The Australian Cross Country Championships is set to return to its traditional best in 2022 for its 82nd instalment, with a wet and wild course at Oakbank, South Australia awaiting over 1200 of the nation’s distance running diehards – from Olympians through to 10-year-olds from the region.
The inclusive event preludes the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held in Bathurst on February 18 which will bring the world’s premier talent to Australia’s backyard, with the 2022 national championships providing athletes with a unique opportunity to find form in the mud prior to the selection trials on January 15.
Full entry lists for the event can be found HERE, while the event timetable can be found HERE.
The Men’s 10km Australian title looms as an open contest headlined by two recent Commonwealth Games representatives, with Liam Adams (Ken Hall) and Andrew Buchanan (Scott Westcott) bouncing back from the marathon in Birmingham – both chasing their third Australian Cross Country crown.
Ed Goddard (Gavin Burren) adds to the endurance theme as another top prospect to bring marathon-strength to the bout, while Victorian Champion Seth O’Donnell (Sean Williams) is both willing and able of causing a stir in the slop.
Popular locals Matthew Clarke (Adam Didyk), Isaac Heyne (Adam Didyk) and Max Stevens (Adam Didyk) will be eager to race on home soil in front of family and friends, relishing the opportunity to clinch a historic hometown title alongside fellow South Australians Riley and Jacob Cocks – forming a formidable line-up in the team’s event.
Olympian Isobel Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) will have to fend off the likes of Leanne Pompeani (Des Proctor), Georgia Hansen (Stephen Ellinghaus) and Paige Campbell (Philo Saunders) if she is to secure her maiden Australian Cross Country title on home soil.
Batt-Doyle boasts times on the track that suggest the Adelaide local will be hard to beat in Oakbank, but with Pompeani enjoying a stunning year on the roads, Hansen flexing her strength in the Victorian series, and Campbell racing off the back of a strong half marathon debut – the race for the Women’s title could be the most intriguing of the day.
Caitlin Adams (Adam Didyk) will join Batt-Doyle in a bid to ensure the crown does not head interstate, along with adding strength to the South Australian team.
Three World Under 20 representatives will swap the track for the grass when taking to the Under 20 races over 8km and 6km for men and women respectively, with Archie Noakes (Charlotte Wilson), Hayley Kitching (Tim Kitching) and Laura Roderick (Jordan Williams) returning to the fray after their Cali campaigns.
For further information about the 2022 Australian Cross Country Championships, please click HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 25/8/2022
