Tingay and Co to Kick-Start Budapest World Championships

Tokyo Olympian Declan Tingay and the naiton's top race walkers will kick off Australia’s proceedings at the World Athletics Championships, as Olympic finalists Matthew Denny, Brooke Buschkuehl, sprint sensation Rohan Browning and the nation’s middle-distance stars get ready to rumble in Budapest.

Entrusted as the first event of the nine-day World Championships, the Men’s 20km Race Walk will witness 51 of the world’s premier walkers go stride for stride in the championship cauldron, with Tingay’s (WA, Brent Vallance) 1:18:46 season’s best ranking him fifth in the compact field.

The 24-year-old who won silver at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games over 10,000m is still settling on the expectations of his breakout year, having finished in 17^th place at both the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 Eugene World Championships.

Behind world-leader Jun Zhang (China, 1:17:38), just 38-seconds separates rankings 2-9 on seasons best, with Tingay’s ability to play his cards right under the heat of the championship cauldron likely to decide his fate.

“Being ranked so highly is something new to me. It’s something that I haven’t quite come to terms with myself. I know that I have the performances to back up my world ranking, but this championship is going to be about proving to myself that I belong there with the best,” Tingay said.

“My goal in Budapest is at least a top-eight finish, hopefully higher. I’ve got no big ambitions to be on the podium yet, but I think if an opportunity were to present itself, I would take it.”

Walking at paces faster than 4:00/km, Tingay will be complemented by the class of seasoned veteran Rhydian Cowley (VIC, Brent Vallance) and the boldness of fellow Olympian Kyle Swan (VIC, Jared Tallent), as the trio look to kick-start the nation’s Budapest campaign for their compatriots.

Dubbed the flying mullet, Rohan Browning (NSW, Andrew Murphy) rose to stardom with a tantalising 10.01-second performance at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but a first-round exit at the 2022 World Championships left him on the wrong side of the ledger.

Roaring to a 10.02 (0.0) seasons best en route to reclaiming his title as Australia’s fastest man in April, Browning reignited the sub-10-second craze when knocking on the door of becoming only the second Australian man to achieve the feat after Patrick Johnson’s 9.93-second performance in 2003.

While that stands as a 20-year drought, Browning will also have his eyes set on becoming the first Australian man in 40-years to feature in a World Championships 100m final, with teammate Jake Doran (QLD, Pual Di Bella) eager to join him on both fronts.

Australian record holder Brooke Buschkuehl (VIC, Russell Stratton) and Olympic fourth-place finisher Matthew Denny (QLD, Dale Stevenson) will spearhead the nation’s hopes in the field on Day One, taking to the Women’s Long Jump and Men’s Discus.

Both athletes demonstrated strong form at the London Diamond League, with Buschkuehl claiming second place with a 6.72m leap and Denny launching the discus 66.77m to also finish with silver. Ranked ninth and seventh in the world respectively, the established duo will be looking to translate their form to finals appearances and more.

Following Buschkuehl’s lead in the sandpit will be 22-year-old Samantha Dale (NSW, Andrew Murphy) who upset Buschkuehl and the USA’s Tara Davis-Woodhall to win at February’s Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne, while training partner Julian Konle (QLD, Andrew Murphy) will make his World Championships debut in the Men’s Triple Jump. World Under 20 Championships representative Aiden Hinson (VIC, Chloe Stevens) has withdrawn from the Men’s Triple Jump due to injury.

Australia fields a capacity contingent of six athletes across the Men’s and Women’s 1500m. Bringing both quality and quantity, the women’s trio of Linden Hall (VIC, Ned Brophy-Williams), Jessica Hull (NSW, self coached) and Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) will have the world on notice.

With Hall eclipsing Hull’s national record by 0.02-seconds last month with a run of 3:57.29, the pair are ranked sixth and seventh respectively season’s best, while 22-year-old Caldwell will rewrite her 4:01.15 personal best when required to do so.

The first Australian man in history to shatter the 3:30 barrier over 1500m, Stewart McSweyn (TAS, Nic Bideau) is ready for another tilt at a major championships campaign, with the front-running King Island product leaving nothing to chance in a bid to better his career-best major result of seventh place at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

21-year-old Adam Spencer (VIC, Mick Byrne) proved one of the bolters of the qualifying period, carving over four seconds off his personal best to clock 3:31.81 at the London Diamond League and book his World Championships debut in Budapest, while Matthew Ramsden (WA, Nic Bideau) fought valiantly to earn his position on today’s startline.

Rounding out the action on the track, Tokyo Olympian Matthew Clarke (SA, Adam Didyk) will race in the Heats of the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase, racing in Heat 1 with a seasons best of 8:26.46.

Australian fans can catch every session of the 2023 World Athletics Championships from August 19-27 live and free on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand, with a full viewing schedule to be found HERE.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted:19/08/2023