Paris Olympians to lead the way in Lima for World Athletics Under 20 Championships

Long touted as Australia’s strongest team ever assembled for the World Athletics Under 20 Championships, the time has almost arrived for 67 of the nation’s rising stars to turn that claim into a fact – with the siege on medals in Lima, Peru beginning on Tuesday, 27 August.

The 2024 World Under 20 Championships is the biggest occasion on the calendar for junior athletes, with the class of 2024 chasing Australia’s most successful performance at the championships, which stands at 10 medals won in Sydney in 1996.

Fresh off an Olympic semi-final over 200m, 19-year-old Torrie Lewis is one of five athletes on the team travelling from Paris, and has reset her focus on Lima where she will contest the 200m and 4x100m events:

“World Juniors was the focus for the last two years, but this year I haven’t really had a chance to think about it. I had Nationals, Diamond League, relays and the Olympics, but now that I’m finally here – I’m really glad that I have made it and I’m enjoying my time,” Lewis said.

“The only way I’m going to be happy is if I get a personal best, and if I get a personal best, I think I can win a medal. In my mind, I think my personal best should be 22.5, but I need to put in a little bit more work to get there.”

A key cog in the rise of Australia’s Open women’s 4x100m outfit in 2024, Lewis drops back down to the Under 20 ranks as relay culture only grows down under:

“This junior team without me has been so successful with two national records, so they already know what they are doing. I’m just hoping to come in with a little bit of extra speed and we can hopefully break it again,” Lewis said.

Already with a global Under 20 title to his name, 17-year-old race walker Isaac Beacroft was appointed as one of six team leaders, tasked with steering the star-studded ship who will be at the peak of their powers at the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.

“To be a leader is an honour, especially to feel comfortable in the team knowing my peers have selected me and I’m respected. The camaraderie is really going to help us succeed, it’s arguably our strongest contingent ever and I think we can live up to that,” Beacroft said.

“I’m feeling as confident as I can be leading into a major competition and I feel like I have done the preparation as well as I can. The main goal is to win.”

With athletes ranging from 15-year-old long jumper Mason McGroder to 19-year-old sprinter Jessica Milat who makes the age cutoff by just hours with a January 1 birthday, the team will be chasing Australia’s most successful performance at the championships, which stands at the 10 medals won in Sydney in 1996. The most medals won at an away championships is five (2000, 2012, 2018).

With much to look forward to, explore three key areas in which success can be expected:

From Paris to Lima 

No less than five 2024 Australian Olympians have made the trip from Paris to Lima for a unique double, including semi-finalists Torrie Lewis, Peyton Craig and Claudia Hollingsworth. Joined by sprinters Sebastian Sultana and Aleksandra Stoilova, the group brings both experience and world-class credentials to the table.

Undoubtedly a tough double after the physical and mental strain of an Olympic Games, the shackles will be off for some of Australia’s brightest stars who will hope to pick up some hardware in Lima as they lead the charge towards being the biggest names in Australian athletics come the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. 

By the Numbers 

Australian Under 20 record holders over 800m Peyton Craig and Claudia Hollingsworth, and Australia’s 4x100m men sit atop the rankings via seasons best and will carry the world-leading bibs in their respective events, but they are not the only Australians prominent on the entry list.

Teenage sensation and the fastest Under 18 man in history Cameron Myers (1500m) is poised to make his long-awaited Australian team debut, donning the green and gold for the first time in Lima with a healthy number two seeding behind Ethiopia’s Abdisa Fayisa, while race walker Isaac Beacroft (10,000m Race Walk) looks to build on his Under 20 individual world title at the 2024 World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships.

Doubling back for her second World Under 20 Championships, thrower Marley Raikiwasa sits comfortably in third and fourth positions on paper in the shot put and discus throw respectively, joined by Torrie Lewis (200m), Ethan Ayodele (Discus Throw), Alexandra Griffin (10,000m Race Walk) and Australia’s 4x100m and 4x400m women as athletes to also hold top five credentials.

Relay Rampage 

Featuring both top-end talent and depth across the board, Australia will field five relay teams in Lima through the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m events, and the mixed 4x400m relay.

Led by the men’s 4x100m team who will be spurred on by the number one world ranking in 2024, Australia will select from the likes of Olympian Sebastian Sultana and fan-favourite Gout Gout, while the Olympic duo of Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis and Aleksandra Stoilova spearhead the women’s lineup who will look to outperform their number four ranking to land in the medals.

On the 4x400m side of proceedings, 46.80-second man Terrell Thorne will light it up alongside the likes of US-based Australian Jett Grundy, while 52.97-second runner Jemma Pollard and Amelia Rowe add firepower to the women’s quartet.

The 2024 World Athletics Under 20 Championships will be held in Lima, Peru from August 27-31. Australian viewers can tune in via World Athletics Inside Track Platform, while an updated team list can be found below.

