Aussie Results/News 2023

[Vault-emort]

Australian girls own the 1500m age records for 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16yos - but it's always a lottery to see if they continue the sport into open ranks (and even junior teams).

[Vault-emort]

I would like to see some sort of regular plan.

I only just noticed that there is a (Challenger level) meet in Townsville on 5-7 May - 'Oceania Relays'. Don't think we have had this meet before but it must be part of AA's relay plan. Hopefully we can field strong, practiced teams and there are enough OCE teams entered to make it worthwhile.

[El Toro]

Wow! Both on the same day too! Got to say she does not look 11. And what's up with AUS athletics? How could there be such a gap between her and girls 3 years older? Is AUS failing in recruiting talent for T&F?

Part 1

Too you and fasttrak85, I think you make the mistake of comparing AUS with USA, rather than AUS with individual states or collection of states, with equivalent populations..

Once you get down to much smaller populations, the ebbs and flows of individual events or relativities over time or within years gets much greater. The fundamental reason is that this sport is the most dependent on genetic freaks and they don't pop up on a predictable basis.

Remember when this board would regularly complain about the demise of M400H and asked if there would ever be fast times again? It seems ridiculous after the past few years but those periods of reduced performance at world level will come again, not just for M400H but for other events as well. The effects are just much more exaggerated with smaller populations.

Part 2

Recruiting? Hahahahaha.

The only "recruiting" being done in Australia is by team sports that support and actually pay their participants, such as Basketball and Netball, the 4(!) football codes (AUS Rules/League/Union/FIFA) and cricket. Athletics mainly relies on people who are interested enough to come to the sport by themselves plus those encouraged by a few teachers who moonlight as club coaches.

Even when this essentially ad hoc system does get a self identifying talent first, this just highlights the last few talents missed earlier by the other sports who then send their recruiters out. That or other countries offer better deals to dual nationals (like Sasha Zhoya).

There is no organised, well resourced development pipeline like the school/NCAA based one of the USA that delivers high quality athletes to national teams, essentially free of charge. The closest thing we have is coach-based pipelines that can produce consistent results but only for limited events in limited locations.

This coach-based approach is still enough to throw up the occasional talents that will improve enough to start getting viable financial and services support from the Institutes of Sport networks but like any system, GIGO. With other sports getting to talent first and more often, it will just get harder for even our elite coaches.

[proofs in the pudd'in]

Part 1

Too you and fasttrak85, I think you make the mistake of comparing AUS with USA, rather than AUS with individual states or collection of states, with equivalent populations..

Once you get down to much smaller populations, the ebbs and flows of individual events or relativities over time or within years gets much greater. The fundamental reason is that this sport is the most dependent on genetic freaks and they don't pop up on a predictable basis.

Remember when this board would regularly complain about the demise of M400H and asked if there would ever be fast times again? It seems ridiculous after the past few years but those periods of reduced performance at world level will come again, not just for M400H but for other events as well. The effects are just much more exaggerated with smaller populations.

Part 2

Recruiting? Hahahahaha.

The only "recruiting" being done in Australia is by team sports that support and actually pay their participants, such as Basketball and Netball, the 4(!) football codes (AUS Rules/League/Union/FIFA) and cricket. Athletics mainly relies on people who are interested enough to come to the sport by themselves plus those encouraged by a few teachers who moonlight as club coaches.

Even when this essentially ad hoc system does get a self identifying talent first, this just highlights the last few talents missed earlier by the other sports who then send their recruiters out. That or other countries offer better deals to dual nationals (like Sasha Zhoya).

There is no organised, well resourced development pipeline like the school/NCAA based one of the USA that delivers high quality athletes to national teams, essentially free of charge. The closest thing we have is coach-based pipelines that can produce consistent results but only for limited events in limited locations.

This coach-based approach is still enough to throw up the occasional talents that will improve enough to start getting viable financial and services support from the Institutes of Sport networks but like any system, GIGO. With other sports getting to talent first and more often, it will just get harder for even our elite coaches.

Yes, makes a ton of sense! Glad for your response. Thanks!

I did read in one of the articles that she had a growth spurt the previous year. I don't know her relative size or puberty status (which I thought many girls are starting earlier nowadays IIRC) but as you say there is a lot of relative aspects and she may just be one of those genetic lottery winners. I guess we will she - I hope the best for her and look forward to seeing her excel. Although, the article did mention swimming - she might just go that route??

[typpo]

Australian girls own the 1500m age records for 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 & 16yos - but it's always a lottery to see if they continue the sport into open ranks (and even junior teams).

Been interesting to see about half a dozen world age records broken by Australian kids (in the 9-12yo age groups) over the last few months, pretty much exclusively in middle to long distance events, where we tend to be better at filling spots in senior athletics teams in comparison to other track and field events.

[Vault-emort]

Been interesting to see about half a dozen world age records broken by Australian kids

Well, some of our kids (eg Clarke, Rollison) have held those age records for a couple of decades. At least those two DID represent AUS at a senior level. Let's hope the newer crop (inc Stewart, Hollingsworth) can do the same.

