Cameron Myers, the Canberra track prodigy, has done it again. The 19-year-old set a new Australian under-20 record, a personal best, and a meeting record in the 800 metres at Lange Laufnacht in Karlsruhe, Germany, on Sunday.
Remarkably, Myers does not consider himself an 800-metre runner. He identifies more as a 5000-metre athlete. Yet, he continues to break records in the shorter distance as he prepares for the Commonwealth Games.
Myers will turn 20 between meets, and instead of celebrating with a party, he plans to train. "No party ... a good birthday would be some fast times and maybe some national records," he said. "We'll see how that goes. The focus for me is Commonwealth Games."
In the race, Myers settled at the back of the field before surging to the lead ahead of the home turn. He sprinted clear to win by 10 metres, stopping the clock at 1 minute 44.05 seconds.
Initially, Myers thought he had fallen too far back, but after the opening lap, he was exactly where he wanted to be. "It was a beautiful race," he said. "We had a stacked race — a bunch of 1.44 guys. The plan was to get out in a good position and work my way up over the second lap. I knew those 800m guys get out hard so it was just about being controlled and judging my effort over the two laps, which I think I did pretty well."
Myers is now heading to Stockholm for his next race next Sunday, followed by Oslo after his birthday. His distances are ramping up, and this 800-metre race was simply to sharpen himself.
"I'm looking to run some fast times there and hopefully some very competitive races," Myers said. "I think of myself more of a 5k guy so this is just sharpening up and it's the last preparation before Stockholm. For me it was just about preparing for that fast 1500 metres more than anything."
With the Commonwealth Games on the horizon, Myers is poised to make a statement. His record-breaking form suggests he will be a force to be reckoned with, no matter the distance.
