Photos courtesy of Fred Etter and Michael Thomas.
The next generation of Australian athletics looks bright if results from Junior events at the Australian Championships is anything to go by.
Despite often wet conditions, sensational performances were recorded by athletes in the Under 20 age group in Sydney. For many the World Junior Championships in Santiago de Cali, Columbia beckons as the next step in their career.
Here’s a look at the Top 10 performances recorded across the meet, as assessed against the IAAF Scoring Tables.*
#1 – Calab Law – 200m
The Queenslander sped to a meet record 20.64 seconds with the aid of a 0.7 m/s tailwind. He’s one of the favourites for the open event later in the program and at 18, would be the youngest ever national champion over the distance.
#2 – Jai Gordon – 100m
A fast 10.28 seconds (+0.7) personal best to claim the blue ribband event ahead of Law.
#3 – Claudia Hollingsworth – 1500m
The Victorian controlled a fast 1500m final where the top eight all ran world junior qualifiers. Hollingsworth’s 4:13.41 was the second fastest time of her burgeoning career.
#4 – Torrie Lewis – 200m
The Queensland speedster focused on the junior events ahead of the possibility of open success, taking out the sprint double. Her 23.46 second win in the 200m came in wet conditions, into a slight 0.2 m/s headwind.
#5 – Nicola Hogg – 1500m
Runner-up in the 1500m behind Hollingsworth, the Stanford bound NSW athlete ran a new personal best of 4:15.13.
#6 – Calab Law – 100m
Runner-up behind Gordon in the 100m, in a new personal best of 10.36 seconds (-0.7).
#7 – Amy Bunnage – 3000m
The Victorian bounced back from a fourth place finish in the 1500m to front run a 9:06.93 3000m, just two-hundredths of a second outside the meet record held by Suzy Walsham.
#8 – Torrie Lewis – 100m
A close race with West Australia’s Taylah Cruttenden, taking victory in 11.59 seconds (-0.9).
#9 – Hayley Kitching – 800m
A new personal best of 2:04.80 for a convincing victory over two laps, following a third place finish over 1500m.
#10 – Taylah Cruttenden – 100m
Just three-hundredths of a second shy of victory behind Torrie Lewis over the short sprint.
*Notable – 110m hurdles (0.99m) – Mitchell Lightfoot and Tayleb Willis
There’s no direct comparison that can be made for the junior men’s sprint hurdles, which are run at 99.1cm rather than the 106.7cm open height, but Mitchell Lightfoot’s 13.59 and Tayleb Willis’ 13.61 were classy performances.
Congratulations to all National Junior Champions!
[table id=8 /]
[table id=9 /]
A great collection of photos from each day of the Australian Championships is available, courtesy of Fred Etter. Please subscribe to our mailing list for download access.
Recent posts:
- Commonwealth Games Photo Galleries
Re-live the highlights from each day, through the lens of Fred Etter. Free downloads using the code you receive when you subscribe to our newsletter. Gearing up for the season? Replacement spikes, shipped fast from Melbourne. Shop Now - Caldwell leads podium sweep; Kerr too classy in men’s mileAbbey Caldwell didn’t do everything right. But she did do the right things right when they counted. The 25-year-old, who was the bronze medallist over 1500m in Birmingham four years ago, led home an Australian 1-2-3 in a tactical masterclass at Scotstoun Stadium. The only fault was non-consequential, with the Victorian getting boxed in on
- 7 Gold on final day as Australia tops medal tallyHas there ever been a more golden day for Australian athletics than the final one at Scotstoun Stadium? With 7 golds and 10 minor medals won, the answer is ‘no.’ The previous most successful day was over 75 years ago, in 1950, when Australia won 6 gold in a day. Rhiannon Clarke, fourth in the
- Denny goes back-to-back as discus dominance continues in GlasgowMatt Denny has defended his Commonwealth Games discus title in emphatic style at Scotstoun, throwing 67.73m to win by more than two and a half metres, with every one of his five legal throws far enough for gold. Jamaica’s Fedrick Dacres took silver with 65.10m, while England’s Lawrence Okoye — who has spent much of
- “It’s not Little Athletics”: from mum’s heckle to a Commonwealth hat-trickTwelve months ago, Jemima Montag was recovering from hamstring surgery, watching the world championships from home. On the final day of athletics in Glasgow, she became just the second Australian race walker to win three consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals. And she led home an Australian clean sweep to do it. Montag’s winning time of
