Track Preview | World Athletics Under 20 Championships
Published Fri 29 Jul 2022
The World Athletics Under 20 Championships are set to begin on Monday August 1 in Cali, Colombia where Australia will field a 55-strong team of the nation’s brightest young talent.
The team is currently training at the University of Miami, acclimatising to the conditions before descending upon Cali to take on the world’s best Under 20 athletes. We take a look at some of the top hopes who could soon become household names on the track, with a field event preview to follow.
You can catch all the action on BeIN Sports via Kayo or Fox Sports.
Olivia Sandery (10,000m Race Walk / Bob Cruise & Jared Tallent)
Olivia Sandery owns the fastest 10,000m race walking time (U20) in the world on the track this year, and while little is certain at any major championships – you can rest assured that Sandery will be launching a genuine medal bid in Cali.
The accomplished 19-year-old is not short of international experience having competed at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Oman this March, finishing in fifth place of the Women’s 10km (U20) to lead Australia to team silver.
The odds turn further in Sandery’s favour in Cali with the top two athletes in Oman not entered for the World Athletics Under 20 Championships, and the South Australian gets her preferred conditions on the track rather than undulating hills on the road. Taking into account all aspects of performance including nutrition and pre-cooling techniques, Sandery is ahead of her time when it comes to professionalism which will hold her in good stead.
She has both the Australian and Oceania 10,000m (U20) titles to her name in 2022, and should things fall her way over 25 laps - she may well add a world title to her name.
Calab Law (200m, 4x100m / Andrew Iselin)
Form lines don’t run much stronger than that of a World Athletics Championships semi-final over 200m just last week in Oregon, which exactly what Calab Law was able to produce when finishing 21st in the world after running a personal best of 20.50 (+1.0) in the first round.
The 18-year-old drops back down to the Under 20 age group in Cali where he will focus his attention on the 200m and 4x100m events, having scratched from the 100m. Law is adamant that his recent career best will soon be old news as he targets something special on the world scene, with making the final the first major task as the ranked ninth ranked athlete in the field this year.
The nonchalant Australian will have left room in his suitcase for his first global medal, and if he brings his absolute best throughout the three rounds – it’s a space that he is capable of filling.
Claudia Hollingsworth (800m / Craig Mottram)
An out-and-out star, Claudia Hollingsworth is the second of three athletes completing the senior and junior World Athletics Championships double in 2022.
Despite securing the Australian and Oceania (U20) titles over 1500m, Hollingsworth has opted for the 800m at both championships as she continues her steady development at only 17-years-old. Having never raced on international soil, Hollingsworth was served a baptism of fire in Oregon as she faced up to Olympic bronze medallist Raevyn Rogers (USA) in front of a packed Hayward Field, clocking 2:04.11 to finish in eighth place of her heat.
It's an experience that already has Hollingsworth craving the opportunity to amend the record in Cali, where she will be eager to run closer to, if not better than, her 2:01.60 personal best. An astute racer and fierce competitor, Hollingsworth will relish the opportunity to cause a shake-up in the Under 20 ranks.
Aidan Murphy (200m, 4x100m / Peter Fitzgerald)
He is the fastest Australian Under 20 man over 200m in history, it’s that simple.
Aidan Murphy has long had his eyes set on a medal at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships, and a first-round exit at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon has left the prodigious talent counting down the days until he can demonstrate his true potential amongst his peers.
Murphy’s personal best of 20.41 (-1.3) sees him ranked fourth in the world (U20) of those competing in Cali, and he will be out to keep that Australian Under 20 record under his name when lining up alongside compatriot Calab Law.
The 18-year-old was quick to analyse his Oregon performance and execute the necessary adjustments to his routine for Cali, with the championship experience under his belt set to serve as a significant asset to his medal hopes.
He knows what it takes, he has rubbed shoulders with the best, and he is ready to deliver.
Charlie Jeffreson (800m / Penny Gillies)
As far as junior athletes go, Charlie Jeffreson is a Rolls Royce.
The smooth-moving 17-year-old owns a 1:47.60 personal best over 800m and shapes up as a finals contender at his Australian debut, with his punishing speed likely to take care of any tactical proceedings in the early rounds at Cali.
Lightly raced since the domestic season where he clocked 1:47.60 on two occasions, Jeffreson and his team have executed a thorough preparation which leaves him primed to take on a slick field in what is often an unpredictable event.
The second fastest Under 18 athlete in Australian history, Jeffreson will draw on the experience of training partner and Australian stalwart Steven Solomon, who won bronze at the 2012 World Junior Championships before making the Olympic final one month later.
Isabella Guthrie (400m Hurdles, W4x400m / Angus McEntyre)
On paper, Isabella Guthrie’s ranking of 12th in the field over the 400m hurdles suggests that a semi-final appearance would reflect her ability, but sitting just 0.79 seconds behind the world number one – the 18-year-old can’t be dismissed in the race for a finals berth and beyond.
