By JARROD POTTER
DONNING her rainbow jersey for the first time on an Australian velodrome, Courtney Field lit up the Oceania Championships to maintain her unbeaten record in the sprint.
Field, 18, from Berwick, got to ride on a home course for the first time in her junior rainbow jersey earned by winning the women’s sprint at the UCI Junior Track World Championships in Korea in August.
Field was thrilled to wear her prized possession on Australian soil this week in Adelaide and understood the stress it can put on your shoulders.
“There’s the pressure of wearing it – but it’s really exciting to know you are the best in the world,” Field said.
“The crowd knows and they support you and it’s also really good as I think I’m the only person to wear the rainbow stripes in Australia as a junior women’s sprint champion.”
Any chance to don the rainbow jersey is a proud moment by Field, but the jersey remains the cherry on top but not the be-all motivator for the sprint queen.
“It’s a nice thing to have – don’t think it helps you out – puts a bit more pressure on you as everything you do has to be better than everyone else,” Field said.
“You only get to wear it for one year as well – you don’t get it forever – so it’s really good to race with it here in Australia while I’ve got the chance.”
Racing against the best from Australia and New Zealand at the Oceania Championships, Field lived up to her billing as one of the world’s best to win the sprint in 12.08 over Tahlay Christie.
“I qualified second in the sprint – had a few issues with the commissaires before the race which threw me off a bit,” Field said.
“Went into the gold medal race against Taylah Christie and ended up beating her in two straight heats.
“It was really good being able to win in two rounds and being undefeated in the sprint – not being beaten in the rainbow jersey is something special.”
She rounded out her week by claiming the 500m time trial and crossing the line first in the Keirin, before the officials relegated her to second after coming off her line in the final sprint.
Field will compete at the Victorian State Championships later this year as she targets the Australian Nationals in January, this year held at Field’s home circuit in Melbourne.
With her new coach, Glenn Doney, Field is working on her strength and acceleration ahead of the championships and hopes to find some more acceleration to push her towards elite women’s times in the short-term.
The nationals run from 28 to 31 January at DISC Velodrome.
