Fired Up Across The Globe | Weekend Wrap
Published Mon 26 Jun 2023
Across the globe and on Australian shores, Australia’s talent was on display over a week that included a world best, gold medals galore and achievements aplenty.
Germany proved a happy hunting ground for many of Australia’s athletes at multiple meets, with World Under 20 Championships representative Lachlan Kennedy (Andrew Iselin) leading the charge for the sprinters at the Internationales LAZ Meeting in Rhede, while Cameron Myers (Dick Telford) continued his steep trajectory at the Merck Lafgala meet in Pfungstadt.
Just over a week since clocking a personal best of 10.28, Kennedy came away with his first international win and his fastest time yet when stopping the clock at 10.24 (+1.4). While Germany’s Kevin Ugo halted Australia’s chance for a trifecta claiming the silver in 10.26, it was Joshua Azzopardi (Rob Marks) that placed third in 10.33 in his first race of the European season. Azzopardi narrowly defeated compatriot Chris Ius (Andrew Murphy) in 10.34 – Ius' fastest time this year.
Two-time Australian 400m Hurdles champion Conor Fry (Steve Fabris) left Rhede with a double victory as he stormed home to win in a new personal best time of 50.17. Fry’s swift performance saw him win the race by more than a third of a second ahead of Great Britain’s Jack Lawrie (50.40), while National bronze medallist Kyle Bennett (Sharon Dale) claimed bronze in 52.41.Also in Rhede, triple jumper Desleigh Owusu (Andrew Murphy) landed her fifth furthest jump of all time. Recording 13.34m, Owusu placed second, with her four legal jumps all over 13.25m.
Teenage prodigy Cameron Myers (Dick Telford) has made headlines aplenty this year, demolishing record after record but on Friday in Pfugstadt he shaved almost two seconds off his Under 18 record, clocking 3:36.10 to finish in third in the 1500m. The performance saw the 17-year-old eclipse Australian great Ryan Gregson’s 3:37.24 Australian Under 20 record while bettering his own Under 18 record in the process. The same race saw Australians Sam Blake place 11th in 3:41.18, while Connor Whiteley finished two placed behind in 3:42.05.
Over in Pfugstadt, Peter Bol (Justin Rinaldi) emerged victorious in only his second race of the year. The 800m specialist and Australian record holder showed fans that there are no cobwebs to be dusted off after missing the Australian summer season, when recording 1:45.19 ahead of Team GB Olympians Elliot Giles (1:45.26) and Daniel Rowden (1:45.37). Jye Perrot (Ben Liddy) placed seventh in 1:46.82.
Jack Lunn (Steve Fabris) missed out on a podium finish in the B race by just 0.03 seconds, but his time of 1:46.20 was the second fastest of his career. National silver medallist Lachlan Raper (Ben Liddy) finished in sixth place in 1:46.69 in the same race. 2022 World Athletics Championships representative Tess Kirsopp-Cole (Craig Mottram) ran 2:02.70 for third place in the women’s event, making it back-to-back runs at 2:02 after competing in Australia last week.
Across the European continent in Spain, Liam Adcock (Gary Bourne) achieved his equal third best performance when leaping to second place in the men’s long jump at the VIAA Ordizia Sari Nagusia International Meeting. While fouling on his first attempt, Adcock jumped 8.05m into a slight headwind (0.1), defeated only by Spain’s Jamie Guerra Alejandre, who was the only other athlete to land a mark over eight-metres with 8.11m (0.10). 2019 World Athletics Cross Country Championships representative Jack Bruce (Nic Bideau) also made an appearance in Spain and ran his fourth fastest time over 1500m, when clocking 3:42.01 for eighth place.
While Michael Roeger (Philo Saunders) cemented himself as the man to beat at the World Para Athletics Championships with a world best time in the 1500m T46, his training partner Jaryd Clifford also elevated his campaign for gold in Paris in the Stumptown 5km in Oregon, USA when clocking 14:10.93 for his second fastest 5000m race of the year. Clifford placed 16th over all and will now travel to London for the British Milers Club for one last 1500m hit-out before travelling to Montpellier for the Australian team staging camp. Also running to his second fastest time of the year in Oregon was Charlie Hunter (Pete Julian) in the 800m, crossing the line in 1:46.52 to place third, only defeated by USA duo, former NCAA champion Devin Dixon (1:52.98) and Olympian Cole Hocker (1:46.32).
Over on the other side of the USA, Jack Anstey (Stephen Hass) placed eighth in the 1500m at the USATF NYC Grand Prix, running 3:40.55 for eighth place and his ninth fastest performance of his career to date.
On Australian shores, four of Australia’s para athletes continued their progress towards to Paris in Perth, with Chad Perris (T13, Matt Beckenham) running two sub-11 times in 10.95 (+1.3) and 10.92 (+1.5) as he aims to find himself back on the global podium. Training partner Sarah Walsh (T64) finished second with a best result of 4.90m, while T38 Paralympic sprinting duo Rhiannon Clarke (Danny Kevan) and Ella Pardy (Danny Kevan) placed third and fourth in the able-bodied race, clocking 13.14 and 13.29 (+1.4).
