The Final Countdown | 2024 Chemist Warehouse Summer of Athletics

Just one week remains until the 2024 Chemist Warehouse Summer Season begins – a season set to ignite stadiums, thrill spectators and showcase the very best of Australian athletics.

Scheduled to commence next Saturday, December 2 with On Track Nights ZATOPEK:10 in Melbourne, this season promises to be an exhilarating line-up of events, encompassing all that athletics has to offer.
From global medallists and Diamond League champions featuring in World Athletics Continental Tour meets, to some of the sport’s youngest competitors fearless in their pursuits at the Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools Athletics Championships, athletes of all ages and abilities are poised to unleash.

This season will see national meets take place in five States and Territories across the country, including Oceania’s one and only World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level meet, the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne. As the sport enters a new golden era, domestic competition will only intensify, with athletes eager to earn all-important world ranking points ahead of Paris 2024.

As athletes of all levels across the country lay down the foundations of their campaigns at local meets, the excitement will reach a fever pitch at the 101st edition of the Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide.

There at SA Athletics Stadium, athletes in age groups from U13 to Open will compete for national glory, while the country’s elite athletes will look to impress selectors en route to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the World Under 20 Championships taking place in August.

“We’re thrilled to be counting down the final days to the Chemist Warehouse Summer Season. This season is shaping up to be our best season yet,” Athletics Australia CEO Peter Bromley said.

“We start off in just a week’s time at On Track Nights ZATOPEK:10 which features the Australian 10,000m Championships and Under 20 3000m Championships, and soon travel to Perth to see the work of our athletes at the grassroots, before momentum builds as we get set for another Olympic and Paralympic year.

“Mark your calendars, set your reminders and prepare to witness the wonders of our sport. We encourage you to show up and support the stars of Australian athletics when they come to a track near you over the summer months.”

Ten things to get excited about for the 2024 Chemist Warehouse Summer Season:

1.    Our best homegrown middle-distance runners line up for one of Australia’s most prestigious meets, the ZATOPEK:10, which is being given the On Track Nights treatment at Lakeside Stadium on Saturday December 2. See Jack Rayner battle it out with the likes of Patrick Tiernan and David McNeil for title number three in the Chemist Warehouse Australian 10,000m Championships while Rose Davies, Ellie Pashley, Caitlin Adams and co fight for the Women’s title.

2.    The future stars of Australian track and field taking strides towards greatness at the Chemist Warehouse Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in Perth from December 8 – 11. So many of these rising prospects are already buoyed by a start at the Brisbane 2032 Games.

3.    Decathlon world record holder Kevin Mayer headlines the Queensland Combined Event Championships alongside Australia’s most versatile athletes, Olympic bronze medallist Ash Moloney and Cedric Dubler as they take on 10 events over two days on the eve of another Olympic year. Fans in Brisbane can watch it unfold on December 16 and 17.

4.    The second edition of Oceania’s one and only World Athletics Continental Tour Gold level meet, the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne, to be held on Thursday, February 15 at Lakeside Stadium. Stay tuned for athlete announcements this month.

5.    Australia’s premier wheelchair racers will take their marks at the 2024 GIO Summer Down Under meet in Canberra, which doubles as the Australian Wheelchair Racing Championships. See the likes of Paralympic champion Madison de Rozario as well as Paralympic and Commonwealth medallists, Angie Ballard and Jake Lappin contest, before they compete in the famous OzDay 10k on Australia Day in Sydney. 

6.    The race walks extravaganza begins with Supernova: World Athletics Race Walking Tour Silver on January 27 and 28 as part of the ACT State Championships, bringing together Australia’s best and a host of international stars. 

7.    The return of the Chemist Warehouse Canberra Track Classic at the Australian Institute of Sport on March 2nd, just one day after the Australian trials for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships. With Australians boasting success at this year’s edition in Bathurst, competition at Stromlo Forrest is set to be fierce.

8.    The Chemist Warehouse Sydney Track Classic promises to be an exciting showcase of athletics, this time at E.S Marks Athletics Field on March 23. Once known as the home of athletics in NSW, this World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger meet is the highest-level track and field meet to take place at the iconic venue in over three decades. 

9.    Australia’s richest footrace, the Powercor Stawell Gift, returns to Central Park from Saturday, March 30 – Monday, April 1. One of the world’s most famous and prestigious foot races, the carnival is headlined by the 120m Gift as athletes race for glory and $40,000.  

10.    All roads lead to Adelaide this year, with three huge events taking place in the country’s South with the Chemist Warehouse Adelaide Invitational, the Australian 20km Race Walking Championships, and of course, the pinnacle event of the season - the 101st edition of the Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics Championships taking place from April 11-19. A host of special activities will feature at the Open Nationals for participants, fans, and alumni of the sport as we cheer on our athletes vying for spots on the Olympic and Paralympic teams traveling to Paris. 

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Photo with thanks to Dennis Tim
Posted: 25/11/2023