champions League qualifiers also.
“This is a different feel going into this year. The fact that we’re champions I don’t think is the biggest difference. The biggest difference is just that we’re more settled … Going into the first game is a totally different outlook.”
Now, he added, it’s time to get down to “the real stuff”: the job of defending the league title against bitter Old Firm rivals Rangers.
Celtic’s title defense begins in front of a sellout crowd at home against Aberdeen on Sunday (Monday 1:30am AEST).
“We just want to make sure we lay down a really strong marker for the year ahead,” Postecoglou said.
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Postecoglou celebrating the title win last season.Source: Getty Images
Before that game, however, captain Callum McGregor will unfurl the championship flag – a moment that probably seemed an impossible dream a year ago. Celtic had been battered the season before by Rangers, with a humiliating 25-point gap between first and second on the ladder. The squad was shattered, both in terms of confidence and the make-up of the roster.
Postecoglou completely renovated the team and revived the mood at Celtic Park, winning over his many doubters along the way.
Things are very different now, but some things remain the same. He still has his biting wit and blunt approach to the media – like when he was asked the rather dismissive question about whether a year ‘immersed in Scottish football’ has helped him understand the ‘landscape’ of the competition.
Postecoglou didn’t hold back, declaring: “Yeah, considering everyone didn’t think I knew anything at the start of last year, I think I’m in a better place, mate. I’m as well prepared as I always am.”
Another thing hasn’t changed: Postecoglou’s fervid drive for success.
That means last season’s success is forgotten. “We have already put it in the history books, from the first day of pre-season,” he stated.
The goal is clear: become even better than before.
“I’ve stated pretty clearly, we’ve got to be better this year than we were last year if we want to repeat the success. We can’t just roll out there and play at the levels we did last year. It was enough to get us over the line and bring us the success we wanted. But we want to better this year.”
Postecoglou celebrating a 7-0 thrashing last season.Source: Getty Images
As he similarly said earlier in the month: “It’s the same all the time. Every new season. I keep saying that to the players. There’s the possibility to be part of something special.”
“I didn’t start last year thinking: This is going to be a tough grind. I started last year thinking: Let’s see what we can do and can we create something special?”
Last year was something special. With a better pre-season, a settled squad, and his drive from him still as strong as ever, this year might just be even greater.
“We’ll enjoy the ride. We had our ups and downs last year but we stuck together and as I always say, it’s how you feel after you get off the rollercoaster that’s important.
“I think most people enjoyed the ride last year. I’m sure we’ll have our ups and downs again this year, but hopefully at the end everyone gets off and says ‘that was a hell of a ride, let’s go again’.”
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