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ACT ATHLETICS
PRESS RELEASE
LONG STANDING & LONG RUNNING ACT ATHLETES HONOURED
Two of the ACT's long serving and long running athletes have been
recognised by The ACT Athletic Association with the naming of the ACT
10,000m Track Championships in their honour.

The 10,000m track Championships for men and women will now be known as the
"Gerard Ryan 10,000" and the "Susan Hobson 10,000". Both events will be
held for the first time on Tuesday 6 January 2004.

Ryan and Hobson have had distinguished careers as athletes and have made a
considerable contribution to the ACT Athletics community.

Ryan is currently President of the Woden Harriers Athletics Club has been
an integral part of the ACT Athletics community as an athlete, technical
official and club official for the past 19 years.

"The ACT is a great place to be. ACT Athletics has a good formula of mixing
ages and genders and is willing to put on special events for athletes.
Since coming here I have had opportunities to mix with elite athletes and
coaches and access to some of the best facilities, both at the Australian
Institute of Sport and throughout the ACT including access to National
Parks and forests."

One of the elite athletes who has had the most impact on Ryan is 1980
Olympic representative Gerard Barrett. Barrett who also moved to Canberra
to take up a scholarship at the AIS, has been a steady influence and
training companion for Ryan for the past 19 years. Their relationships now
extending into their coaching careers.

Hobson, who now lives in Western Australia is a local girl who made good.
Hobson returned to Canberra in 1985 having completed her university studies
and soon took up running.

"I always enjoyed running, and always knew I probably had a bit of talent,
I just never pursued it. Returning to Canberra after finishing my studies
and teaching gave me the opportunity to take it up again." The first event
she recalls running in was the the Women and Girls Jogalong, an event
organised by the ACT Cross Country Club and founded by the Territories
Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope along with John and Sue Gilbert.

"When I returned to Canberra, the ACT Cross Country Club and other
Athletics Clubs were so encouraging and supportive of my efforts. The
running community in Canberra is fantastic (especially now comparing it to
another state) and puts on such well organised events." It was a good move
for Hobson, that very first year she represented the ACT and three years
later had made her first Australian team for the Ekiden Relays. Since then
Hobson has gone on to represent Australia on 19 occasions at Olympic Games,
Commonwealth Games and World Championships for Track and Cross Country.

Hobson's longevity at the top of her sport is remarkable. Her first
Australian team honour was in 1988 with her last 12 years later when she
represented Australia at the Sydney Olympics. Similarly her first National
Championships was in 1992 and her last eight years later in 2000.

Along the way she won 6 National titles covering track, cross country and
road running, numerous ACT Athletics Summer and Winter Awards, was
nominated three times for the ACT Sportstar of the Year Award and was
awarded the Edwin Flack Award by Athletics Australia for Outstanding
contribution to sport as an athlete.

With such a long list of achievements, it is hard to nominate one
outstanding moment, however Hobson recalls three moments that she will hold
very dear.

"Winning the Canberra marathon in 1994, my debut marathon in front of a
home crowd was a very very special day., I broke many records, qualified
for Commonwealth Games and put the biggest smile I've ever seen on Race
Director, Dave Cundy's face."

"All Olympic Games are very special in their own way, but the 2000 games
were just fantastic. Even though I was injured during the marathon, the
experience was just so special and so memorable, the crowd support along
whole route, being an Olympian in own country, the achievement of making my
3rd Olympic team at age 42 when many thought I wouldn't."

Another highlight for Hobson was surprisingly another time when she was
told she couldn't do it.

"I was trying to qualify for the Atlanta Games. Many, including the then
President of Athletics Australia, Neil King, had told me I was wasting my
time trying to qualify for Atlanta Games at age 38. I was determined to
make the team and to prove them all wrong, I travelled overseas to compete
in a 10,000m race and smashed the qualifying time. I then went on to make
the final of the 10,000m at the Atlanta Olympics."

While Hobson has been recognised primarily for her athletic achievements
she has also as a strong supporter of the ACT Athletics community, as a
committee member and captain with the North Canberra Athletic club and as
an athlete. Now retired Hobson continues to support the Athletics community
through various committees including as a member of the Athletics Australia
Athletes Commission.

Hobson acknowledges that she couldn't have achieved what she had had it not
been the support of a large number of people: husband Allan, mother;
coaches Geoff Moore, Dick Telford and Pat Clohessy; the ACT Cross Country
Club; ACT Athletics; Dave Cundy ( has always been a huge supporter of me
and done so much to help me in my career and develop it); and numerous ACT
officials including Michael Thomson, Dave Hobson, Carol Ey, John Harding,
Gerard Ryan, who have been so supportive of my career and done much to
encourage and support me ( there are many others, but cannot name them
all). Gerard was always a very willing pacemaker for races when needed and
so good at it - even Sydney marathon trial.

