For Gold and Glory | Day One 2023 Australian Track and Field Championships
Published Wed 29 Mar 2023
The 100th edition of the Australian Track and Field Championships is set to start with a bang as Paralympic stars and the nation’s emerging talents battle it out for gold, while Open athletes navigate the preliminary rounds to keep their Australian title dreams alive.
Every time he sets foot on the track, James Turner (ACT, Iryna Dvoskina, T36) is capable of rewriting the record books. The Paralympic champion and world record holder is locked and loaded for his pet event on Day One of the 100th Australian Track and Field Championships, ready to fire in the Men’s 400m Ambulant.
Establishing himself a dominant force in the world of Para athletics with T36 world records ranging from 100m-800m, Turner has started 2023 with times agonisingly close to his 100m world record of 11.72-seconds. Now stepping up to the distance at which he won gold in Tokyo, all eyes will be on the clock as Turner launches at the magical mark of 51.71-seconds which won him gold at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai.
Fellow Paralympic champion and world record holder Vanessa Low (ACT, Scott Reardon, T61) adds world-class credentials on Day One in Brisbane, taking to the Women’s Long Jump Ambulant just nine months after giving birth.
Low’s rapid comeback has witnessed her leap a season’s best of 5.04m to punch in the A-qualifying standard for the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships to be held in Paris this June, with the multi-class event setting up a showdown with fellow Paralympic champion and trans-Tasman rival Anna Grimaldi (New Zealand, T47). Two-time Paralympian and World Para Athletics Championships bronze medallist Sarah Walsh (ACT, Matt Beckenham, T64) will also challenge for the title after a strong performance of 5.18m at the Brisbane Track Classic. The Men’s Long Jump Ambulant is headed by Paralympian Ari Gesini (ACT, Sebastian Kuzminski, T38).
Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent) raced to fourth place at the 2022 World Under 20 Championships in the Women’s 20km before a seamless transition to the senior ranks landed her at fourth on the Australian all-time list. The South Australian will now chase her maiden Open Australian title in Brisbane.
At 20-years-old, Sandery enters in scorching form off the back of a 2023 World Athletics Championships and 2024 Olympic Games qualifier of 1:28:52 at the Asian Championships in Nomi, Japan. Walking a personal best of 45:19.63 in the 10,000m at Supernova #1 in January before setting a new South Australian record of 21:09.08 over 5000m in March – Sandery possesses a combination of form and experience that will make her hard to beat in any conditions.
Rising to stardom with a 100m Australian Under 18 record of 10.27-seconds in October, Sebastian Sultana (NSW, Greg Smith) delivers must-watch athletics. The 17-year-old will benefit from his experience throughout the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Summer Series, returning to the junior ranks to make his status official as the nation’s fastest boy. Sultana will have his work cut out for him with 10.4-second runners Joseph Ayoade (NSW, Greg Smith), Alexander Colgan (VIC, Blair Talbot) and Rashid Kabba (NSW, Dan Suchy) poised to pick up the gauntlet.
At 18-years-old, Georgia Harris (QLD, Paul Pearce) already has one Australian tracksuit to her name after competing in the 200m and 4x100m Relay at the 2022 World Athletics Under 20 Championships, and has carved her personal best down to 11.58-seconds in 2023 to mark herself as the nation’s in-form junior. Main challengers loom in the form of Harris’ World Under 20 teammate Olivia Rose Inkster (NSW, Katie Edwards and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor) and Jessica Milat (VIC, Neville Down), whose breakthrough season has seen her career-best drop to 11.65-seconds.
The Under 20 action is not limited to the track with a pair of World Under 20 finalists set to make their presence known in the Discus, with Marley Raikiwasa (SA, Steve Larsson) and Darcy Miller (SA, Steve Larsson) taking to the circle.
The South Australian training partners are in hot form having both thrown personal bests in 2023 to build on their World Under 20 success, occupying the top seed marks of 53.51m for Raikiwasa and 60.69m for Miller.
Also featuring in the cage is four-time World Para Athletics Championships medallist Guy Henly (VIC, self-coached, F37) in the Men’s Discus Throw Ambulant. The seasoned veteran no stranger to the venue after nailing a B-qualifier of 51.71m for the World Para Athletics Championships at last week’s Brisbane Track Classic. With a season’s best throw by almost one-metre, Henly will be looking to build on his case to represent Australia in Paris this July.
Adding to the Para throws showcase will be Paralympic bronze medallist Maria Strong (VIC, John Eden, F33), set to be joined by Commonwealth Games representative Julie Charlton (NSW, Mitchell Kerr, F57) and the versatile Rosemary Little (NSW, Rick Hoskins, F32). For multi-class events, results will be determined using the BASELINE system which generates a percentage score rather than using distance/time – more information can be found HERE.
Sarah Edmiston (WA, Paul Edmiston, F44) will take on Samantha Schmidt (QLD, Ralph Newton, F38) in the Women’s Discus Ambulant, with the Tokyo Paralympians delivering strong results to start their 2023 campaigns. Both athletes have posted B-qualifiers for the World Para Athletics Championships with marks of 38.67m and 34.26m respectively, as Schmidt set a new Australian record and Edmiston came close to her own record mark of 39.13m.
Australian teammates at the 2023 World Cross Country Championships Amy Bunnage (VIC, Tim O’Shaughnessy) and Archie Noakes (VIC, Charlotte Wilson) will be hard to go past in the Under 20 3000m races, with the duo set to add to bolster the Australian middle-distance ranks.
Bunnage set an Australian Under 18 record of 9:00.62 in December before racing to bronze at the Australian 3000m Championships in 8:51.90, while Noakes’ 17th place in Bathurst demonstrated his class when bouncing back from his international debut of 2022 in Cali.
The preliminary rounds offer no medals but remain a danger in the championship cauldron, with Australia’s middle-distance depth a notable watch on Day One of the 100th Australian Track and Field Championships in the first round of the Men’s and Women’s 1500m contests.
For a full lists of events and athletes in action on Day One, CLICK HERE.
Day One of the 100th edition of the Australian Track and Field Championships will be streamed via 7Plus form 12:30pm AEST to 6:00pm AEST, Thursday March 30. To watch, CLICK HERE.
For tickets to the 100th edition of the Australian Track and Field Championships, CLICK HERE.
For live results throughout the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Track and Field Championships, CLICK HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 29/3/2023
