Sarah Carli

We'll be updating this blog before each days events, and then review what took place.
Don't forget our schedule has the athletes competing, those ranked in the top 4, and will be updated with their results.

Stay tuned!

Day 6 Evening Session (2-Aug Morn. aest)

Pole Vault (M)  Kurtis Marschall takes up the challenge of attempting to get three consecutive gold medals at the Commonwealth Games.

Long Jump (W)  In qualifying Brooke Buschkuehl jumped her longest jump for four years.  The exciting aspect of her jumping and Delta Amidzovski is they have a history of winning competitions on their last jump – don’t count them out.

400m T54 (W)  Eliza Ault-Connell and Aimee Fisher take on some stiff competition in the final

Javelin Throw (W)  This javelin field is very even, with the thrower best able to handle the windy conditions likely to win.  Mackenzie Little and Lianna Davidson both have the distance to win.

5000m (M)  Can Ky Robinson repeat Rose Davies stunning distance double?  He’s done it at the NCAA outdoor championships, and has the fastest time within this field, but it all comes down to championship racing

4x100m Relay (M)

4x100m Relay (W) The women face tough competition from but will be looking to complete all changes and anything can happen

800m (M) One of the great indications of the team spirit within this group was footage of the three Australians so excited that they all qualified for the final – something that’s never happened before.  Peter Bol is looking to improve on his silver from 2022, with Luke Boyes and Peyton Craig keen to test the limits.

Mile (M)  This is likely the highest quality field on the track.  The mile World Record holder versus the current 1500m World #1.  Also 10 of the top 14 men in the Commonwealth have made the final.  The Cameron Myers matchup with Josh Kerr resonates with the Miracle Mile, Bannister v Landy 72 years ago, and perhaps too the Moscow Olympics 1500m Coe vs Ovett on 1 August 1980. In both cases the current world record holder ended up losing the race.  Oliver Hoare is defending his title, and Adam Spencer is returning to the international stage after his bronze at World Indoors.

Mixed 4x400m Relay (X)  The Australian team will be looking to push for the podium here.

Mile (W)  Missing the world record holder in this race, but we do have the 6th fastest in history, Jessica Hull, who has collected a swag of Global medals in the last 3 years, but still to bag a gold in an individual event.  However, her own teammates may be her biggest obstacle, with Abbey Caldwell showing her best form ever this year, and Claudia Hollingsworth has the ability to surprise.

_____

Day 6 Morning Session (1-Aug Eve. aest)

Shot Put T57 (M) Matthew Sheppard is ranked 7th in this field, but will look to push higher than his ranking
Sheppard wastes no time getting an Area Record out his first throw (and second as well!) 10.29m finishing 7th 

1500m T54 (M) Samuel Carter and Samuel Rizzo competed at the London Diamond League meeting, and finished 2nd & 3rd, and will look to bring that form.
Out together at the front for most of the race, but perhaps the effort taking the wind cost them at the end, with the Englishmen powering away, Rizzo holding on for bronze in 3:16,61, Carter in 6th 3:21.49

10,000m Walk (W) With only 6 in this event, it looks like the three Australians will be competing for spots on the podium, with Elizabeth McMillen having a slighter faster PB than Jemima Montag and Bec Henderson not far behind. Montag going for a hat-trick of Commonwealth gold.
A clean sweep for Australia, Jemima Montag takes the win with a PB 42:13.40, her third Gold at Comm Games, Elizabeth McMillen gets silver with 42:39.87, and Rebecca Henderson bronze 43:27.46

Discus Throw (M)  Matthew Denny stated earlier that his goal was to throw over 70 metres in this final, which in the past would be a winning throw.  However there are four other men over 70 metres in their career so who ever adapts best to the conditions will likely take the win.
Denny starts well with a 66.87m opening, with lots struggling in the wind and fouling, improves on his third out to 67.32m, and on fourth 67.73m.  Denny takes GOLD!!

400m (M) After his barnstorming semi-final win, it'll be interesting to see if Thomas Reynolds takes the same bold front running approach in the final. 
With a strong wind down the back straight, Thomas Reynolds gets to run in a final against some quality athletes and holds his own with 5th in 45.57.

4x100m Relay Heats  Australia competes in both relay heats, and after the experience of the World Relay Championships should feel comfortable gaining qualification for the final.
Safely through for the women finishing 3rd in 43.52, and the men finish 3rd as well with 38.69. Kennedy and Lewis back in the teams for the finals.

200m T38 (W) After a close 4th in the 100m final, Rhiannon Clarke will be pushing for a medal, and Briseis Brittain will look to improve on her 6th.
Rhiannon Clarke mows down her tiring English rival to take gold with Briseis Brittain taking the bronze and Ella Pardy  4th.

_____

Day 5 Evening Session (1-Aug Morn. aest)

10,000m Walk (M) Final  Three Australians, Isaac Beacroft, Declan Tingay and Tim Fraser go in a field of 5, so provided they can stay away from red card disqualifications, we'll see medals here - with Beacroft the favourite to challenge for gold.
Beacroft and the 20-year-old Kenyan walker ended up breaking from the rest of the field early. And Beacroft takes the gold after sprinting away from the Kenyan in the last 300m ... Wow - gold to the 19-year-old ... now off to the World U20 Championships. Tingay was 4th and unfortunately Tim Fraser had to step off the track. 

