10 Athletes to Watch | Australian Junior Athletics Championships

The 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Junior Athletics Championships will inevitably unveil new talents and names of the future as Australia’s track and field boom continues, but a number of those in action are already well on their way stardom. 

The pinnacle event for track and field athletes under the age of 18, the Australian Junior Athletics Championships will see more than 2,100 teens make steps towards their athletic endeavours as they compete for the ultimate prize – the title of national champion.

Athletes in the Under 18 age group will eye off the prospect of selection to the Commonwealth Youth Games team, and with just 17 spots on offer across all disciplines, competition will be fierce. 

The event will be livestreamed at the following times (AEST) via 7plus:

Thursday (April 13) 12:30-6:30pm

Friday (April 14) 12:45-6:45pm

Saturday (April 15) 1:30-7:30pm

Sunday (April 16) 9:45-3:45pm

Toby Stolberg (High Jump - Marty Stolberg - Queensland) 

Despite already being a World Under 20 Championships finalist, the best is yet to come for 16-year-old Toby Stolberg. The talented teenager possesses a personal best of 1.82m and has flown over 1.80m six times in her short career to date, bounding towards another breakthrough in 2023. Coached by her Mum, Marty, Stolberg will be out to raise the bar in Brisbane after taking on her idols in the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Summer Series at the Maurie Plant Meet and Sydney Track Classic.

Gout Gout (100m, 200m – Diane Sheppard - Queensland)

With a series of Australian Under 16 records in late 2022, Ipswich sprint sensation Gout Gout flew onto the radars of athletics fans around the country. At the age of 15, Gout has clocked personal bests of 10.43 and 21.10, with the humble sibling of seven doing so with a smile on his face. The Australian with South Sudanese heritage will be out to emulate the form that took him to the sprint double at the 2022 Australian All Schools Championships – a vast improvement on finishing in sixth and fourth placings over 100m and 200m respectively at the 2022 Australian Track and Field Championships.

Delta Amidzovski (100m Hurdles, Long Jump, 100m - Roger Fabri - New South Wales)

The youngest member of Team Australia at the 2022 World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Colombia, Delta Amidzovski has already had a taste of the big stage. Always a strong long jumper, it was Amidzovski’s hurdling that saw her secure her first Australian tracksuit - now returning to the Under 18 height of 76.2cm after a personal best of 13.42-seconds in February. Leaping 6.10m (-1.4) to win the long jump at December’s Australian All Schools Championships, the Wollongong product is also expected to be a force to be reckoned with on the runway.

Isaac Beacroft (5000m Race Walk, 1500m, 3000m - David Beacroft - New South Wales)

Racing into the record books when eclipsing the Australian Under 16 3000m race walk record which had stood for 27-years, Isaac Beacroft was one of the standout performers of the 2022 Australian All Schools Championships with his 12:04.09 performance. Stepping up to the 5000m where he will set his eyes on an Australian record in the Under 18 ranks as a bottom-ager, Beacroft will need to be at his absolute best form amongst a busy weekend – with the teenager also opting to contest the 1500m and 3000m races.

Charlotte McAuliffe (200m, 400m - Nick Hagicostas - South Australia)

A versatile talent hailing from South Australia, Charlotte McAuliffe has established herself as a rising quarter miler with a promising future. The 16-year-old put a slick field to the sword at December’s Australian All Schools Championships in a time of 54.50, returning in April to clinch her first Australian Under 20 title with a sizzling series of 53.43 and 53.58 in consecutive days. McAuliffe will also contest the 200m, having been crowned the 2022 Australian Under 16 champion.

Izobelle Louison-Roe (High Jump, Triple Jump, Long Jump, 100m Hurdles – Karen Roe - New South Wales)

Izobelle Louison-Roe’s blockbuster schedule at this year’s Australian Junior Athletics Championships is an indication of her talent. Soaring over 1.84m to finish in second place at the Sydney Track Classic, Louison-Roe may have landed high jump in the box seat, but with personal bests of 12.83m and 5.82m in the triple jump and long jump – the rising star’s focus is still to be determined. Since February 24, the 15-year-old has set personal best marks in all four of the events she will be competing in – approaching the championships in white-hot form.

Charles Barrett (1500m, 3000m – Charlotte Wilson - Victoria) 

At 15-years-old, Charles Barrett is crafting an impressive resume. The Essendon product has torched his way to personal bests of 3:50.23 over 1500m and 8:25.39 for 3000m, set to chase a golden double at his second Australian Athletics Championships appearance. Barrett tasted his first national success in 2022 with silver in the 3000m, but has marked himself as one to watch after a substantial year of improvement.

Seth Mahony (1500m, 3000m – Jayden Russ - Queensland)

A bronze medal over 1500m in the Under 20 Australian final while clocking a Commonwealth Youth Games qualifier is a fair indication that Seth Mahony is in good touch. The Brisbane product will be eager to bring that form when he meets a stacked Under 18 field over both 1500m and 3000m at the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre, with Mahony set to duke it out in front of his home crowd.

Fleur Cooper (800m, 1500m – Fleur Cooper - New South Wales) 

15-year-old Fleur Cooper continues to go from strength-to-strength in her short career to date, with swift personal bests of 2:07.66 and 4:20.25 over 800m and 1500m establishing the New South Wales junior as a prominent name on the middle-distance scene. The teenager finished third in December’s Australian Mile Championships and presents in strong contention for her maiden Australian junior title.

Olivia Dodds (100m, 200m – Lyn Foreman - Western Australia) 

Recent years suggest Western Australia’s Olivia Dodds will be hard to deny the Australian Under 18 sprint double, having completed the feat in the Under 17 ranks twice in 2022 – once at the Australian Track and Field Championships and then again at the All Schools Championships. The 16-year-old bolted to a career-best performance of 11.48 (+1.3) over 100m in January before taking out the double at the State Championships to set up her national campaign.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 12/4/2023