02 FEB - MELBOURNE - BOX HILL BURN
1000 Hussey 2-23.82 Shaw 2-25.09 Cotra-Memesi 2-25.59
5000 Waring 13-48.48 Herd 13-58.90 Christy 14-01.35

1000 Caldwell 2-41.01 Billings 2-43.34 Murray 2-43.84
5000 Hansen 15-43.38 Radford 15-56.67 Klein 16-21.63

[AS]

Kurtis Marschall finished 2nd in Karlsruhe on 27 January with 5.83, sharing a WL with winner KC Lightfoot (USA) and Emmanouil Karalis (GRE). Lightfoot had a perfect run of first time clearances in his first 6 vaults, including the 5.83 before failing at 5.87...

He cleared 5.82 at Mondo's meet in Stockholm...finished behind Duplantis, Obiena and Lightfoot (but ahead of Lillefosse, Kendricks, Braz & Karalis (among others): https://worldathletics.org/competiti...esults/7189513

[El Toro]

Declan Tingay won the 10,000m track walk in an Oceania record of 38:03.79 at the at the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Silver event in Canberra. This time beat the previous record of 38:20.9 set by Dave Smith way back in 1986 and pushed Tingay to `#9 all time performer, up from `#34. The top spot is held by the WR 37:25.21 of Eiki Takahashi (JPN).

Tingay's previous best was 38:42.33 set when taking silver at last year's CWG in Birmingham.

Race report:

https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-tour/news/tingay-oceanian-10000m-race-walk-record-canberra-supernova

[Vault-emort]

Not much happening this weekend with masters or relay champs in some states and nothing in some others.

ADELAIDE
100 (0.6) Murphy 10.57
HAM Carlin 60.32m PB

ABERFELDIE
LJ Williams 7.68m (4.8) & 7.12m (1.7)

Until he won the VIC Country Champs last week, 23yo Harrison Williams hadn't competed in the LJ for nearly two years. His legal PB is 7.38m from 2021

Another athlete returning to the sport this season after a few years absence is Perth's Sophie White. In 2019, she was the National U18 Champ at 100m & 100H with PBs of 11.61 & 13.14 but then disappeared. She's only had a couple of runs this season, well below her best times, but I'm hoping she can return to her best.

[El Toro]

Another athlete returning to the sport this season after a few years absence is Perth's Sophie White. In 2019, she was the National U18 Champ at 100m & 100H with PBs of 11.61 & 13.14 but then disappeared. She's only had a couple of runs this season, well below her best times, but I'm hoping she can return to her best.

That 13.14 in 2018 equalled Sally Pearson's U-18 NR but she started feeling pain in her feet going into the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. She kept going in 2019 but all her results were worse than the previous year.

Scans identified stress fractures in both navicular bones so she's had a long road to recovery including a relapse of the issue. Hopefully she's back on track

Here's a very detailed article on the isues and her recovery from last year ihe West Australian in 2022:

https://thewest.com.au/sport/athletics/west-australian-hurdler-sophie-white-on-comeback-trail-as-she-eyes-paris-2024-olympics-c-6158739

I normally can't read anything from that rag but this was available. If the link doesn't work I followed a google link after searching "Perth's Sophie White", so maybe that will do the trick.

[edited to add missing part]

In her bio for the YOG, she answered a series of questions including:

If I were an animal, I would be: A praying mantis

Her boyfrieds have been nervous ever since! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/male-mantises-wrestle-escape-cannibalistic-females-180976825/

[Vault-emort]

Well she won a senior WA Champs medal today after running third leg in UWA's 4x100m relay team.

Guess she might leave hurdling alone until next year and just try to get some speed and strength and health back for the 100 this season.

[El Toro]

Well she won a senior WA Champs medal today after running third leg in UWA's 4x100m relay team.

Guess she might leave hurdling alone until next year and just try to get some speed and strength and health back for the 100 this season.

Probably a good approach because the navicular bone has a relatively poor blood supply so is it at high risk of slow healing, especially if the overall foot structure is poor. There are a number of AUS power athletes who have retired or moved to less stressfull sports because of navicular problems including Alison O'Dwyer, a former Little As HJer and later member of the AIS basketball squad in the late 1990s.

She was recruited in the superstar era of future Opals, Kristen Veal, Belinda Snell, Suzy Batkovic, Lauren Jackson and Penny Taylor and went on to play in the WNBL until her navicular required her to convert to rowing to use her height and power without the impact. Several long jumpers also had to retire after not just fractures but in at least one case,navicular necrosis - there's no coming back from that.

Always wise to tread (ha!) carefully with this issue/

[Vault-emort]

A few results from European indoor meets:

LODZ, POL
60H Jenneke 7.98 PB (2nd)

HUSTOPECE, CZE
HJ Starc 2.27m (4th)

HJ Shaw (b04) 1.90m PB (5th) Patterson 1.87m (6th)

[Vault-emort]

And from the US:

BOSTON
60H Mucci 7.95 PB (3rd)

Mucci's run pushes her to 2nd Aussie A/T ahead of Jenneke & Clay but still 0.22 adrift of Sally's NIR.

[El Toro]

Updated on the 2026 CWG athletes village in the Games general thread.

https://forum.trackandfieldnews.com/forum/things-not-t-f/1769697-victoria-2026-cwg-2026-general?p=1781057#post1781057