Relay sprinters accelerate towards Paris on the Gold Coast

Australia’s relay sprinters have launched their quest for the Paris 2024 Olympics, laying down the foundations of their campaign at a five day camp on the Gold Coast last week.

Led by Athletics Australia’s High Performance Relays Lead David Reid, the camp saw a turnout of 29 athletes, coaches and staff, showcasing a blend of promising juniors and seasoned elites and signifying a growing interest in relays.

“It was a really good camp. We had good numbers and quality athletes, with the fastest school girl in Olivia Dodds travelling all the way from Perth through to Rohan Browning as Australia’s fastest man,” Reid said.

“There was real enthusiasm across the board with everyone wanting to be involved, and it gave us a good insight into where athletes are at and gave us our starting point and our baseline.”

For the men’s squad, the focus centered on excelling in sprint mechanics, while the women’s squad are being groomed for versatility in various relay positions, after a successful season this year which saw them compete at the World Athletics Championships.

“Improvement in three-point start mechanics has been identified as a key area for improvement across the country on the men’s side, and on the women’s side, lead coach Cathy Walsh was focusing on hand positions for the receiver and nailing those down,” Reid said.

“I was really impressed by the Senior women from the get-go of the camp, and the men’s team are really looking to prove a point and get to Paris having missed out on Worlds this year. They want to replicate what the women did in terms of qualification, and are determined to make it and put our relay teams back on the map.

“We’re in a good place considering the season is only just starting and I know our athletes are extra motivated to launch themselves well into the Olympic year.”

While the efforts for Paris begin now, the World Athletics Relay Championships in the Bahamas in May hold extra significance as a direct pathway to the Games.

For Australia to earn its spots in the Bahamas, each team must be within the Top-32 in the world, with the Top-14 teams at the World Athletics Relay Championships automatically progressing to the pinnacle event.

“Australia holds a significant advantage with its season end coinciding with the Championships, while European nations will just be gearing up. Our athletes should be at their peak, meaning I see no reason for our athletes not to get to the start line in Paris,” Reid said.

“Our Women and Men’s 4x100m teams are ranked 14th and 16th, and comfortably in place and we’re also hoping our Mixed 4x400m team, who will compete at the Maurie Plant Meet earn their spot at World Relays. They’re currently ranked 34th and the first 32 get in, and we are good chance of seeing them compete in Paris too if we’re able to get to the Bahamas.”

Athletes and coaches will now return to their daily training environments, armed with feedback from the camp to work in with their preparations for their individual races in 2024.

All attendees will then have the opportunity to join in on a satellite camp in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in January, before further camps in February and March ahead of selection for the World Athletics Relay Championships.

The relay camp on the Gold Coast was supported by the Gold Coast City Council as well as Commonwealth Games Australia's Green2Gold2Great program. 

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 19/12/2023
Edited: 20/12/2023