Adding to Australia’s success in Europe, the country’s developing stocks continued their rapid rise with the nation’s next generation of distance stars flexing their form at the Mick Marlow Memorial Meet in Bracknell, UK. Luke Shaw (Steve Purser) left the meet with a lifetime best of 1:47.27 and silver in the 800m, while fellow Australian Jack Atherton followed on just behind in third clocking 1:48.70 for his fastest race yet on the Under 23 tour.
The only international athlete in a field of GB athletes, Jaylah Hancock-Cameron (Andae Kalemusic) showed her competitors how it’s done when storming home to victory in 4:11.58 in the Women’s 1500m. The 21-year-old named on the non-travelling 2021 World Under 20 Championships team stole the show when crossing the line more than 12 seconds ahead of second-place getter Juliet Hodder. 2022 World Under 20 Championships Archie Noakes (Charlotte Wilson) representative placed 10th in the Men’s event (3:51.26).
Adding to the silverware collection on the Under 23 tour was Reece Holder (Sharon Dale) who clocked his fourth fastest time in the 400m, when claiming gold at the Loughborough Open. Also a member of the 2021 non-travelling World Under 20 team, Holder crossed the line more than a second ahead of his three Team GB competitors.
Australia’s junior success was not limited to the Under 23 tour, with a number of podium placings for our Under 20 athletes competing at the Mannheim Junior Gala in Germany over the weekend. Mitch Langborne was the only Australian who left with gold, but did so in style when the 18-year-old ran his second fastest time in the 800m in 1:50.26.
Monique Hanlon (Luke Donatini) stormed around the bend and down the straight in the 200m, crossing the line in 23.99 to earn silver, while 19-year-old Jordan McMillan finished in finished 15th in the timed finals in 24.80. The pair went head-to-head again in the 100m, with Hanlon running 11.97 into a strong headwind after a strong 11.70 in the heat, while McMillan finished just behind in 11.99.
Sprinting duo Alex Coglan (Blair Talbot) and Ryan Tarrant (Adam Larcom) made it an Australian quinella in the 100m B final, with Coglan stopping the clock in 10.42 to set a new personal best. Tarrant’s second place in 10.48 saw him equal his personal best. The talented duo attempted the sprint double, with Coglan running the fastest of the Australians with a personal best of 21.11 while Tarrant came seventh in 21.45. Tim Sanki (John Quinn) rounded out the results for the Australians in the race, placing 11th in a lifetime best time of 21.63. Sanki continued his efforts in the 400m, running 47.58 for fifth place.
The placings stacked up as a trio of bronzed Aussies saw themselves on the podium. World Under 20 Championships representative Darcy Miller (Steve Larsson) laid down a strong performance in the discus (1.750kg), throwing 59.49m for a third place. Abbie Butler (Marcus Butler) ran 10:40.92 in the 3000m Steeplechase, while Jhye Hadfield clocked 3:52.67, both finishing their race in third position.
Long jumper Abbie French proved she’s in form equalling her personal best not once but twice at the meet, leaping to 6.28m to place fifth. Francesca Peacock (Julian Konle) continued her momentum seen last week in England, when soaring over 1.73m to finish seventh.
Jack Greaves threw 65.66m in the javelin; his fifth furthest throw of his career, to finish in eighth place while Ashlyn Blackstock finished in eighth position in the discus, throwing a best of 44.94m. Amelita Case (Nick Bennett) was 16th overall in the 400m hurdles when narrowly missing her personal best with a run of 1:01.65.
Representing Australia at the Oceania Cup in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands was a contingent of 16 athletes, with the team securing a total of 114 podium positions. Leaving the Islands with a gold and silver medal was Daniel Blest (Sharon Dale) who toppled the 400m field with a 47.68 run after crossing the line second in the 200m after a tough 21.89m run into a strong -1.9 headwind.
Other gold medal winners included high jumper Nicholas Kollias (Wal Jacenko) who sailed over 2.15m to take the win, as well as Liam Fairweather (Jason Fairweather) who struck gold in the men’s long jump with a wind assisted 7.68m jump.
Alysha Pearson (Breanne Clement) continued Australia’s recent success in Hammer Throw with a 55.16m landing. Nyree Hamilton (Roy Rankin) took charge of the women’s 800m, clocking 2:10.96 ahead of compatriot Lily Mather’s (Lyndsay Troode) 2:12.15 for silver, and in the shot put it was Emma Berg’s (Peter Barrett) 15.26m attempt that saw Sally Shokry (Breanne Clement) 13.13 settle for second place. Shokry made it two silvers from two when throwing her discus to. 45.93m
Alice Dixon (Melinda Gainsford-Taylor) came home with two silver medals in the 200m (24.87) and 400m (55.96), while Alexandra Harrison’s (Alex Stewart) 5.50m in the long jump saw her collect her first international medal.
By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 26/6/2023
