Please athletes and everyone else for that matter, take it easy on the roads!!
Condolences to this Austrailian sprinter.
http://www.news.com.au/national/australian-sprinter-daniel-batman-killed-in-car-crash-near-darwin/story-e6frfkvr-1226409497148#ixzz1yyjlfJcbAustralian sprinter Daniel Batman killed in car crash near Darwin
By Carleen Frost (The Daily Telegraph)
June 27, 2012 7:58AM
Batman, 31, veered off the road near Adelaide River Bridge
The athlete was in the Top End visiting his children
Top athletes pay tribute to the champion sprinter
FORMER sprint champion Daniel Batman has been killed in a car crash southeast of Darwin. The 31-year-old was driving on the Arnhem Highway southeast of Darwin when his car veered off the road about midnight on Monday.
Debris including side panels, a front bumper and the engine - strewn 100m along the road - was spotted by a passing motorist at 7am (CST) yesterday.
Batman was once married to fellow sprinter and Hockeyroo Nova Peris and the couple have two children together.
The Canberra-based athlete was in the Top End visiting his children after separating from their mother in 2010.
Northern Territory police detective Acting Senior Sergeant John Worrall said the crash occurred near the Adelaide River Bridge.
"Although we're still in the early stages of the investigation, it appears as though the man was travelling east on the Arnhem Highway in a Holden Commodore when the vehicle left the road, crashed into a culvert and landed 10m off the road," he said.
"At this stage it is believed speed and alcohol may have been contributing factors in the crash."
Batman, a 100m, 200m and 400m sprinter, had competed at the 2000 Olympic Games.
His best result on the international stage was a sixth place at the World Indoor Championships in 2003.
His 400m winning heat time of 46.11 remains the Australian indoor record. His time of 45.02 in Canberra in February 2003 is the eighth-fastest by an Australian.
Batman quit athletics after Athens and turned his focus to rugby union and working as a real estate agent.
He was reportedly attempting a comeback this year in the hope of making the Olympic team for London.
Paul Hallam, who assisted Batman last summer during his attempted return to the sport, paid tribute to the athlete.
"He was a great family man, an unbelievable trainer, who was highly competitive and trustworthy."
"Daniel was just a really good guy. It’s a big loss – people are very shocked by it, we all can’t believe it," he said
Batman had studied at Scots College in Sydney and trained at the NSW Institute of Sport alongside Matt Shirvington, who said the news was "absolutely devastating".
"It's tragic news. He was a very talented athlete," the retired sprinter said. "I believe he was the best all-round sprinter Australia has ever produced."
Australian athletes past and present have taken to Twitter to share their memories of Batman.
Former world hurdles champion Jana Pittman remembered childhood trips spent with the sprinter.
"So sad to hear the news of Daniel Batman's passing ... we spent most of our teens on trips together," she wrote on the social networking site.
"Rest in peace mate."
London Olympics team member Lauren Boden reflected on a young life lost.
"Sad & shocking news about passing of Daniel Batman," she tweeted.
"Thoughts with his family at this tough time. A vibrant person but life cut short."
- with AAP
