Kurt Fearnley put friendship aside to claim a dramatic home-town win in the wheelchair mile at the Hunter Track Classic on Saturday night.
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The three-time Paralympic gold medallist was up against close friend Josh George, an American who has stayed with Fearnley while training over the last month.
Yet it mattered little in the home straight, with Fearnley surging past George to win in 3:22:57, with the American less than half a second behind.
The win came in Fearnley’s maiden Hunter Track Classic, now in its sixth year.
“Everybody got stuck in to it and we finished a fair bit quicker than I thought we would which is great,” Fearnley said.
“I’ve never raced like that before, with the crowd in the outer lanes on the track, and it made for an awesome environment.
“They were so close.
“It kind of felt like you were in a tunnel.
“It’s always good to race here in my home town of Newcastle.”
Elsewhere, Queenslander Robbie Crowther set a new meet record in the men’s long jump.
The 27-year-old set a distance of 8.03m to comfortably take victory ahead of a highly competitive field, with Angus Gould (7.59m) second and Nichol van Gelder (7.56m) third.
Tasmanian sprint sensation Jack Hale (7.47m) finished fifth.
Crowther’s distance of 8.03m was just seven centimetres shy of the distances required to qualify for the 2015 IAAF World Championships, and nine shorter than his career best.