Lunn and Branco celebrate Top-8 victories | 2023 World University Games
Published Mon 07 Aug 2023
The Australian UniRoos have concluded their track and field campaign at the 2023 World University Games with another two Top-8 performances by long jumper Zane Branco and middle distance runner Jack Lunn.
Up against blustery conditions and a field of 12, Zane Branco (David Reid, Griffith University) delivered in style, landing a best attempt of 7.54m (-1.2) to finish eighth in the Men’s Long Jump final.
The Griffith University student found his best form on his second attempt but was unable to weave together a consistent series, registering three consecutive fouls over six jumps. The gold medal was eventually won by home crowd favourite, Jingqiang Zhang who landed gold with a leap of 7.93 (+0.1).
Cruising through the first two rounds of the Men’s 800m, Jack Lunn (Steve Fabris, Monash University) found himself in his first major championships final as the second-fastest athlete on paper. With a record of three personal bests in 2023, Lunn had high hopes of adding to Australia’s medal tally, leading from the front into the bell lap. Unable to continue the moment, Lunn crossed the line in eighth-place as the rest of the field took over with just 120-metres to go.
Lunn’s time of 1:49.92 saw him finish less than a second behind Poland Maciej Michal Wyderka who won the race in 1:49.09.
Back on the roads, distance runners Tim Vincent (Jackson Elliott, Queensland University of Technology) and Harrison Bagley (Michael Nitschke, University of Adelaide) put their best foot forward amid the humidity to complete the Half Marathon.
In a field of 35, Queenslander Vincent finished the 21.1km course in 1:07:59 to place 23rd – and 3 minutes and 23 seconds behind gold medallist Zegin Atac (TUR), which Mechatronic Engineering student Bagley braved the conditions to finish 28th, in a time of 1:11:05.
The Day 6 results conclude Australia’s athletics campaign at the Chengdu edition of the World University Games, as the team leaves with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals shared between eight athletes.
Australia finished in 8th place of 41 countries on the overall medal tally, with further 10 Top-8 performances.
Athletes will now either return to Australia, or focus their attention on the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, which begin on July 19.
Australian medallists at the 2023 World University Games:
- Gold - Cara Feain-Ryan (Women’s 3000m Steeplechase)
- Silver – Reece Holder (Men’s 400m)
- Bronze – Alec Diamond (Decathlon), Georgia Winkcup (Women’s 3000m Steeplechase) and the Men’s 20km Race Walking Team consisting of Will Thompson, Mitchell Baker, Dylan Richardson and Tim Fraser
By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 7/8/2023