With a perfect 14 world Under 20 qualifiers from 14 appearances in her pet event, you would be hard-pressed to find a more ‘qualified’ Australian athlete on the team in Cali. Guthrie’s personal best of 58.08 leaves her knocking on the door of the 57-second range, but it is her consistency that shapes her as a top prospect in navigating the often-challenging rounds of a major championships.
The talented Australian has enjoyed an immaculate preparation and finds herself in career-best form ahead of her international debut, and while the circumstances will demand a performance greater than anything she has produced before – Guthrie is both ready and willing to launch a deep run in the green and gold.
Guthrie doubles in the squad for the Women’s 4x400m alongside twin sister Jasmin, having laid down an individual 400m qualifier of 55.19 in February.
Peyton Craig (1500m / Brendan Mallyon)
He is the national 1500m and 3000m champion (U20), he owns a 1:47.52 personal best over 800m, and he is built for championship racing.
Fresh off an eighth-place finish at the World Junior Triathlon Championships in Montreal, Peyton Craig finds himself on his second overseas venture in as many months as he prepares to take on the world’s best Under 20 men over 1500m.
The 17-year-old’s best of 3:44.07 is not reflective of his immense talent which is coupled with a tactical nous to form a major threat on the track. Running with a distinctive technique, Craig has become renowned on the domestic scene for his last lap antics, regularly bursting out of the pack and leaving his competitors in his wake.
Whether it’s fast or slow, Craig is well equipped, and if he is there at the bell – he will be a factor.
Mitchell Lightfoot (110m Hurdles / Andy Burton) and Tayleb Willis (110m Hurdles / Peter Benifer)
It’s an Australian double-headed beast in the Men’s 110m Hurdles, with Mitchell Lightfoot and Tayleb Willis set to go toe-to-toe with each other and the world on their biggest stage yet.
There is no denying the friendly rivalry that exists between the two talented juniors, with Lightfoot clinching the national title and Willis narrowly holding onto the ascendency on the clock – with 13.48 to Lightfoot’s 13.51.
The duo become teammates for the first time in Cali as they target two lanes in the final, eager to follow in the footsteps of Nicholas Hough who set a national Under 20 record of 13.27 en route to world junior silver in 2012.
With contrasting styles yet similar effectiveness, Lightfoot and Willis get their long-awaited chance to mix it with the best junior men on the planet – before a date with the 106.7cm hurdles awaits in the senior ranks.
Men’s 4x100m - Jai Gordon (Jaqueline Gallagher), Calab Law (Andrew Iselin), Aidan Murphy (Peter Fitzgerald), Connor Bond (Mick Zisti), Lachlan Kennedy (Russel Hansen), Ryan Tarrant (Adam Larcom)
Spearheaded by Jai Gordon who took all of 10.28-seconds to win the national title (U20), the Australian men are out to make a statement as the next wave of sprinters from down under – only interested in tangible success.
The squad boasts significant depth with World Athletics Championships 200m representatives Aidan Murphy (10.35) and Calab Law (10.36), while Oceania Under 20 champion Connor Bond (10.40) continues to go from strength-to-strength. Ryan Tarrant (10.49) and Lachlan Kennedy (10.51) add variation and flexibility to the squad, ensuring a slick quartet takes to the track in both rounds.
Having already broken the Australian Under 20 record with a 39.30 performance on the Gold Coast in May, expect that time to be lowered once again if the baton is handled with care.
Women’s 4x100m - Taylah Cruttenden (Braiden Clarke), Hayley Reynolds (Andrew Lulham), Olivia Rose Inkster (Melinda Gainsford-Taylor & Katie Edwards), Aleksandra Stoilova (Hayden Kovacic), Georgia Harris (Paul Pearce)
Lead by experienced campaigner Taylah Cruttenden, the 4x100m women are determined to make their Cali campaign a successful one despite the withdrawal of Torrie Lewis due to injury.
The squad will be stretched across the program with Cruttenden (11.49), Hayley Reynolds (11.58), Georgia Harris (11.65) and Olivia Rose Inkster (11.70) all taking to individual events prior to the relay, but Aleksandra Stoilova (11.68) will offer some reprieve in the first round on fresh legs.
The team will be looking to improve on Australia’s best result in the event at a World Under 20 Championships, with the series of fifth place finishes over the years - the fastest of which was 45.01 run by the quartet of Rebecca Vormister, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, Fiona Blair and Cathy Freeman in 1990.
A tight-knit group with a common goal, the Australian Under 20 4x100m women are out to taste relay success and build the culture in transitioning to the senior ranks and bolstering Australia’s sprinting stocks.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 29/7/2022
