Lachie Turner concluded an “incredible” couple of weeks by triumphing in the Gatorade Bolt 100m sprint of the footy codes at Sydney Olympic Park.
Test winger Turner (11.10sec) narrowly outpaced his Eastwood rugby clubmate John Grant (11.15s) and the rugby league superstar fullback from Parramatta, Jarryd Hayne (11.20s), in an exhilarating three-man contest for the $20,000 top prize.
Finishing last was Melbourne Storm giant Greg Inglis.
The day’s excitement was slightly overshadowed by controversy earlier, as the two AFL representatives, Carlton’s Kade Simpson and Essendon’s Courtenay Dempsey, were pulled from the event due to contractual obligations.
Since the AFL is sponsored by a competing drinks company to Gatorade, the two
midfielders could not participate in the eight-man competition.
Winning in a personal best time, Turner kept his remarkable streak of the last two weeks alive.
Having been on the fringe of the Wallabies for most of the season, he made a successful return to Test rugby against New Zealand the previous weekend, earning the player’s player of the match award.
The Waratahs speedster’s journey will proceed in the coming weeks as he represents Australia in the Commonwealth Games sevens rugby tournament taking place in Delhi.
Turner shared that he benefited from guidance provided by the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, who earlier that evening led a team of competition winners to victory in a 4x100m celebrity relay.
“One piece of advice that really helped me was when he said ‘don’t look at the guys around you, just keep going and stay relaxed as you get over that line,'” Turner stated.
