Around the Grounds | Aussies Impress Indoors and on the Roads

From the indoor facilities of the United States and Europe to the roads of Japan for the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon, Australian athletics was well represented with strong performances around the globe this weekend.

The tone was set on Friday by Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) who rose over 5.82m to secure fourth place at the Mondo Classic in Sweden, backing up last week’s 5.83m performance in Germany to solidify his early season form.

Michelle Jenneke (Gary Bourne) soon followed suit in Poland to become the second fastest Australian woman in history in the indoor 60m hurdles (behind Sally Pearson’s mark of 7.73), clocking 7.98 for second place. Celeste Mucci (Darren Clark) then went one better at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston with a run of 7.95, finishing third in esteemed company and overtaking Jenneke.

Washington University’s Carley Thomas (Maurica Powell) enjoyed a record breaking weekend which started with assisting the Huskies to the NCAA distance medley relay (1200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m) record of 10:46.62, clocking 2:01.93 for the 800m leg. Thomas then returned on Sunday to set an outright indoor school record of 2:02.25, with the 22-year-old who won silver in the 800m and 4x400m at the 2018 World Under 20 Championships set to return to her best form in 2023.

18-year-old Erin Shaw (Alex Stewart) proved that her fourth place at last year’s World Under 20 Championships in Cali was merely a stepping stone to greater heights, soaring over a personal best of 1.90m at the World Indoor Silver Meet in Hustopece. Shaw finished in fifth place, followed by world champion Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart) who was sixth with 1.87m. Brandon Starc (Alex Stewart) opened his campaign with a 2.27m clearance to finish in fourth place in strong company.

Australia’s long distance stars continued their support of the Kagawa Marugame International Half Marathon, led by Isobel Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) and Sinead Diver (Nic Bideau) who finished in third and fourth placings respectively. Batt-Doyle stopped the clock in 1:09:27 for 21.1km when coming over the top of Diver (1:09:29) in the closing metres, while Jack Rayner (Nic Bideau) finished ninth in the men’s race in a time of 1:01:24. Eloise Wellings (Nic Bideau) also cracked the top-10 with her 1:12:17 performance, while Riley Cocks (self-coached) set a new personal best of 1:02:42.

A number of the nation’s top athletes also featured in the Victorian Athletic League’s Beachside Gift, with the likes of Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau), Abbey Caldwell (Gavin Burren), Brooke Buschkuehl (Russell Stratton) and Naa Anang (Gary Bourne) tasked with harsh handicaps but ample support from the local community. The series culminates with the historic Stawell Gift Easter Carnival, which Athletics Australia continues its strong partnership with.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 5/2/2023