I am sure I wouldn't have started to run as seriously or have been as
successful if I hadn't been in Canberra, where the support of the running
community is invaluable.

Ryan also started his ACT Athletics involvement in 1985, when he moved
there to take up an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship. Since then,
Ryan has made an enormous contribution to the ACT Athletics community.

Coming from Melbourne where the interclub competition is very competitive,
Ryan has supported his adoptive club of Canberra City Harriers, now known
as Woden Harriers well. A fierce competitor on the track, road and Cross
Country, Ryan is yet to miss a cross country season and technically is yet
to miss a Track and Field Season in 19 years.

"There was one year when I injured my achilles in September right at the
beginning of the track and field season. I had it operated on and should
have missed the whole track and field season, however I was determined to
compete for
my club and managed to make the very last competition for the year where I
competed in the Shot put"

Ryan has won the ACT Winter athlete of the Year award on 6 occasions, won
the Canberra Times fun run 4 times and has been the ACT's leading senior
pointscorer for the track and field competition on several occasions.

Prior to moving to Canberra, Ryan had won two National schoolboys 1500m
titles in 1975 and 1977 and was runner up in 1976. In 1982, he represented
Australia for the first time in a match against Italy in Melbourne, where
he won the 1500m event. Ryan next represented Australia in 1984 as a member
of the Australian 4 x mile relay team in New Zealand. "We sent our fastest
runner (Michael Hillardt) out first in an attempt to take a commanding lead
and then try and hold it. What eventuated was we setup the New Zealand team
anchored by John Walker for a World Record." Ironically a current ACT
Official, Denis Wilson was a member of the Australian team that had
previously held the World record. Wilson was also on the committee
appointed to select to the naming of these Championship events.

Not long after joining the AIS, Ryan travelled to Europe as part of an AIS
team. Ryan was fortunate to compete in a number of major events. It was on
this trip that Ryan ran his personal best 1500m time of 3 minutes 39.57
seconds competing at the Bislett Games in Oslo. Also competing at these
games was a young girl from Sydney, Penny Garner who broke the Australian
women's mile record, and who eight years later was married to Gerard Ryan.

Penny and Gerard have a 9 year old daughter, Emily, who although very
active with dancing and other sports has already shown some of her parents
running ability in schools Cross Country events.

Ryan had two more overseas competitions, in 1987 he competed in the World
University Games, Zagreb, where he placed 7th in 5000m. Six years later
Ryan represented Australia again at the World Mountain Running
Championships in Italy. "I was fortunate to make these Championships, only
4 weeks earlier I competed in a marathon. When another ACT athlete, Louis
Young pulled out of the team I was given another opportunity to represent
Australia, unfortunately I hadn't fully recovered from the marathon."

Ryan has represented the ACT at National Track and Field, Cross Country,
Marathon and Half Marathon Championships.

As a member of Woden Harriers, he has served the club for several years as
their Winter Captain and Registrar, and is currently the club President.
Ryan has also served on the Board of ACT Athletics as the athletes
representative.

Ryan is present every week at ACT Athletics Track and Field Competitions,
where he juggles working as the Track Marshall with competing in a few
events. In 2000, Ryan reached the pinnacle of his career as an official,
when he worked as a Team Leader at the Sydney Olympics.

Through the week Ryan continues his athletics involvement through coaching
several of the ACTs outstanding athletes, many of which have competed at
National Championships, with several winning medals including Gold.

Ryan has been coaching for over 6 years and his current list of athletes
includes: Anna Neumaier, medallist at National Championships, and one of
the ACT's top junior middle distance runners; Alex Nankivell, an AWD
athlete ranked in the top 40 in the World over 1500m; Joy Terry ACT's
leading female distance runner; Mark Bourne, former National Schools and
U/20 Cross Country Champion and Darien Williams, former National U/20 800m
Champion.

Remarkably, after 19 years as a member, Ryan is yet to hold a position with
the ACT Cross Country Club, although he does organise several race meetings
each year for the club.

In 1986, Ryan started teaching at Merici College, and apart from a 6 month
stint at St Clares, he is still teaching at Merici, where he occupies the
position of Assistant Principal. The ACT schools community has also
benefitted from Ryan's athletics involvement where he is currently the ACT
Schools Cross Country Convenor and State Coach.

Even though Ryan has had an extensive involvement with ACT Athletics many
members would not realise his impressive performances as an athlete.

Some of his personal best times are: 800m - 1 minute 49.1 seconds; 1500m -
3:39.57; 3000m - 7:56; 5000m - 13:38, 3000m steeplechase 8:44; Half Marathon
65:50 and Marathon 2:23.

END OF RELEASE

Contacts
Michael Thomson 0414 733339

Gerard Ryan 62418253 (h), gerard.ryan@...
Susan Hobson 0402 273 990, hobshaw@...



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Regards

Doug Fry

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