Weekend Review | Patterson & Bisset shine in Birmingham, while records tumble at State Championships

A big weekend of athletics ensued, with Australian records tumbling both domestically and abroad. Our athletes in Europe continued their push towards the World Athletics Indoor Championships, while at home athletes stepped into the spotlight at their respective State Championships.

With the World Athletics Indoor Championships quickly approaching, all eyes were on our track and field athletes competing at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham, and each of them certainly impressed.

After placing 5^th at the Olympics and notching four 1.96m jumps in 2021, high jumper Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart) cemented herself as one to watch this year as she continues her steep progression. Her first meet of the year last week saw her break the Australian indoor record as she cleared 1.99m at Banka Bystrica. The jump equalled her personal best outdoors, and impressively she backed up just days later in Birmingham as she took out the field clearing 1.97m - 6cm clear of Great Britain’s Zailor.  

Catriona Bisset (Ned Brophy-Williams) is also the proud owner of a new record, and now has both the 800m outdoor and indoor records to her name, after shattering Tamsyn Manou’s 2008 record by more than two seconds in Birmingham. Bisset’s 1:59.46 run is her seventh fastest time recorded and puts her in good stead for selection for the World Athletics Indoor Championships next month.

Bisset’s training partner, Linden Hall (Ned Brophy-Williams) also had a strong start to her indoor campaign, clocking 4:07.36 in the 1500m as she warms up for the season ahead. So far Hall has qualified for the World Athletics Indoor Championships and the World Championships in Oregon, and the PUMA athlete will look to improve upon her sixth place from Tokyo and win back the Australian record from compatriot, Jessica Hull.  

Also over in Europe, pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess) began his indoor campaign with a 5.71m clearance. Just last week, Marschall made his season debut in WA clearing 5.55m, and his trajectory indicates he’ll be in top condition come the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

On home soil, Australia’s premier track and field athletes stepped up at their respective state championships, with records tumbling in the Open and Under 20 categories across Australia.

At the WA State Championships, Paralympic bronze medallist Sarah Edmiston (Paul Edmiston) thrilled in the women’s discus throw with a 39.13m throw to better her Australian and Oceania discus record by more than a metre. Already ranked number one in the Commonwealth, Edmiston furthers herself as a gold medal hopeful in Birmingham this August.

Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) headlined the Championships with his first hit out of 2022 in the 1500m. Dusting off the cobwebs before setting sail to Europe, Ramsden clocked 3:38.01 well ahead of Luke Burrows and Thomas Moorcroft, who collected silver and bronze respectively. Ramsden has already notched qualifiers for the World Indoor Championships in the 3000m event, and his 3:38 time puts him as the third fastest athlete in the 1500m within the qualifying period. 

Across to Adelaide for the South Australian State Championships, multiple state records were broken but it was our juniors that impressed, highlighting that the future of our sport is in great shape. In the first event of the Championships, Olivia Sandery (Bob Cruise and Jared Tallent) set a new U20 5000m Race Walk state record in 21:49.41 to win the open final. While Sandery has been focusing on the 10,000m ahead of the World Athletics Race Walking Championships, her swift speed across the distance is a new personal best for the 19-year-old and is promising ahead of her first international campaign.

Tania Van Heer’s son Aidan Murphy (Peter Fitzgerald) has drummed up lots of attention over the summer, clocking a windy 10.20 over 100m but over the weekend, it was his 200m time of 20.41 into a headwind (1.7) that has caught the attention of the Australian athletics community. Murphy had one goal in mind when jetting around the bend and that was to break Fred Martin’s U20 record of 20.48 that stood for 37 years. In comfortably achieving this, Murphy moved up to number 7 on the men’s Australian 200m all-time list and his time was the fastest by an Australian for 16 years.

At the NSW State Championships, Steve Solomon (Penny Gillies) signalled that there’s much to come from the once prodigious junior. He opened his season with a 45.28 over a lap of the track; his eighth fastest time and the best by an Australian on home soil for 12 years. He quickly followed up in the final the following day, crossing the line in 45.39.

Another national record tumbled in the 1500m T38, as newcomer Reece Langdon (Philo Saunders) clocked 3:52.64 in his heat. The result would have won him gold in Tokyo, and on the weekend, saw him defeat Queensland Paralympian Daniel Bounty (Peter Bock)’s 4:08.77 and Tokyo bronze medallist Deon Kenzie (Philo Saunders) who clocked 4:12.37.

The Angus McEntyre coached duo of Tokyo Olympian Mackenzie Little and Cameron McEntyre were comfortable winners of the NSW State javelin titles, with world class throws of 56.56m and 79.42m respectively. McEntyre’s first three throws were 74.24m, 75.48m and 73.33m before unleashing a monster of 79.42m in round four.

