Crunch Time | Weekend Wrap

July 31 is a date that has long been etched into the diaries of track and field athletes all over the world as they eye off spots at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. On the final weekend before that qualification deadline, Australia’s elite track and field athletes left no stone unturned in their quest to qualify or bump up their world ranking ahead of selection.

Australia’s premier discus thrower Matthew Denny (Dale Stevenson) led the international action for the nation when launching to his fifth furthest throw of his career, with a 66.84m landing at the Meeting International Scifflange in Luxembourg. With his ticket to Budapest already punched, the season’s best sees Denny finish his campaign build-up with the eighth furthest throw of the year across the globe, putting him in good stead for another major championships final.

Samantha Dale (Andrew Murphy) made it a pair of Australian wins in Luxembourg, taking out the Women’s Long Jump with a 6.46m (-0.1) landing. The gold medal is the 22-year-old’s second consecutive win of the European season and strengthens her bid for another major championships call up.

With the depth of the Australian middle distance ranks at an all-time high, World Championships representative Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) made a final attempt to skyrocket his world ranking at the meet, clocking 3:39.73 to finish fourth in the 1500m. Ramsden’s time was the strongest of four Australians in the events, as James Hansen finished two spots in 3:40.27, while national champion Callum Davies (Collis Birmingham) took charge of the B final, stopping the clock first in 3:40.39.  21-year-old Jude Thomas (Collis Birmingham) continued to show progression in the B final finishing third in 3:41.71 – just days after securing a new persobal best of 3:38.63 at Tooting Bec Athletics Track in London.

Australia’s rising 800m stocks made their presence known in Luxembourg, with Adam Spencer (Mick Byrne) clocking the fastest time of a trio of countrymen. Spencer finished fifth in the A-final, producing his second fastest performance of 1:46.93, just weeks after qualifying for both Budapest and Paris 2024 in the 1500m. Training partners Jye Perrott (Ben Liddy) and Lachlan Raper (Ben Liddy) crossed the line third and fourth in the B-final, with times of 1:47.45 and 1:47.79 respectively.

Carley Thomas (Washington) was the fastest of four Australian women in the two-lap race, clocking 2:02.16 for fifth place in Final 1, as Ellie Sanford (Terri Carter) finished in eighth in a time of 2:03.93. A model of consistency all season, Thomas’s performance came just four days after registering a swift 2:01.60 at the BMC Regional Races in London.  Sarah Billings (Collis Birmingham) and Morgan Mitchell (Liz Matthews) went 1-2 in the B final, with Billings taking out the win in 2:02.98, with Olympian Mitchell grabbing silver with a season’s best time of 2:03.90.

Jackson Sharp (Mick Byrne) continued his stunning improvement in 2023, tearing around 12 and a half laps of the track in 13:27.64 to register his second fastest 5000m of his career. In the sprints, Jacob Despard finished missed out on the podium, crossing the finish line of the 100m in 10.38 (+1.6), while Jake Doran (Paul Di Bella) and Jake Penny (Madi Cole and Matt Wade) closed out the field in sixth and seventh place in 10.52 and 10.73 respectively.

Over in Loughborough in the UK, Jacob McCorry (Alex Stewart) scorched his way to a win in the 110m hurdles, as Nick Andrews (Tim O’Neil) took silver in 13.78, while Ebony Lane (Matt Carter) clocked her 10^th fastest time over 100m, stopping the clock at 11.60 (+1.7) for seventh place.

Meanwhile in Birmingham, Ben Buckingham (Craig Mottram) made his mark as the second fastest Australian 2000m Steeplechaser in history, clocking 5:26.91 at the Birmingham Uni Grand Prix while Ed Trippas (Jason Vigilante) improved on his own personal best to record 5:26.93. Swapping the 3000m Steeplechase to the flat version of the event for the night was Matthew Clarke (Adam Didyk) who crossed the line third in 7:55.09 for his second best time. Lauren Ryan (Bob Braham) strengthened her case for a place on the Budapest team, winning the 3000m in a new personal best time of 8:53.75 and Caitlin Adams (Adam Didyk) followed in her footsteps, placing second in 9:02.16.

At the Spanish Championships, Olivia Sandery (Jared Tallent) took the lead for four Australians who clocked their steps over 10,000m on the track. While their placings do not count, Sandery crossed the line fifth in 46:42.26, while Allanah Pitcher (Frank Overton) followed next over the line in 46:59.67 for her third fastest time over the distance.

Back in Germany, a quartet of Australians landed on the podium in Leverkusen.  Celeste Mucci (Darren Clark) crossed the line in first place twice over her heat and final, clocking 13.14 (-1.1) and 13.16 (0.0) to secure the win. Bree Masters (Ryan Hoffman) proved that last month’s hamstring tear is well and truly behind her with a best run of 11.39 (0.3) securing her the silver medal.  Clinching bronze on the field was Joel Baden (Sandro Bissetto) who cleared 2.24m in the Men’s High Jump, while Cameron McEntyre (Angus McEntyre) launched the javelin to 79.57m for a European season’s best.  

Australian record holder Kathryn Mitchell (Uwe Hohn) launched a season’s best of 61.84m to win the javelin title at the Austrian Open, while long jumper Lizzie Hedding (Alex Stewart) rounded out the Australian action with a best leap of 6.04m for seventh place.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 31/7/2022