Williams rewrites Record as Juniors take Centre Stage in Adelaide

Day Five of the Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics Championships belonged to 14-year-old Sophie Williams who set a new Australian Under 16 record of 5515 points for gold in the heptathlon, with the versatile talent picking up where her senior counterparts left off in Adelaide.

Opening her two-day campaign in style yesterday with a 13.34 (-0.7) showing in the 90m Hurdles before piling on the points with a 1.66m clearance in the High Jump and 25.80 (+0.1) run over 200m, the Western Australian returned for the second day with a 5.95m (+1.4) leap in the Long Jump to set up her record-breaking performance. 

The result sees Williams (WA) eclipse Olympic heptathlete and Commonwealth champion Jane Jamieson’s 1991 Australian Under 16 record of 5484 from 1991, delighting the crowd at the SA Athletics Stadium as the nation’s underage athletes take centre stage.

“It's crazy, I didn't think I could get it. It's a cool number count, 5515. We only started thinking about the record just before the Championships. Me and my coach Ben kept talking about it, but we knew after Day One it could be on. Then after my 10cm pb in Long Jump it was real,” Williams said. 

“Running the final lap [of the 800m] I heard my mum's voice at the 100m and then Ella [second place] came past me, so I knew I had to run. My legs weren't working, so I dived.”

Adding to the junior success was 13-year-old Eliza Lawton (NSW) who carved over eight seconds off the championship record in the Under 15 Girls 1500m when racing to a time of 4:21.99 to leave the field in her wake, along with Evan Rowbotham (NSW) who produced a lethal finishing kick in the Under 15 Boys 1500m to stop the clock in 4:07.40 - shaving over three seconds off the former mark.

Leading the action in the field was hammer thrower Arielle Cannell (TAS) as she launched 61.46m throw to take gold in the Under 18 ranks, with the 16-year-old producing two throws over 60m from her four attempts, while Jasper Louey (VIC) added over 20cm to his personal best in the Under 17 Boys Triple Jump with a 14.23m (-0.2) performance.

The sprinting action was headlined by Uwezo Lubenda (QLD) who bolted to a stylish 10.88 (0.0) triumph in Under 16 Boys 100m, stretching away from his rivals to shatter the 11-second barrier, while little separated Rhema Adelaja (NSW) and Emilia Reed (WA) in the Under 15 Girls 100m.

Adelaja saluted in a photo finish by one thousandth of a second when sneaking under 12 seconds for the first time with a run of 11.96 (-0.9), defeating 13-year-old rival Reed who also clocked a career-best run.

Full results from Day Five can be found HERE.

The Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics Championships continues tomorrow and will be broadcast live and free on 7plus from 9:40am ACST.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 15/4/2024