#TeamAUS at #London2017
Published Tue 04 Jul 2017
Sixty-two of Australia’s best will don the green and gold to compete at the London 2017 IAAF World Championships, commencing 4 August 2017.
The Australian biggest team to compete at an able-bodied world championships, the contingent features Rio 2016 Olympic Games medallists Dane Bird-Smith (Qld, 20km walk) and Jared Tallent (Vic, 50km walk) alongside former IAAF World Championships podium finishers Fabrice Lapierre (NSW, long jump), Dani Stevens (NSW, discus throw) and Sally Pearson (Qld, 100m hurdles).
Headlining the team is 2011 100m hurdles world champion Sally Pearson (Qld), who made a triumphant return to the Australian athletic scene following a lengthy time on the sidelines due to injury.
Running 12.75 (w: +1.6) in the heats of the 2017 Australian Athletics Championships, the London 2012 Olympic champion was unmatched in the final where she crossed the line in wind-assisted 12.53 (w: +2.3) to win her eighth national crown.
Pearson’s time in the heat was her best run since the Doha Diamond League in the days before her season ending wrist injury in 2015, with her final result her fastest performance since winning silver at the Moscow 2013 IAAF World Championships.
Joining Pearson on the plane will be fellow world championships gold medallist Dani Stevens (NSW, nee Samuels) in the discus. Stevens is having one of her most consistent seasons to date, with her performance at the NSW Open Championships her second best of her career reaching 66.78m.
Stevens further proved her good form when she finished just 50cm behind two-time Olympic champion Sandra Perkovic (CRO) at the IAAF Diamond League meet in Shanghai (CHN).
Rio 2016 medallists Jared Tallent (SA) and Dane Bird-Smith (Qld) will be two of six walkers set to don the green and gold in the 50km and 20km race walks in London. Tallent, who already has three world championships medals to his name (50km walk silver in Daegu 2011 and Beijing 2015, bronze in 2013 Moscow), will return to the Mall in London, the scene of his gold-medal winning 50km walk performance at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Long jumper Fabrice Lapierre (NSW) grabbed the silver medal at the 2015 world championships and will head to London ready to go up against with a very competitive field that will push his limits. Jumping a windy 8.50m (+4.4) at the Longhorn Invitational, Lapierre’s form has been up and down in
After falling just 0.01 of a second short of the Olympic final in Rio last year, 200m sprinter Ella Nelson (NSW) is ready for revenge and will head to the London World Championships with making the top-8 in the world her goal.
23-year-old Nelson showcased her ability when she dipped under the 23.10 qualifying time at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix with 23.00 (+1.5)
Nick Andrews (NSW, 4x100m relay), Rohan Browning (NSW, 4x100m relay), Jack Colreavy(NSW, marathon), Ella Connolly (Qld, 4x400m relay), Tom Gamble (Qld, 4x100m relay), Georgia Griffith (Vic, 800m, 1500m), Josh Harris (Tas, marathon), Morgan McDonald (NSW, 5000m) and Brad Milosevic (NSW, marathon) will compete at an open age international championship for the first time.
Debutants Riley Day (Qld, 200m), Naa Anang (Qld, long jump), Lora Storey (NSW, 800m), Mitchell Cooper (Qld, discus throw) Nicola McDermott (NSW, high jump), Stewart McSweyn (Tas, 3000m steeplechase) and Jordan
Tasmanian javelin thrower Hamish Peacock is also named in the
Three-time Australian 400m champion Morgan Mitchell (Vic) is London bound after securing three qualifiers to date, including a fast time of 51.65 seconds at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix this year.
Patrick Tiernan (Qld) has quickly shot up to the upper echelon of Australian distance running in
Kurtis Marschall (SA) is set to get his first taste of world championships competition after the 20-year-old cleared 5.70m at the South Australian state championships this year.
Heading to her fourth world championships, Lauren Wells (ACT) will be looking to reach the final for the first time in her career after reaching the semi-finals three times previously.
At the 2017 IAAF World
The men’s team will be led by Australian 100m champion Trae Williams
Williams, 20, took out his first senior national sprint title at the 2017 Australian Athletics Championships will be making his world championships debut. Team Australia will feature on entry lists for the men’s 4x100m relay for the first time at the IAAF World Championships since Moscow 2013
Olympians Jessica Trengove (SA), Milly Clark (NSW) and Jeff Hunt (NSW) will headline a six-strong marathon contingent heading to London.
