In a boost for Australian athletics the Melbourne Track Classic has been granted Continental Tour Gold status by World Athletics.
The meet will be held at Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne on Thursday 23 February under the new name of the Maurie Plant Meet, in the week following the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst. The status for the meet means that Melbourne will return to being the host of the most prestigious held in Australia each year, with international athletes competing at scale in Melbourne for the first time since 2017 during the short lived Nitro Athletics series.
The World Athletics Contintental Tour Gold series includes meets of the calibre of Tokyo, Turku, Budapest, New York and Ostrava and bring to Australia considerable benefits for athletes and fans:
- Category A meet for World Athletics Rankings, which are important for qualifying for the World Championships
- A minimum US$200,000 in prize money
- A minimum of 15% of the athletes participating in the meet will be from outside Oceania
- In at least 12 of the events, a minimum of 3 athletes from the Top 50 in the world (3 per country basis) to participate
- An expectation from World Athletics of at least 3,000 spectators at the meet
The meet has been renamed in memory of Maurie Plant, who died in 2020. Plant was a colourful identity in Australian athletics, most known for his role as Athletics Australia’s international athlete liaison, a booming voice as a meet commentator and for supporting the careers of numerous athletes on the international circuit, including Cathy Freeman, Steve Hooker and Sally Pearson.
The Melbourne Track Classic had previously been part of the IAAF World Athletics Tour until the mid-2010s, but towards the end of that period was overtaken by the Sydney Track Classic, and then more recently, the Brisbane Track Classic, as the top performing meet of the Australian domestic season.
Recent Posts:
- Oates comes of age with national crown in Ballarat
Bronte Oates’s rapid rise through the Australian distance running ranks continued in emphatic style at Victoria Park in Ballarat, as the 21-year-old powered to her first national cross country title on her birthday, defeating two-time Olympian Jenny Blundell in the women’s 10km. Oates has spent the winter piecing together a breakthrough season: a fifth place… Read more: Oates comes of age with national crown in Ballarat - Ed Marks poised for Ballarat
The Australian Cross Country Championships head to Ballarat this weekend, and the men’s race has a clear frontrunner: 23-year-old Ed Marks, who has emerged as one of the brightest young talents in Australian distance running. After consecutive podium finishes at the national championships, Marks is chasing the elusive gold medal to complete his steady rise… Read more: Ed Marks poised for Ballarat - Inside Track: Weekly Recap (14 August 2025): From WR pacing to Airport Arrests
From upcoming world-record chases to off-track headlines, here’s your quick-fire wrap of the week’s biggest stories in athletics. Hull to Pace Kipyegon’s 3000m World Record Bid Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon will target Wang Junxia’s 32-year-old 3000m world record (8:06.11) at Saturday’s Silesia Diamond League, joined by surprise pacemaker Jess Hull. Sage Hurta‑Klecker will lead… Read more: Inside Track: Weekly Recap (14 August 2025): From WR pacing to Airport Arrests - Mia Gross: Sprinter training in St.Moritz??
Australian sprinter Mia Gross shares a week-long altitude block in St. Moritz focused on recovery and a lighter load (blocks, wickets, one 350m rep, light gym), plus an 8-minute cold-water plunge amid surprise summer snow. She says travel is complicating completion of new genetic-testing requirements for female eligibility and plans to handle it at home.… Read more: Mia Gross: Sprinter training in St.Moritz?? - Inside Track: Weekly Recap (7 August 2025): From Central Coast training to US Trials Fireworks
From a home-based training plan by high jump star Nicola Olyslagers, to 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus rewriting the record books over 800m, it’s been a week of bold moves and big performances. Add in the rekindled sprint rivalry between Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek, standout results from the US Trials, and the 30-year anniversary of Jonathan… Read more: Inside Track: Weekly Recap (7 August 2025): From Central Coast training to US Trials Fireworks
