Karinna Fyfe from Glenhuntly Athletics Club prevailed in a close three way tussle in the open women’s 8km race on a tough course at Lardner Park, Warragul in the second round of Athletics Victoria’s XCR series.
After former World Championship and Commonwealth Games marathon representative Sarah Klein made the early running in the race on the first of two four-kilometre laps, the long downhill stretch towards the finishing line on the second lap made for an entertaining contest.
Steeplechaser Stella Radford had a slight lead with 500m remaining but was fatigued, while Fyfe and Klein were closing quickly. Fyfe maintained her momentum onto the flat to pass Radford and run away for a four second victory in 28 minutes, 34 seconds. Klein also passed Radford, taking silver by a three second margin.
The men’s race was a more open and shut case, with Andy Buchanan from Bendigo Region traversing the course with ease to win by over half-a-minute in a time of 23:57.
The undulating course, most of which had a thick grass covering underneath, has a sadistic furthest most point. After clearing a fence on a downhill stretch, four shallow stream crossings within the space of 100 metres followed by a steep hill and a gradual climb back up to the highest point of the course greet runners. During the second lap of the open men’s race, approximately one in twenty runners fell.
Buchanan was light on his feet and not heeded. Behind him, Cody Shanahan from Western Athletics had the better of Tom Thorpe from St Stephen’s Harriers, taking silver 24:34 to 23:49.
In the junior 4km races impressive performances were recorded by Athletics Essendon pair Archie Noakes, who took out the U18 men’s race in 12:10; and Bianca Puglisi, who won the U20 women’s race by almost a minute in 14:33.
Our full collection of 389 photos is available here.
You can download high resolution images if you subscribe to our mailing list. Subscribe here.
Latest posts:
- Fryga completes a golden double as Chis storms into all-time territory: Australian All Schools 2025
If the first three days of the Australian All Schools hinted at a new golden generation of Australian middle-distance talent, the final day confirmed it. Fresh off an outstanding gun-to-tape victory in the U17 Girls 800m on Day 3 — a World U20 qualifier and meet record — Emma Fryga (QLD) returned… Read more: Fryga completes a golden double as Chis storms into all-time territory: Australian All Schools 2025 - Welcome, sub 10 man Edward Osei-Nketia
Australia’s Newest Sprint Star—Made in NZ, Claimed by Australia, Powered by 9.96 Australia has a long and storied tradition of adopting New Zealand’s best exports. Phar Lap? Naturally Australian (don’t look too closely at the birthplace). Crowded House? Absolutely Australian… except for the parts that aren’t. Russell Crowe? Australian when… Read more: Welcome, sub 10 man Edward Osei-Nketia - The Top 10 Meet Records of Australian All Schools History
Entering perhaps its 50th edition, the Australian All Schools Championships have been the proving ground for the nation’s best young athletes. Since the first edition in 1974*, the meet has evolved through several age-group formats including U19/U17/U15, later U20/U18/U16/U14, and today’s U18/U17/U16/U15/U14 structure — but its essence is relatively unchanged:… Read more: The Top 10 Meet Records of Australian All Schools History - Izzi Batt-Doyle: Ready for Valencia
With the Adelaide summer turning up the heat, Izzi Batt-Doyle wrapped up her final major workout before flying to Europe for Sunday’s Valencia Marathon. The session? A warm, windy grind of 4 × 2km reps, each followed by 3 × 200m, repeated across three sets — roughly 12km of work… Read more: Izzi Batt-Doyle: Ready for Valencia - Speed over strength: Myers out kicks O’Donnell to win cross country trial
Stromlo Forest Park is not known for generosity. It rewards rhythm, honest strength and an ability to hurt. But on a picture-perfect Friday evening in Canberra, it yielded instead to a different kind of weapon — pure, unfiltered speed — as 19-year-old Cameron Myers produced a home-straight overdrive to steal… Read more: Speed over strength: Myers out kicks O’Donnell to win cross country trial
