Jenneke sets the tone as emerging talent steps up in Melbourne at Short Track Championships

The Australian Short Track Championships may not have drawn the full depth of the nation’s elite, but those who did line up at the second edition of the meet found conditions that were far better than Melbourne’s reputation might suggest.

Michelle Jenneke made the clearest of those statements, claiming the national 60m hurdles title in 7.98 seconds into a -2.0 headwind. The run slipped under the World Athletics Indoor Championships qualifying standard of 8.02, signalling a promising start to her 2026 campaign.

Jenneke was tested throughout the race by 19-year-old Delta Amidzovski, who dipped under 8.10 for the first time with a personal best of 8.06. The pair separated themselves early, with Jenneke’s experience proving decisive over the final strides.

“Delta on my inside got out really well and really pushed me under that eight-second barrier,” Jenneke said. “Hopefully that ranks me nicely and I can head over to Poland for the World Indoors.”

“I feel like I’m back in the shape that I should be,” she said. “I feel like I can go out and run some personal bests.”

Amidzovski would go on to double up later in the program, returning to win the long jump with a season leading 6.41m (+0.2). Brooke Buschkuehl finished second with 6.34m (+0.9) marking her first long jump competition since the Paris Olympics after a break from competition for motherhood.

In the women’s 60m, Queensland teenager Thewbelle Philp showed composure well beyond her 17 years, producing a sharp start and controlling the race from the outset to take the national title in 7.24 seconds (+0.9). Ebony Lane closed strongly for second in 7.27, with Hilal Durmaz third in 7.31 for an all Queensland podium.

“You just have to be in the moment and react to that sound!” Philp said. “When it goes, you go. It’s really good to be able to compete against the Open girls because they are such good athletes.”

“Running alongside them makes me a better athlete and it’s all just good experience. The goal for me this year is World Juniors.”

The men’s 60m final delivered the most dramatic finish of the championships, with Queenslander Jai Gordon forced to share the national title after a dead heat with Papua New Guinea’s Pais Wisil. Both athletes were credited with a winning time of 6.64 seconds (+0.6).

For Gordon, the result continued a season of gradual progress, even if the race itself fell short of expectations.

“Every race I have done this year, nothing has been perfect which is really exciting for me,” he said. “I need to keep working because there is a lot of competition in Australia at the moment.”

“I’m pretty disappointed in that race to be honest, but to tie for the win is still a good result. I definitely think there is a lot more left in the tank.”

Elsewhere across the program, South Australia’s Awan Akuen took advantage of an off-day from Olympic triple jumper Connor Murphy, producing a personal best leap of 16.12m to claim the men’s triple jump title. Chloe Grenade secured gold in the women’s event, winning a small field with a best of 12.85m.

The pole vault delivered one of the technical highlights of the meet, with Dalton Di Medio clearing a season’s best 5.38m to win the men’s title: a mark that also set a new Lakeside Stadium track record. Tryphena Hewett took out the women’s competition with a clearance of 4.15m.

High jump honours went to Yual Reath, who cleared 2.19m, and Izobelle Louison-Roe, who topped the women’s field at 1.86m.

In the men’s long jump, Liam Fairweather produced the standout horizontal effort of the weekend, leaping 7.65m to claim gold.

The throws added a further dimension to the championships, with Emma Berg winning the women’s shot put with a best of 16.12m. Alexander Kolesnikoff claimed the Australian title in the men’s event with 18.35m, while Great Britain’s Scott Lincoln produced the longest throw of the competition, launching the shot out to a mammoth 20.76m.

While the Australian Short Track Championships may still be finding their place on the domestic calendar, the day offered a glimpse of the domestic season ahead: established internationals sharpening their form, and emerging athletes stepping confidently into senior ranks.