Aussies Set the Records Straight | Weekend Recap
Published Tue 13 Jun 2023
From NCAA champions to an Australian allcomers record and the mountains of Austria, the weekend produced athletics action at its versatile best around the globe.
Australia’s rising stars in the NCAA system strengthened the nation’s long history of producing collegiate champions, as Stephanie Ratcliffe (Harvard) and Ky Robinson (Stanford) etched their names into the history books with monumental performances in Austin, Texas.
Ratcliffe clinched the hammer throw title with a 73.63m effort that eclipsed her own national record, finding the crucial centimetres required to hit the qualifying standard for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. On the track, Robinson broke through with a dominant 54-second final lap to take the 10,000m title in 28:10.96, before returning for a victory parade in the 5000m – completing the rare double in 14:04.77.
Fellow Australian Jackson Sharp (Wisconsin) trailed Robinson narrowly to also finish on the podium of the 5000m with his 14:06.77 run earning third place, while the nation’s middle-distance presence rolled on in the 1500m. Australian mile champion Izzy Thornton-Bott (Oregon) raced to silver over 1500m with a bold move that threatened to take the win, finding only one better than her on the day in 4:09.21. In similar fashion, Adam Spencer (Wisconsin) pushed his case over 1500m in a positive championship performance, leading into the straight before finishing in third place in 3:42.98. Adding to the distance frenzy, Amelia Mazza-Downie (New Mexico) gave herself every chance to win the 10,000m when racing relentlessly over 25 laps, registering the strongest result of her collegiate career when finishing fourth in 32:51.90.
Building to the throwing success of Ratcliffe in the field, 20-year-old Lianna Davidson (Texas A&M) produced the best performance of her career with a 58.78m effort to claim second place in the javelin, piling over one metre onto her personal best. Meanwhile in the discus, Samantha Lenton (Memphis) also saved her best for the NCAA final when throwing a career-best 58.95m for fifth place.
The international action rolled on in Europe with a strong run of 11.27-seconds (+1.7) by 18-year-old double national champion Torrie Lewis (Andrew Iselin) for the win in Sollentuna, Sweden as Hannah Jones (Sally Pearson) finished in second place of the 100m hurdles with a run of 13.04 (+1.3). Athletics Australia’s Under 20 and Under 23 European Tour was led off to a hot start by Reece Holder (Sharon Dale), who shattered 46-seconds for the first time with a 45.65-second performance over 400m in Switzerland. Strong runs followed from Kyle Bennett (Sharon Dale) who made his way around and over the 400m hurdles in 51.88, while Lachlan Kennedy (Andrew Iselin) clocked 10.37 (+1.2) in the 100m.
The Launceston Running Festival continued to be a happy hunting ground for Australia’s distance runners, with Leanne Pompeani (Des Proctor) posting the fastest 10km time in history by any athlete on Australian soil – a sizzling 31:37 to defeat Lisa Weightman (Dick Telford) who finished second in 32:10. Australian record holder in the marathon Brett Robinson (Nic Bideau) dropped back down to the 10km to take out the race in 28:11, finishing ahead of training partner Edward Marks (Tim O’Shaughnessy) in 28:13 and local talent James Hansen who clocked 28:20.
Ed Goddard (Gavin Burren) won the see-sawing affair that was the half marathon with one gear too many for his rivals in the closing kilometres, stopping the clock in 1:03:10 ahead of Andy Buchanan (1:03:15, Scott Westcott) and Tim Vincent (1:03:17, Jackson Elliot). Olympian Ellie Pashley (Julian Spence) continued her strong winter as the first woman across the line in 1:11:52.
Touching down in Innsbruck-Stubai for the 2023 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, a squad of 33 tenacious distance runners readied themselves to take on the harsh terrain of Austria, with Lara Hamilton (Gary Howard) leading the way when posting a pair of strong performances.
Finishing 28th in the Vertical race in a time of 54:20, Hamilton returned to go one better in the Classic race when cocking 1:13:00 to finish in 27th place. Kellie Angel (self-coached) continued the momentum for the women with 41st place in the Trail Short (45km) race in 5:47:23.
Posting the best result for the men, Vladislax Ixel (Matthew Ramsden) finished in 59th place in the Trail Short race with a 5:06:26 performance, while the junior duo of Selwyn Russell (Brian Chapman) and Zack Newsham (John Purcell) finished in 43rd and 44th placings in their respective Classic Junior races.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 13/6/2022
