Young Guns and Big Runs | Australian Junior Athletics Championships Day 2

Momentum continued on Day Two of the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Junior Athletics Championships, as the country’s rising stars laid down a season’s worth of hard work, breaking meet records and delivering performances that left crowds eager for more.

13-year-old Tate Van Camp (QLD) etched his name into Australian athletics history when becoming the fastest boy in history to win the Under 14 800m at an Australian Championships, shattering the two-minute barrier with a barnstorming finish to clock 1:59.70.

Locking horns with New South Wales' Harry Keats who was bold in his bid for gold, Van Camp bided his time before striking in the home straight to carve over one-second off the meet record from 2008:

“It’s my first time breaking two minutes, I’m very happy! I didn’t know who was going to win between me and Harry, the plan was to let him lead and overtake him with 200m to go - it was really close but the plan worked well,” Van Camp said.

“I am so relieved. I have been working very hard to get sub-two for a long time so when I finally saw 1:59 I was so happy.” 

Punching in a meet record of his own was Kalisi Aualitiia (NSW) in the U14 Boys’ Hammer Throw, launching the 3kg hammer 52.11m on his fourth and final attempt to surpass the 50m-barrier and eclipse the previous mark of 50.64m. 

A blockbuster Under 18 Boys’ 3000m bout was taken out by the new kid on the block, as Western Australia’s Ky Hehir ran true to form to defeat a classy field in 8:21.48. Beating home New Zealand’s Alfie Steedman and Australian rivals Seth Mahony (QLD) and Charles Barrett (VIC), the 16-year-old proved too slick over the final lap - following in the footsteps of coach Matthew Ramsden. 

“To get second last year, it lit the fire in my belly a little bit to go one better this year. I’ve been working all year towards this race,” Hehir said.

“(Ramsden) had confidence in me to get the job done. He wanted me to leave it to a kick and back in my strength, he’s been really good in guiding me through.”

Victoria’s Gabrielle Vincent led gun to tape to be crowned the Australian Under 18 Girls’ 3000m champion in a time of 9:35.01, fending off a flurry of Queensland competitors who filled the next four positions. 

Winning two gold medals in as many hours, Emma Fryga (QLD) completed an astonishing feat with victory in both the Under 15 Girls 800m and 2000m Steeplechase. With the 800m run at 2:05pm and the steeplechase gun firing at 3:45pm, Fryga roared to a dominant double in times of 2:11.02 and 6:59.36 as she went unchallenged in both events. 

Layla Sharp (NSW, T38) led the charge for Australia’s rising Para juniors on the track with a strong 2:38.99 performance over 800m to win her second gold medal of the championships in the Under 17 Girls’ Para event with a score of 95.11 on the BASELINE system. Cooper Robb-Jackson (NSW, T38) was the pick of the Under 17 Boys’ Para 800m after his 400m title yesterday, with his 2:18.53 scoring 85.02 for the win. 

The hotly-contested Under 16 Girls’ Javelin competition was won by Nahkiya Mullins-Walit (QLD) with a mark of 46.47m, falling just nine-centimetres shy of the best performance ever at an Australian Junior Championships in the age group. Winning by a margin of 77cm, Mullins-Walit’s title winning throw came in the second round amidst a solid sequence. 

Queensland’s Amaya Mearns went one better than her Under 16 Girls’ 100m silver on Day One, evening the ledger with Western Australia’s Leah O’Brien when winning the 200m showdown in 23.97 (+0.4) - shattering 24-seconds for the first time in her career.

Walking his way to a strong result of 12:24.91 in the Under 16 Boys’ 3000m Race Walk, Kodi Clarkson (ACT) declared himself the Australian champion as he flexed his form to win by over 30-seconds.  

Adding to the middle-distance action in one of the finishes of the championships in the Under 16 Boys’ 2000m Steeplechase, Tasmania’s William Pereria motored over the final barrier to clinch gold from the jaws of defeat by a margin of just 0.14-seconds, clocking 6:10.59 to win in the final stride over Jonathan Neethling (VIC). 

The versatile talent of Oliver Facer (NSW) has been prominent throughout the first two days of the Australian Junior Athletics Championships, but none more so than during the first round of the Under 16 100m Hurdles. Setting the fastest qualifying time of the three heats, Facer clocked a sizzling 12.81 (+0.5), placing Sasha Zhoya’s national record (12.66) within reach on Day Three’s final. 

Also impressive in the preliminary rounds were the big names of junior 800m running, all advancing to Day Three’s finals to set up enticing encounters with high stakes. Taylissa Buchanan (NSW) and Fleur Cooper (NSW) headline the race for the girls as the only athletes qualified for the Commonwealth Youth Games, while Coffs Harbour duo Jade Kitching (NSW) and Daniel Williams (NSW) will be hard to deny in the race for national glory for the boys.

Day Three of the Chemist Warehouse Australian Junior Athletics Championships will see the Under 17 and Under 18 age groups converge on the track, with the first selection trials to take place for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago this August. The first event will begin at 9am, with the livestream commencing at 1.30pm on 7plus. 

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 14/4/2023