Boosted by their selection this week in the Australian team for the World Race Walking Team Championships, Tyler Jones (Frank Overton) and Carl Gibbons (Frank Overton) both destroyed their 5000m race walking personal bests recording the fastest NSW times over the distance for a decade. Jones out dipped Gibbons, and are now number 20 and 22 in Australian all-time history.

Para sprinter Indi Cooper continues to push her claims for Commonwealth Games selection in the T38 100m with a good pair of sub-15 second 100m times. Cooper clocked 14.75 in the heat, and then 14.61 in the ambulant 100m final. Mali Lovell (Melinda Gainsford Taylor and Kate Edwards) ran 100m times of 15.46 and 15.57, close to her 15.24 PB. Lovell also backed up for the 200m, and was just outside of her lifetime best clocking 31:42 - a time that a year earlier would have qualified her for selection for the Tokyo Paralympics. There was also a great run by Rio Paralympian Tamsin Colley (Matt Rawlings) who clocked 32.36.

The State’s 1500m titles came down to the wire as just one second covered the medallists in both the men’s and women’s races. In her first year as an Open age athlete, Jaylah Hancock-Cameron (Andae Kalemusic) led for much of her race, holding off Georgia Winkcup (Ben Liddy) 4:17.47 to 4:17.84. Holly Campbell took the bronze, and in fourth at just 18, Nicola Hogg set a PB of 4:18.37.

At the same State Championships, Olympian Sarah Carli (Melissa Logan) won the 400m hurdles in 56.27, while 18-year-old Isabella Guthrie (Angus McEntyre) clocked 58.51. Also in the hurdles, Celeste Mucci (Darren Clark) ook charge of the women’s 100m event, clocking 12.99 – just 0.01 seconds outside of her personal best. Abbie Taddeo (Penny Gillies) recorded 13.02 at Sydney Olympic Park, moving her from number 10 to equal 8 on the Australian all-time list. Michelle Jenneke (Ash Mahoney) placed in third in 13.44.

Gold Coast’s Tokyo Olympian Ellie Beer (Brett Robinson) held off her own squad member, Rio Olympian Jessica Thornton in the women’s 400m. A couple of World Under 20 Championships qualifiers Jasmin Guthrie (Angus McEntyre, 54.14) and Paige Campbell at 54.44 completed the NSW podium.

After five years in Canada, dual Paralympian Guy Henly is home in Australia. The F37 athlete competed at the NSW Championships for his first competition on home soil in that long, with Henly reaching an excellent 49.52m in the discus throw. His series included four throws furter than his Tokyo result.

Erin Shaw (Jack McArdle) and Darcy Holmes won the high jump title. Shaw’s mark of 1.82m was a World Under 20 Championships qualifying height while Darcy still chases the standard of 2.15m after clearing 2.10m on Friday night.

Australian champion Hana Basic (John Nicolosi) headlined the 100m sprint the Victorian Championships, taking out the title in 11.71. While not near her 11.16 best, the Tokyo Olympian is making her way back from an Achilles injury, and still managed to defeat training partner and 2021 Under 20 representative Mia Gross (11.80), as well as Sophia Fighera (11.83). WA’s Taylah Cruttenden (Brayden Clarke) also raced, clocking 11.87 in the event.

Just like in South Australia, our Victorian walkers excelled at the State Championships, with Fraser Saunder (Daryl Biggin) clocking a new personal best of 22:16.85, while Alanna Peart (Jared Tallent) stopped the clock at 23.28.87m over 5000m. Saunder’s time in particular proves he has recovered well from last week’s Australian and Oceania 10km Championships, and both will now get ready for the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships in Muscat.

It was a race of the fittest as rising wheelchair track star Sam Rizzo beat out his coach, Paralympic gold medallist Richard Colman in the 1500m T54 event. Rizzo crossed the line in 3:47.81, while Colman placed second in 4:05.83.

Three-time Paralympian Todd Hodgetts (Scott Martin) contested the men’s shot put, throwing 15.45m to place second.

The Victorian State Championships run across two weekends, with the action continuing at Lakeside Stadium this weekend.

While our Queensland-based athletes won’t compete for their state titles for another few weeks, our sprinters put their best feet forward at the Gary Brown Shield over the weekend. Bree Masters (Ryan Hoffman) banked a new personal best over 200m in rough conditions, stopping the clock at 23.21 into a -0.7 headwind. Young gun Torrie Lewis (Gerard Keating) placed second with 23.46.

In the 100m, it was Ella Connolly (Mark Ladbrook) who crosse the line first in 11.40 (0.2), with Masters just behind clocking 11.43, while in the same race, Paralympic silver medallist Isis Holt (Paul Pearce) crossed the line in 13.55 – a fantastic start for the year as she looks to improve upon her 13.13 Oceania record.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia & David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Posted: 21/2/2022