Little goes a long way | Oceania Area Championships Day 1

Track and field stars Mackenzie Little, Jake Doran and James Turner have lead a strong Australian charge on Day 1 of the Oceania Athletics Championships, as battle commenced between Australia and its trans-Tasman rivals

Olympic finalist Mackenzie Little (Angus McEntyre) secured a new personal best and a surge in world ranking points when taking out the Women’s Open Javelin title for the first time. Little took charge of the event from the outset, with her first throw of 63.18m taking out the competition.

The 25-year-old medical student defeated Kiwi champion Tori Peeters (60.68m) and beat reigning world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber (Mike Barber) who finished in third place with a throw of 60.63m.

Little said her victory was an exciting one, with just six weeks left until the World Athletics Championships begin:

“I always want to be in a position where a PB could happen. Angus does a great job of keeping us PB ready at all-times and we did ease off a bit this week so if it was going to happen it could, and it did. I feel really good about it.

“No matter what competition I’m in, I want to be one of the people that throws far and this gives me confidence that I don’t have to be intimidated going into different things. Everyone, no matter what, has to repeat their success at a major championships, and after Tokyo, I want to be in all the major global finals and be competitive. That’s my plan.”

Australia took the trifecta in the men’s event, as Cruz Hogan (Morgan Ward) won gold with his first attempt of 79.25m. Little’s training partner Cameron McEntyre (Angus McEntyre) placed second with a 78.42m best, while a 74.91 throw secured Hamish Peacock (Evan Peacock) the bronze medal.  

Australia’s fastest man Jake Doran (Paul Di Bella) continued his scorching form, topping off his domestic season with a 10.19 finish to win the Oceania title ahead of Kiwi Edward Osei-Nketia (10.23) and Jacob Despard (Rolf Ohman) in 10.24, while compatriot Joshua Azzopardi (Rob Marks) clocked 10.27.

With a time of 10.25 in his heat, and performances of 10.28, 10.31 and a windy 10.05 clocked over the season, Doran said he hopes his success speaks for itself ahead of selection for the major championship season.  

“It’s just another feather in the cap for this year. We just seem to keep ticking boxes which is really exciting,” Doran said.

“I’ve done this journey before. Oceanias was in my hometown last time it came around and I got the silver there, so to come out and do one better is exciting. The quality of athletes this event is attracting is a testament to where this event is going internationally. What we ran today is right up there and it goes to show the quality of speed that is happening in our region of the world.

“I’m hoping my holiday is going to be pushed again (with World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games on the radar) but we’re going to keep rising to the occasion. I’m hoping to be selected for my maiden World Championships and that’s exciting.”

While New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs took the women’s crown with a new Oceania record of 11.09 (0.8) to match, it was Naa Anang (Gary Bourne) who impressed for the Australians clocking a new personal best time of 11.29 in her heat, followed by 11.31 in the final to place second. Australian Bree Masters (Ryan Hoffman) won bronze in 11.34.

World record holder James Turner (Iryna Dvoskina) came painfully close to his lifetime best in the Men’s 100m Ambulatory, but it wasn’t without a fight, with rising para sprints star Jaydon Page (Sebastian Kuzminski) putting his best foot forward in the timed finals.

Turner clocked 12.00 (0.8) – 97.66% of his T36 world record, while Page’s 11.12 (93.70%) highlighted that his preparations are well on track for his Commonwealth Games debut in August.

“I’m still recovering from having Covid earlier in the season so this still wasn’t my best time, but I’m pretty happy. This was a good training event for me to see how I could cope under pressure and challenging conditions,” Turner said.

“My focus has definitely been on the 400m so we can expect something later in the week.”

It was a race for the title of Best in the West as Rhiannon Clarke (T38, Danny Kevan) and Ella Pardy (T38, Danny Kevan) put on a masterclass for other athletes in the Women’s 100m Ambulatory. Clarke  prevailed running 13.04, only just edging out Pardy’s 13.07 for the title.

