Australia’s athletics season has opened in emphatic fashion at the Adelaide Invitational, with Olympic medallist Matthew Denny launching a world-leading mark and middle-distance star Abbey Caldwell delivering a powerhouse performance to set the tone on the first stop of the Chemist Warehouse Summer Series.
Discus king Denny (QLD, Dale Stevenson) picked up where he left off with a stunning series in the Men’s Discus Throw, launching to 67.82m performance and breaking the meet record of 65.93m four times in his six throws at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet.
Landing the world-leading marker on his opening throw, the Australian record holder stamped his arrival in 2025 with his career-best season opener at SA Athletics Stadium – defeating Great Britain’s Lawrence Okoye who threw 62.22m.
“I can’t be mad with my best ever season opener. I’m continuously progressing, and even with some differences with my preparation this year, I feel ready to go and I’m keen to take another step forward,” Denny said.
“I’m in a lot better shape than I threw today. I don’t want to make excuses but the wind made the discus shift and I wasn’t able to get it to fly. I feel like I’m in 70 metre-plus form and I was ready to do that today. I’m keen to get to the next one but it was nice to knock out the cobwebs.”
19-year-old Ethan Ayodele (ACT, Les Bottles) also impressed with a career-best of 58.71m.
In a highly anticipated Women’s 800m showdown, it was Olympic semi-finalist Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) who ripped apart the star-studded field at the business end of proceedings, kicking off the bend to win in 2:01.84 – over a second clear of her nearest rival.
“I was really nervous. There’s no stepping back in the first race of the season. The depth is just so strong at the moment and certainly keeps us all honest but I certainly felt those butterflies today,” Caldwell said.
“I honestly didn’t even know how far that gap was. It was just eyes on the line for me, and I just knew I wanted to make a gap. I didn’t want to just pass and win it for the sake of dipping ahead of anyone, I wanted to make a strong win to start off the year.”
Olympic finalist Peter Bol (VIC, Justin Rinaldi) returned to the Australian domestic circuit with a vintage performance, despite being challenged by 17-year-old Daniel Williams (NSW, Andrew Rowlings). Williams hit the lead with 200m to run with a bold move, but Bol’s class prevailed in 1:46.40, with Williams rewarded with a 1:46.70 personal best.
The white-hot Lachlan Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin) continued his record-breaking summer with the fastest time ever seen at the Adelaide Invitational, roaring to a meet record of 10.10 (+5.3) to eclipse Rohan Browning’s 10.12 performance from 2022.
The 21-year-old jumped his rivals out of the blocks and never looked back, leaving behind Olympic teammates Jacob Despard (TAS, Rolf Ohman) in 10.14 and Calab Law (QLD, Andrew Iselin) in 10.24 – while Law took revenge over 200m in 21.05 (-3.3).
It was a new name but the same speed from Bree Rizzo (QLD, Ryan Hoffman), formerly Bree Masters, who torched the Women’s 100m in a time of 11.30 (+1.8) ahead of Olympic teammate Kristie Edwards (NSW, Andrew Murphy) in 11.43 – who doubled back to win the 200m in 23.85 (-3.1).
Three-time Paralympic champion Vanessa Low (ACT, Scott Reardon) launched to a statement result in her first competition since her Paris triumph, leaping to 5.23 (+2.7) in the Women’s Para Long Jump, while World Under 20 champion Delta Amidovski (NSW, Becky Amidzovski & Roger Fabri) took out the able bodied competition with 6.26m (+3.5).
Rising hurdler Tayleb Willis (VIC, Kyle Vander-Kuyp) asserted his presence as Australia’s premier hurdler in 2025 with a dominant victory in the Men’s 110m Hurdles, crushing the field in 13.56 (+2.3).
Earlier in the night it was Olympic steeplechaser Cara Feain-Ryan (QLD, Ben Norton) who bettered her own meet record in a time of 9:33.61, winning in style by over 20-seconds with a brave run from gun to tape.
Full results from the 2025 Adelaide Invitational can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted: 15/2/2025
