From Down Under to the Top: Australian Athletics Enters Golden Era ahead of Paris 2024

On the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Australia’s track and field stars are raising the standard around the globe, with a breakthrough year headlined by World Championships success and a revitalised summer domestic season.

Achieving a record six medals at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest and a further 14 medals at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, the current Australian Athletics Team lays strong claims to rival the greatest. World champions Nina Kennedy, James Turner and Maria Strong produced a golden climax to a year of excellence – beginning at the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Summer of Athletics which saw big names deliver record crowds and television viewers.

One of eight Australians to produce a national record in a global final in 2023, Tokyo Olympian Kennedy carved her name into the history books when sharing an iconic gold with the USA’s Katie Moon, soaring over 4.90m in the pole vault to add eight centimetres to her previous record and become the first Australian female to wear the crown.

One month earlier at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, Paralympic champion Turner bolted to the sprint double in the 100m and 400m T36, while Paralympic bronze medallist Strong left the field in their wake in the 100m T72 to take gold.

These results on the track and field also follow on from the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in February, where 4000 fans lined up to watch the Australian Mixed 4x2km Relay team of Abbey Caldwell, Oliver Hoare, Stewart McSweyn and Jessica Hull win an historic bronze medal as they took on the rugged terrain of Bathurst.

Athletics Australia Chief Executive Officer, Peter Bromley said the time is now for the Australian public to get behind the number one Olympic and Paralympic sport.

“For some years now we have been building toward a resurgence of Australian athletics, and between our current crop of athletes lifting the standard across the world and more people than ever getting involved at the grassroots level back here in Australia, our sport is entering a new era,” Bromley said.

“The days of Betty Cuthbert and John Landy, and then later Catherine Freeman and Steve Hooker were once regarded as a Golden Era for our sport but I can say with true conviction that 2024 is set to be the year of Australian athletics.

“There is no better time to get around our sport and follow the journeys of our athletes on their way to the pinnacle - the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Australia was also well represented across 14 Diamond League meetings, with the world’s premier annual athletics series reaching its crescendo last month in Eugene, Oregon where Commonwealth champion Matthew Denny was crowned Diamond League champion with an Australian record of 68.43m in the discus.

20 Australian athletes featured throughout the series, with 13 individuals combining for 25 top-three performances, led by Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers with three wins and two second-place finishes to her name – one of which came in the Final where she cleared an Oceania record of 2.03m in the high jump.

Javelin star Mackenzie Little matched her World Championships bronze with third place at Hayward Field, with Athletics Australia General Manager – High Performance, Andrew Faichney highlighting the importance of momentum ahead of 2024:

“Every athlete dreams of the Olympic and Paralympic Games when they start in this sport. The Games showcase the pinnacle of achievement in athletics and are a representation of a lifetime of work for an athlete and a coach,” Faichney said.

“While we saw our second most successful team perform at the Tokyo Olympics and collected a slew of medals at the Paralympics in Japan, the results this year confirm that we are heading in the right direction for one of our best ever campaigns.

Our athletes are looking to peak at the right time and I look forward to them coming home with another impressive collection of medals, top-8 and top-16 performances in this truly global sport, that will inspire the next generation of Aussie athletes, as well as the athlete inside us all.”

The 2023 season also featured international opportunities at the World Athletics Road Running Championships, World University Games, Commonwealth Youth Games and European U20/23 Tour.

There is a lot to celebrate in Australian athletics. Our vision: inspiring, empowering and supporting the athlete inside everyone.

Athletics Australia is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Australia and is the only organisation recognised as such by World Athletics, Australian Olympic Committee, Paralympics Australia, Commonwealth Games Australia and the Australian Sports Commission.

Together with our State and Territory-based Member Associations, we are charged with ensuring the encouragement, pathway and promotion of athletics in Australia and acting in the best interests of the sport of athletics across the full spectrum of ages and levels – from children through to masters athletes and from participation through to high performance.

Key Results in 2023:

2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary (6 Medals):

Gold – Nina Kennedy (Pole Vault)

Silver – Jemima Montag (20km Race Walk), Eleanor Patterson (High Jump)

Bronze – Nicola Olyslagers (High Jump), Kurtis Marschall (Pole Vault), Mackenzie Little (Javelin)

National Records – Nina Kennedy (Pole Vault - 4.85m, 4.90m), Matthew Denny (Discus - 68.24m), Jemima Montag (20km Race Walk - 1:27.16)

2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, France (14 Medals):

Gold - James Turner (100m T36, 400m T36), Maria Strong (100m T72)

Silver - Guy Henly (Discus F38), Michal Burian (Javelin F64), Mali Lovell (200m T36), Rhiannon Clarke (400m T38), Reece Langdon (1500m T38), Michael Roeger (1500m T46), Jaryd Clifford (5000m T13), Maria Strong (Shot Put F33)

Bronze - Vanessa Low (Long Jump T63), Rosemary Little (Shot Put F32), Angus Hincksman (1500m T38)

National Records – Rhiannon Clarke (100m T38 - 12.91 +0.2), Dayna Crees (Javelin F34 - 16.84m), Mali Lovell (200m T36 - 30.19 -2.7), Maria Strong (Shot Put F33 - 6.82m), Rhiannon Clarke (400m T38 - 62.36)

2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia (1 Medal):

Bronze- Oliver Hoare, Jessica Hull, Abbey Caldwell, Stewart McSweyn (Mixed 4x2km Relay)

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted:5/10/2023