While it was Abbey Caldwell (Gavin Burren) who attempted to lead from gun to tape in the Women’s 1500m, 17-year-old Claudia Hollingsworth (Craig Mottram) had other plans as she roared down the home straight to secure victory in 4:12.33 and stamp her presence in the Open age group.

“I haven’t been doing much speed work, just a lot of base training, so I just thought stick in and see how long I can hang on for, and coming down the 200m I felt the speed pick up and felt good,” Hollingsworth said.

“Racing the older girls you get such good experience. I’m not used to being boxed in so it’s good to learn different ways to race, which has definitely helped as well. I’ve got the 800m tomorrow, so I’ll have to do a bit of recovery to make sure I’m feeling good but I’ll give it my best shot.”

Caldwell was forced to settle for silver in 4:12.62, while Jaylah Hancock-Cameron (Andea Kalemusic) rounded out the all-Australian podium in 4:15.11.

Tokyo Olympian Samuel Tanner (New Zealand) proved too slick in the men’s race as he streaked away from the field to win in 3:42.56, as Australian Mick Stanovsek (Mark Rowland) gritted his teeth for a hard-fought silver medal in a time of 3:45.98.

Australia’s premier long jumper Chris Mitrevski (John Boas) continued his golden run on Australian soil with a leap of 7.90m (0.0) to win the Oceania title, with Darcy Roper (John Boas) challenging the reigning Australian early with 7.84m (0.0) before withdrawing after three rounds citing a minor injury concern. The title comes with crucial points to aid Mitrevski’s world rankings, as he eyes a berth at the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Tomysha Clark (Renee Clark) toppled the in-form Samantha Dale (Andrew Murphy) with a leap of 6.38m to clinch the Oceania title, as Dale mustered a 6.31m performance on the day. Clark produced a dazzling series in which five of her six jumps were between 6.35-6.38m, with her consistency leaving little doubt as to who the best athlete on the day was as she leapt to her first senior title.

The Olympic duo of Alex Beck (Mark Ladbrook) and Steve Solomon (Penny Gillies) lead allcomers in the 400m preliminaries as they recorded times of 46.30 and 46.61 respectively to win their first round encounters, headlining an Australian-heavy final to be held tomorrow.

It was New Zealand’s women who dominated the first round of the quarter mile, as four Australians progressed to the final, including Olympian Jessica Thornton (Brett Robinson) and Helen Pretorius (Matt Beckenham) who clocked 54.37 and 54.52 respectively, while World Under 20 representative Jasmin Guthrie (Angus McEntyre) advanced in 55.30.

Perth teenager Jackson Hamilton (F13) enjoyed his first taste of Australian representation, claiming the Oceania crown in the Men’s Javelin Ambulatory, with a throw of 55.81.  Though the world number four fouled in his final attempt, Hamilton was consistent in his first five throws, all landing over the 52m mark as he builds towards the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris next July.

Taneille Crase (Glynnis Nunn) will be looking to book her spot for the Commonwealth Games tomorrow, with Day One of the Hepathlon proving fruitful for the 27-year-old. Crase finishes the day with 3561 points, after securing two personal bests – 13.43 (+2.0) in the 100m hurdles and a 1.79m clearance in the high jump. 2018 Commonwealth Games representative Alysha Burnett is in second place with a point score of 3,347, while Kiwi Christina Ryan sits in third position (3200) at the end of Day One.

In the Decathlon, Alec Diamond (Zsuzsanna Olgyay-Szabo) leads after the first five events, with a combined point score of 4,081. New Zealand’s Max Attwell sits just behind on 4006, while Australian invitational athlete Liam Gilbert finishes the first day of competition with 3,911 points.

Day 2 of the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships continue tomorrow from 9am at Mackay Athletics Club and can be watched live and free across Australia on Oceania Athletics’ YouTube and Facebook platforms.

Photos taken by Athletics Australia on Day 1 can be downloaded at: https://www.athletics.com.au/gallery/8808/

By Sascha Ryner and Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 7/6/2022