ByBrian Sacks, Brian Sacks
Olympic finalist Steve Solomon, 20, secured his place at the Commonwealth Games by winning the Australian 400m title in Melbourne.
Battling a fierce headwind in the home straight, Solomon achieved a time of 45.36, his fastest ever outside of the Olympics to win. This was Solomon’s third Australian title and it demonstrated that he is now fully recovered from the back injury that impeded him for most of last season.
A medical student at Stanford University in California, Solomon was beaten by Israeli athlete Donald Sanford in last year’s Maccabiah.
Solomon said: "It was really painful watching the championships in my dorm last year and there was absolutely nothing I could do, I was still in agony with my back.
"I'm in a much better position mentally and physically now and I’m super-excited about where this run puts me as I head towards the rest of the season."