A Golden Finish for Team Australia | Oceania Championships Day Five

The 2022 Oceania Athletics have today drawn to a close as Australia’s top juniors and para athletes finishing the five-day gold rush in Mackay, with the final day a fitting celebration of the athletic talent within the countries of the region.

World junior throwing duo Darcy Miller (Steve Larsson) and Etienne Rousseau (Didier Pope) took home two spots in the Men’s Under 20  Discus podium, with Miller’s 56.16m effort reigning supreme on the day ahead of Bryce Nolan (55.05m) and Rousseau (55.02m).

“I’m happy with today, half of the throws were okay and the other half were pretty good up and around that 55m mark, but we still have a bit to work on which is exciting,” Miller said.

“I need to be a bit more patient off the back of the circle, I felt like the throw was a bit disconnected today and I’m looking forward to fixing those things because there is definitely a few extra metres there.”

While outside of his 58.66m career best, Miller says the result provides him with confidence in his preparation for the World Athletics Under 20 Championships this August.

“I would love to make the final and come top eight at world juniors. It will be tricky to get there but I have been up and around that 60m mark at training which should get me close,” Miller said.

Fellow world junior representative Laylani Va’ai (Michael Moore) finished third in the Women’s Under 20 discus with an effort of 46.25m, while Ashlyn Blackstock (46.62m) took silver behind New Zealand’s Natalia Rankin-Chi Tar.

Backing up from yesterday’s win in the Women’s Under 20 1500m, Hayley Kitching (Tim Kitching) delivered a commanding victory in the Under 20  800m in 2:08.20 - leading from gun to tape in blustery conditions to secure the area championship double.

“I felt pretty good actually, it’s good practice for Cali because I’ll be racing three days in a row if I make it through the rounds, so it’s good to get the hard hit-outs in,” Kitching said.

Kitching will now return to preparing for her maiden international campaign in Colombia this August.

“I’m definitely getting better. I’m looking forward to organising some race scenarios with my brother and training partners which will be fun, along with some time trials to get race ready for world juniors,” Kitching said.

It was with mixed emotion that Cameron Crombie (Hamish Macdonald) took gold in the Men’s Shot Put Ambulatory, having come to the Oceania Championships aiming to eclipse his own F38 world record.

While the Canberran firefighter won the event with a put of 15.72m (98.56% of his best), Crombie believed the world record was in reach today.

“It was my best of the season but not quite where I thought I would be. I was hoping to get the record. A result starting with a 1-6 was a goal and the goal all season, without a World Championships to go to was to get that here. It was something we targeted early on,” he said.

“Paris (2023 World Para Athletics Championships) is still a while away so we have plenty of time to work on it. Things are going well in the gym and in training most of the time so I’m looking forward to getting out there in Paris and moving that record forward.”

Fellow F38 athlete Marty Jackson (John Eden) threw 15.72m (90.41%) to place second.

The Women’s Under 20 High Jump crown belonged to Alexandra Harrison (Alex Stewart) who cleared a career best of 1.82m in the challenging conditions, finishing ahead of 16-year-old Toby Stolberg (Theresa Stolberg) who made her way up and over 1.78m.

The versatile heptathlete has turned her attention to the high jump in recent times, reaping the rewards with an Oceania Championships gold medal - while Stolberg will continue her build to this year’s World Athletics Under 20 Championships.

Going one better than her silver in yesterday’s 1500m silver was Nicola Hogg (Ben Liddy) who embraced the challenging conditions to run 9:30.62 on her way to gold in the Women’s Under 20 3000m.

Hogg will represent Australia in both the 1500m and 3000m at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships, making the Oceania Championships a suitable simulation of championship racing over consecutive days.

Connor Bond (Mick Zisti) strengthened his grip on the Under 20 ranks when backing up yesterday’s 100m win with a 21.22 (2.1) performance over 200m - clinching his second victory in as many days.

Bond has been selected in Australia’s six-man 4x100m squad headed to Cali, and with no individual event allocation, the 19-year-old will be determined to nail down his name on one of the four legs. Ryan Tarrant (Adam Larcom) and Lachlan Kennedy (Russel Hansen) rounded out the podium with time of 21.28 and 21.52 respectively.

Hayley Reynolds (Andrew Lulham) matched the feat among the junior women, clocking 24.30 (1.5) to fend off fellow world junior representative Olivia Inkster (Melinda Gainsford-Taylor & Katie Edwards) in 24.32 - greeting the finish line with a textbook dive. The gold is Reynold’s second of the championships after her Women’s 20 100m win in 11.70 (0.2) on day four.

Rosemary Little (Karyne Di Marco and Breanne Clement) proved she’s able to juggle the load of wheelchair racing and throwing with ease, claiming the Women’s Seated Shot Put title over her Australian counterparts.

Little, who will compete in the 100m T52 event at the Commonwealth Games threw 5.83m (82.81%) while budding star Dayna Crees (F34) threw 6.08m for 68.93%. Year 12 student Sarah Clifton-Bligh rounded out the Australian podium with a best throw of 4.74m (67.32%).

By Lachlan Moorhouse and Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 11/6/2022