The Final Showdown | Day Four of the Australian Track and Field Championships

From record-breaking performances and awe-inspiring displays of skill, the 100th Australian Track and Field Championships have been nothing short of spectacular thus far. Today we get ready to bear witness more, as Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists toe the line on the final day of competition.
 

A league above the rest of the field, the Women’s High Jump title has Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers’ (NSW, Matt Horsnell) name written all over it. A proven performer on a big stage, the equal Australian record will be going for title number four and the opportunity to lock her place on the Australian team for the Budapest World Athletics Championships, after sailing over the qualifying height of 1.98m at the ACT State Championships earlier this year.
 

With friendly foe, world champion Eleanor Patterson out of competition due to injury, the path to the Australian title is clear for Olyslagers, but the Central Coast native will compete against the next generation of talent, including 18-year-old Erin Shaw (NSW, Alex Stewart) who has impressed at an international level, when reaching back-to-back heights of 1.90m over the indoor season in Europe.
 

Kurtis Marschall (WA, Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) has experienced the fated ups and downs of elite sport over the past few years but by his own admission, has “done a 180” and is now enjoying the fruits of his labour, vaulting to spectacular heights of 5.91m indoors and 5.85m outdoors.
 

Currently the world leader in outdoor pole vault, Marschall has big goals and even bigger heights on his mind, including the meet record of 5.95m, and with a season of consistency in tow, the title will be all but his.
 

Never before at an Australian Track and Field Championships has there been a stronger field of sprint hurdlers, with three athletes having recorded sub-13 times this season. Olympic hurdler Michelle Jenneke (NSW, Gary Bourne) will undoubtedly lead the field as the only athlete to have met the qualifying standard for Budapest, but will be challenged by some of Australia’s fastest athletes of all-time including heptathlete-turned-hurdler Celeste Mucci (VIC, Darren Clarke) and Hannah Jones (NSW, Sally Pearson).
 

Jenneke will toe the line with a season’s best of 12.69, while Commonwealth Games representative Mucci’s 12.84 brings her within a whisker of the 12.78 standard needed to put herself in prime position for Budapest selection. Pearson’s protege will be eager to place in the top-two as too she edges closer to the automatic qualifying standard. The trio will contest their heats in the morning, with the final a few hours later in the afternoon.
 

The Men’s 110m Hurdles is spearheaded by Jacob McCorry (NSW, Alex Stewart) who is yet to lose to his countrymen en route to equal third on the Australian all-time list this season, while World Under 20 finalists Mitchell Lightfoot (NSW, Andy Burton) and Tayleb Willis (VIC, Peter Benifer) continue their transition to the 106.7cm barriers.
 

Australian record holder and three-time national champion over 800m Catriona Bisset (VIC, Ned Brophy-Williams) is set to go head-to-head with former training partner Ellie Sanford (VIC, Terri Cater), with less than one-second separating the pair at the Brisbane Track Classic.
 

Bisset has forged a reputation as a bold front-runner on the domestic scene but will have to execute once again if she is to deny the in-form Sanford, who is chasing her first Australian title and sub-two minute performance.
 

For a long time now, Olympic finalist Brooke Buschkuehl (VIC, Russel Stratton) has been the dominant force in women’s long jump but this year has seen World Championships and Commonwealth Games representative Samantha Dale (NSW, Andrew Murphy) stamp her authority on the event, with the less experienced of the pair winning two of their three match-ups this year. Hungry to win her fifth title and impress selectors, Buschkuehl soared to 6.73m in the qualifying round on her first attempt, demonstrating her potential to reach her goal.
 

Sarah Carli (NSW, Melissa Smith) is on a winning streak and will be looking to cap off a perfect season with the Australian Women’s 400m Hurdles title. With three victories under her belt this year and improving her time with each race, she’s clearly a force to be reckoned with. While a championships is all about winning, fans are going to want to see how fast she can go after lowering her times at each competition.At the Sydney Track Classic, she ran 55.44 - just shy of the 54.90 needed to meet the qualifying standard for Budapest. Can she do that today?
 

A showdown of Australia’s top sprint stars took place overnight, with 18-year-old Torrie Lewis (QLD, Gerard Keating) crowned as Australia’s fastest woman. Tomorrow, the gold medallist will join reigning national champion Ella Connolly (QLD, Mark Ladbrook) for a sprint around the bend. The 2022 sprints double champion Connolly has won each of her three 200m races this year, but youngster Lewis poses as a threat to her winning streak, holding the fastest time of the season of all three with a run of 23.06 in her season opener.
 

2022 saw the rise of South Australian young gun Aidan Murphy (SA, Peter Fitzgerald) as the teenager sprinted his way to victory in the Men’s Open 200m. While not unrivaled in the event, the teenager will come into his own in this event, this year graduating to an Open age athlete, with significant international experience under his belt.
 

Australian record holder and global medallist Jessica Hull (NSW, Pete Julian) will be out for a second title in the Women’s 5000m, taking on Tokyo Olympian Rose Davies (NSW, Scott Wescott) and World Cross Country teammate Leanne Pompeani (ACT, Des Proctor). With Amelia Mazza-Downie (VIC, Joe Franklin) and Lauren Ryan (VIC, TBC) returning from their US-bases, Hull will have her work cut out for her if she is going to take home a second piece of gold.

Oregon World Athletics Championships representatives Cameron McEntyre (NSW, Angus McEntyre) and Cruz Hogan (WA Morgan Ward) are set to duel for the Men’s Javelin title, with the New South Welshman looking to emulate his 2022 success.
 

A season review will show that McEntyre is best placed to take the crown, with results hovering around the 80m mark this year, while the best in the west has hit a mark of 75.32m this year. Also in the field will be hometown young gun Howard McDonald (QLD, Ben Thomson) who coasted through to the final, recording the second best throw of the competition at 75.02m, behind France’s Felise Vahai Sosaia who landed a mark of 75.72m on his first attempt.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 2/4/2022