MELISSA Breen’s history in the Albury-Wod- onga Gift goes much deeper than her win in the event last year.
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Her grandfather, Ken Scholz, himself a gifted runner — he won the 800 metres in 1945 — was front and centre at the Albury Sportsground as the sprint star clocked in.
Scholz worked as a wool classer for Dalgety’s for 42 years, and also played football for Albury from 1946 to 1952.
Not surprisingly, such a family connection makes the gift a special event for the classy Canberra sprinter.
“Albury is a very important event on the calendar for me.” Breen said.
“Winning the gift with grandad watching was in the top five moments of my career.
“I have a lot of family in this area so it makes coming down here a big family get together.”
Breen’s win last year turned out to be the perfect primer for her season.
The 24-year old set an Australian record in the 100m just two weeks after her flying visit to the Border.
Her time of 11.11 was enough to break a 20-year record held by her childhood idol, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor.
She also broke through for her first victory over long-time rival, Olympic champion Sally Pearson.
While last year was one of considerable success for Breen on paper, it wasn’t without struggle and controversy.
Records and landmark wins over long-time rivals, while huge indicators of success, gave way to intense speculation about her ability to perform on the biggest of stages.
Her Australian record was set at the ACT Championships — a far cry from the pressure cooker of Glasgow’s Hampden Park and the Commonwealth Games.
Yet to make a final on the world stage, Breen faltered in the 100m semi-final, running 11.45 to finish 11th.
Despite coming in for some criticism for missing the final, by September Athletics Australia had seen enough in her ability to show some faith in the up-and-coming sprinter. They nominated her as being in the “podium potential” category.
As a Commonwealth athlete, she is entitled to a pro-rata amount of $4000 on a six-month arrangement.
Her new status marked a change of heart from the sport’s governing body.
Before the Games, Breen was told running two fast times wouldn’t be enough for a higher level of funding.
At the time, their reasoning was they did not believe she was capable of reaching the final of a major championship.
Now she has funding under her belt, Breen is more concerned with demonstrating it is money well spent.
“I’m really thrilled the authorities have shown a bit of faith in me,” she said.
“There were a lot of ups and downs last year, but I’ve learned from that.
“I feel this season is the time when I can push forward.”
It won’t be easy. The long, hard grind training cycle designed to get to the Rio Olympics next year has started.
In the process, she is determined to elevate herself from a national level athlete into a world-class competitor.
Breen and coach Matt Beckenham have been managing her training load to ensure she will be at her peak going into the World Championships in Beijing in late August.
“We’re focusing on a lot of technical aspects of running at the moment,” Breen said.
“The great thing about this sport is the best way to practice is to race.”
While the grass surface at Albury will be taxing on the body, Breen is looking forward to seeing how much the gift has grown since her first visit two years ago.
“There’s a great community here, there’s always a great energy,” she said.
“It’ll be a tough event for me coming off the backmarkers.
“But all I can do is concentrate on the things I’ve been working on in training and hope my hard work pays off.”