Women

100m: Aleksandra Stoilova (NSW, Tevin Hester), Chelsea Scolyer (TAS, Greg James)

200m: Jessica Milat (VIC, Cathy Woodruff), Torrie Lewis (QLD, Andrew Iselin)

400m: Amelia Rowe (WA, Brian Pozzi), Jemma Pollard (NSW, Tim Eschebach)

800m: Fleur Cooper (NSW, Ben Liddy), Claudia Hollingsworth (VIC, Craig Mottram)

1500m: Ada Rand (NSW, Ben Liddy), Cleo Richardson (VIC, Gavin Burren)

3000m: Gabrielle Schmidt (QLD, Kerry Schreiber)

5000m: Schmidt

100m Hurdles: Delta Amidzovski (NSW, Becky Amidzovski & Roger Fabri), Amali Butcher (VIC, Anula Costa)

400m Hurdles: Siena Farrell (VIC, Daniel Martin), Alesha Bennetts (ACT, Matt Beckenham)

3000m Steeplechase: Mia Toohey (NSW, Jacinta Doyle), Allegra McGivern (NSW, Ben Liddy)

10,000m Race Walk: Alexandra Griffin (WA, Jared Tallent), Chelsea Roberts (NSW, Dennis Coker & Frank Overton) 

High Jump: Izobelle Louison-Roe (NSW, Karen Roe), Toby Stolberg (QLD, Marty Stolberg)

Pole Vault: Tryphena Hewett (SA, Pat Todd & Kym Simons)

Long Jump: Amidzovski

Triple Jump: Tiana Boras (VIC, Alwyn Jones)

Shot Put: Xylavene Beale (VIC, Gus Puopulo), Marley Raikiwasa (SA, Patrick Ebel)

Discus Throw: Chelsy Wayne (NSW, Denis Knowles), Raikiwasa

Heptathlon: Mia Scerri (VIC, Rob Stevens & Ralph Newton)

4x100m Relay: Lewis, Stoilova, Milat, Scolyer, Olivia Dodds (WA, Lyn Foreman), Thewbelle Philp (QLD, Leanne Hines-Smith), Olivia Rose Inkster (NSW, Katie Edwards & Melinda Gainsford-Taylor)

4x400m Relays: Rowe, Pollard, Charlotte McAuliffe (SA, Nik Hagicostas), Sophia Gregorevic (VIC, Steve Gaffney), Bella Pasquali (VIC, Jason Boulton), Ella Penman (NSW, Mark Penman)

Men

100m: Sebastian Sultana (NSW, Greg Smith), Archer McHugh (VIC, Alistair Tait)

200m: Gout Gout (QLD, Diane Sheppard), Zach Della Rocca (VIC, Robert Abdullah)

400m: Terrell Thorne (QLD, Chris Dale), Jett Grundy (QLD, Teague Peck)

800m: Hayden Todd (ACT, Philo Saunders), Peyton Craig (QLD, Brendan Mallyon)

1500m: Daniel Williams (NSW, Andrew Rowlings), Cameron Myers (ACT, Dick Telford)

3000m: Ky Hehir (WA, Matthew Ramsden)

110m Hurdles: William Wong (VIC, Eric Wong & Max Binnington), Rashid Kabba (NSW, Hayden Kovacic & Dan Suchy)

400m Hurdles: Matt Hunt (NSW, Ron Bendall)

3000m Steeplechase: Toby Chippendale (QLD, Ben Norton)

10,000m Race Walk: Isaac Beacroft (NSW, David Beacroft), Marcus Wakim (VIC, Adam Garganis)

High Jump: Mitchell Hatfield (NSW, Leanne Pejkovic)

Long Jump: Mason McGroder (NSW, Matt Wade), Jesuye Doherty (SA, Deborah Gayen)

Triple Jump: Alex Epitropakis (QLD, Stacey Taurima)

Shot Put: Robert Marchesi-Scott (WA, Grant Ward)

Discus Throw: Ethan Ayodele (ACT, Les Bottles), Darcy Giddings (VIC, Robert Holzer)

Javelin Throw: Edward Rogan (QLD, Lukas Cannon)

Decathlon: Jack Whiteside (WA, Chelsea Whiteside)

4x100m Relay: Sultana, Gout, McHugh, Della Rocca, Frankleen Newah-Jarfoi (VIC, Daniel Sneyders), Cody Hasler (NSW, Rob Marks), Jonathan Kasiano (QLD, Diane Sheppard)

4x400m Relays: Thorne, Grundy, Jordan Gilbert (VIC, Michael Gilbert), Adam Beiers (QLD, Rajeev Balakrishnan), Jack Deguara (NSW, Katie Smee), Caleb Kilpatrick (VIC, Joe Gulli)

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 22/08/2024