To be joined by Beijing 2015 starter Sinead Diver (Vic) and world championships debutants Brad Milosevic (NSW) and Josh Harris (Tas), the selected team ensures a full quota of green and gold runners on the streets of the English capital.
Trengove and Clark were among the top-25 in the women’s marathon at Rio 2016, while Hunt, an IT professional and father, returns to the green and gold squad for the first time since his start in the men’s marathon at the 2012 London Olympics five years ago.
Decathlete Cedric Dubler (Qld) also finds himself London-bound after his performance at the 2016 Australian Championships granted him entry on the team.
Rhydian Cowley (Vic) will compete in the men’s 20km walk while Regan Lamble (Vic), Rachel Tallent (Vic) and Beki Smith (ACT) line up for the women’s 20km walk events.
Eloise Wellings (NSW) will line up next to fellow Rio Olympian Madeline Hills in the 10,000m. Wellings heads to her third world championships while Hills, who ran the 5000m and 3000m steeplechase in Beijing, will compete for Australia in the 25-lap event for the first time.
Nick Andrews (NSW, 4x100m relay), Rohan Browning (NSW, 4x100m relay), Jack Colreavy(NSW, marathon), Ella Connolly (Qld, 4x400m relay), Tom Gamble (Qld, 4x100m relay), Georgia Griffith (Vic, 800m, 1500m), Josh Harris (Tas, marathon), Morgan McDonald (NSW, 5000m) and Brad Milosevic (NSW, marathon) will compete at an open age international championship for the first time.
FEMALE (23):
200m: Ella Nelson (NSW)
400m: Morgan Mitchell (Vic)
800m: Georgia Griffith (Vic)
1500m: Zoe Buckman (Vic), Georgia Griffith (Vic), Linden Hall (Vic)
5000m: Madeline Hills (NSW), Eloise Wellings (NSW)
10000m: Madeline Hills (NSW), Eloise Wellings (NSW)
100m hurdles: Sally Pearson (Qld)
400m hurdles: Lauren Wells (ACT)
3000m steeplechase: Genevieve La Caze (Vic)
Long Jump: Brooke Stratton (Vic)
Discus Throw: Dani Stevens (NSW)
Javelin: Kathryn Mitchell (Vic), Kelsey-Lee Roberts (ACT)
20km walk: Regan Lamble (Vic), Beki Smith (NSW), Claire Tallent (SA)
Marathon: Milly Clark (NSW), Sinead Diver (Vic), Jess Trengove (SA)
4x400m Relay: Ella Connolly (Qld), Morgan Mitchell (Vic), Ella Nelson (NSW), Anneliese Rubie (NSW), Jess Thornton (NSW), Lauren Wells (ACT)
MALE (25):
400m: Steven Solomon (NSW)
800m: Peter Bol (Vic)
1500m: Ryan Gregson (Vic), Luke Mathews (Vic)
5000m: Morgan McDonald (NSW), Sam McEntee (WA), Patrick Tiernan (Qld)
10,000m: Patrick Tiernan (Qld)
110m hurdles: Nicholas Hough (NSW)
Long Jump: Henry Frayne (Qld), Fabrice Lapierre (NSW)
Pole Vault: Kurtis Marschall (SA)
Shot Put: Damien
Javelin: Hamish Peacock (Tas)
Decathlon: Cedric Dubler (Qld)
20km Walk: Dane Bird-Smith (Qld), Rhydian Cowley (Vic)
50km Walk: Jared Tallent (SA)
Marathon: Jack Colreavy (NSW), Josh Harris (Tas), Brad Milosevic (NSW)
4x100m Relay: Nick Andrews (NSW), Rohan Browning (NSW), Tom Gamble (Qld), Alex Hartmann (Qld), Trae Williams (Qld)
Note:
Nina Kennedy (pole vault) and Chris Erickson (50km walk) have both withdrawn.
Claire Tallent comes in to replace the injured Rachel Tallent
Jack Colreavy comes in to replace the self-withdrawn Jeff Hunt
Ella Connolly, Anneliese Rubie and Jess Thornton have been added to 4x400m.