Sport
5 January, 2023
Pollard victory two decades in the making
Winning on Sunday meant a lot to Mount Waverley’s Sonya Pollard in the Open 120 m Masters final, finally scoring after almost 20 years of trying for a New Year’s Day victory. Pollard’s time of 13.26 was just enough to hold out from Elvis Cross...
Winning on Sunday meant a lot to Mount Waverley’s Sonya Pollard in the Open 120 m Masters final, finally scoring after almost 20 years of trying for a New Year’s Day victory.
Pollard’s time of 13.26 was just enough to hold out from Elvis Cross (13.288), with Brian Wright finishing third with a time of 13.379.
Despite her residence in Mount Waverley, Pollard has many roots with the town of Maryborough, making her victory extra special.
“It’s a real honour to be here to have the opportunity to run. These Masters events are always hotly contested and Maryborough is one of the finest meets on the whole circuit,” she said.
“My first race here was on New Year’s Day 2004, so I’ve been coming here every time since, and finally landed my first win.
“My great-grandfather was the mayor of Maryborough and the station master back in 1901, and I still have my cousins here, who attended the race, and they live in Maryborough. They’re Vicky Perry and her husband, Trevor, as well as Roger Teague, his wife Sandy, and their family.”
A lot of work went into Pollard’s performance, saying she had tailored her week towards ensuring she could be in good condition for her race.
“I’ve tailored my New Year’s Eve preparations properly so I can run well on New Year’s Day. I ran at Bay Sheffield earlier in the week, and I’ve tried to rest up since I got back to Victoria in the last few days beforehand,” she said.
“I have a very dedicated osteopath who coaches other runners, and he knows how masters runners can and do perform. He keeps my body right on and off the track, and he tailors my program for me as well.”
Running as a frontmarker, Pollard was the beneficiary of a strong tailwind, but still insisted that she would have preferred to run without any wind at all.
“There was definitely an advantage having a tailwind, but no wind is still best. A tailwind means you have to hold your form, but it’s much better than a headwind, which would have the backmarkers in strong form and coming over the top, so it was ideal conditions,” she said.