Relay teams Hungary for success
Published Fri 05 May 2023
Australia’s top relay sprinters are leaving no stone unturned on their quest to become Olympic medal hopefuls, with a squad of 28 taking their first steps to stardom at this weekend’s Oceania Relays meet.
For Australia to meet its goal of qualifying three relay teams for the Paris Olympics, scoring berths for the Budapest World Athletics Championships final will be crucial. But getting to the start line in Hungary will be the first stop of many on their road to the top.
A Top 16 world ranking at the end of July will see Australian teams bound for Budapest and with the Top 8 teams in Hungary guaranteed a spot at the 2024 World Athletics Relay Championships, which double as the Olympic qualifiers, the Australian teams will be eager to punch their first tickets.
At present, the Australian Women’s 4x100m team is ranked 11th in the world following the Birmingham Games while the Men’s team shot up to 14th with their swift performance at the Sydney Track Classic.
While both teams are well positioned, Athletics Australia’s High Performance Relay Lead David Reid says the time is now for both teams to catapult themselves up the rankings list as the European season begins.
“Realistically both 4x100m teams should be there in Budapest but our goal at our camp on the Gold Coast this week has been to work towards shooting up the rankings list at the Oceania Relay meet as our international counterparts begin their seasons on the other side of the world,” Reid said.
“With Paris in mind too, and only about 30 in-competition exchanges left for our teams before the Olympic final, it’s also critical that we work together and give athletes every opportunity to tighten their craft.”
With so much on the line and a bigger strategy at play, every start, every baton exchange and every millisecond will count at the Oceania meet this weekend as athletes leave nothing to chance.
“Two of the key areas we are working on are check mark discipline, and position of exchange in the zone. This has been critical in developing confidence and consistency” Reid said.
“Most of our 400m relay athletes are only beginning their relay journey together but are every bit as hungry to qualify for the Budapest this year.
“The young squad have been blessed to have vastly experienced Alex and Angie leading the practice sessions, so come Saturday and Sunday when they compete, there is every chance we will see their rankings cement qualification for the World Relay Championships next year.”
Held by the Oceania Athletics Association, the Oceania Relays meet will see Australian teams compete twice each against New Zealand, Samoa, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea over two days of competition, with every athlete on the squad getting a chance to shine.
“We have a lot of great talent in our Men’s 4x100m squad so we’ll have an A and B team race, but each of our teams will rotate. The sign of a world class relay team is versatility within the squad, and our coaches have been ensuring the athletes aren’t one trick ponies!” Reid said.
Following on from the Oceania Relays meet, the Australian 4x100m teams will look to compete just once more during the qualification period, with start lists for the London Diamond League yet to be confirmed.
Athletics Australia would like to thank the City of Gold Coast for their support of the Australian relay squad and camp.
4X 100M TEAMS
Women: Ella Connolly, Kristie Edwards, Torrie Lewis, Bree Masters, Ebony Lane.
Men: Chris Ius, Sebastian Sultana, Lachlan Kennedy, Jake Doran, Joshua Azzopardi, Jacob Despard, Jack Hale, Jai Gordon, Connor Bond, Jake Penny.
4X400M TEAMS
Women: Angeline Blackburn, Sarah Carli, Helen Pretorius, Aleesha Bennetts, Jemma Pollard, Charlotte McAuliffe.
Men: Alex Beck, Reece Holder, Harrison Hunt, Aidan Murphy, Augustine Nketia Junior, Timothy Sanki, Cameron Searle.
By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 5/5/2023