Pole Vault (W) Final  Nina Kennedy, defending Champion, has taken all before her on her return to the event this year getting out to a new Area Record of 4.95m.  But there's a stong contingent of Kiwi vaulters, including the previous Area Record holder, who'll make this a fascinating contest.
It becomes a battle between Kennedy and McCartney, both missed twice at 4.70m but McCartney had the lead due to her first time clearance at 4.65m. Kennedy fails to clear on her final attempt, so goes home with silver.

Long Jump [T38] (W) Final Three Australians in the final, Ayla Kowalczyk, Sienna Newton and Layla Sharp who is the leading contender of the three based on PBs
Sharp's 2nd jump goes 5.02m (+2.2), new Area Record moves her into 2nd place, then improves to 5.06 (+1.7) to take silver. Kowalczyk then comes out with big PB on her last 4.71 (+1.1) to take bronze, with Newton just behind with her PB 4.70 (+0.8).

Javelin Throw (M) Final  Cameron McEntyre faces one of the toughest fields in the field at these championships with Olympic & World Champions, and five throwers with bests over 90 metres.  Lucky he's in career best form to take them on.
Cameron McEntyre seeme to struggles with the wind, his first two attempts around 70m and the third a foul, meaning he doesn't make final eight to get the extra 3 throws, finishes 11th with best 72.34m

800m (W) Final  Facing last year's World Championships 1 & 2 is daunting, but Sarah Billings will take confidence that she is in career best form having recently broken the National Record, and has the third best seasons best in the field. 
A slow pace over 60 seconds for the first lap, with Hunter Bell leading, and Billings pushes to the front which prompts the pace to increase.  Odira leaves herself too much to do, so Hunter Bell wins and Billings grabs a well-deserved bronze.

400m Hurdles (W) Final  Sarah Carli will be keen to break that 55 second mark that has become something of a barrier this season so she can be in the mix in this final.
Has a tough draw with the inside lane, Sarah Carli pushes hard in the first 200m and finishes in 6th with 55.85.

200m (M) Final  After his 100m heroics, Lachlan Kennedy has nothing to lose racing in this final and with his starting speed you know he'll be up with the leaders coming into the straight. 
From lane one, Lachlan Kennedy runs a great bend and then tried to hang one, but given the week he's had perhaps not surprising his legs faded, and finishes 6th in 20.41 (+1.7).  Now back to running the straight in the relay.

200m (W) Final  The 200m is the event that Torrie Lewis has performed best in, being the World U20 Champion, and having won a Diamond League over the distance. Faces strong competition in the sub-22 Adaejah Hodge, and a host of other sub-22.50 women. 
In a high quality field, Torrie Lewis got a great start but couldn't hold on, finishing in 6th in 22.88 (+1.7)

_____

Day 5 Morning Session (31-Jul EVE aest)

1500m T54 (W) Final This final is being re-run after crashes, DQs, protests and appeals.  Mikaela Dingley previously finished 4th, awarded the bronze after the DQ and now has to go again. Eliza Ault-Conn was crashed into and fell, so she gets another chance.  Let's hope they can have a sfae passage this time.
The race started very differently - with the pace on from the start. Eliza Ault-Connell wins the BRONZE in the re-run with 3:40.84. Mikaela Dingley who was awarded the bronze as a result of the DQ in the initial race finishes 6th in 4:41.13, which is around the time she did in the initial final.

Long Jump (W) Qualification The head-to-head between the veteran Brooke Buschkuehl and the rising star Delta Amidzovski was sensational.  In four meets in Australia over summer the margin of victory between these two was no greater than 7cm: DA 1st 6.41m BB 2nd 6.34m / DA 2nd 6.46m BB 1st 6.48m / DA 2nd 6.65m BB 1st 6.67m / DA 2nd 6.69m BB 1st 6.70m  In those latter two Buschkuehl came from behind on one of her last jumps.  Across the field there are 9 athletes with seasons bests between 6.75m and 6.84m
In Group A Delta Amidzovski has a first round 6.50m, and then 6.55m (+2.5) on her third to finish 4th which will see her through to the final. Brooke Buschkuehl goes Bang on her first jump and gets out to 6.83 (+1.8) - her best jump since August 2022.

Mixed 4x400m Relay (X) Heats  Given Australia's success at the WOrld Relay Championships, where all teams qualified for the 2027 World CHampionships, the expectation will be that Australia qualifies easily here for the final   
Australia qualifying through to the final with 2nd to Nigeria in 3:15.21     

400m T54 (W) Semis Mikaela Dingley and Eliza Ault-Connell go again after the 1500m earlier today and joined by Aimee Fisher. 
90 minutes after the 1500m bronze Eliza Ault-Connell qualifies for the 400m final with 3rd in the heat in 59.62.  Aimee Fisher was 4th in 1:12.27 and goes to final as time qualifier. In the second heat Mikaela Dingley was fifth in 1:16.95

_______

Day 4 Evening Session (31-Jul Morning aest)

A big session of of qualifying in highly competitive fields, finishing off with a 5000m final with Australians competing for podium spots, and the 100mH final with world class athletes including Jennke for her fourth Games final.

200m (M) Semis  All three of Aidan Murphy, Calab Law and Lachlan Kennedy have been given outside lanes. so they'll be running blind as they attempt to finish top 2 to qualify for the final.
Unfortunately no qualifiers from the first two semi, Murphy finishes 7th in 20.70 (+3.5), Law 20.60 (+2.0) 5th, but then wow - Kennedy runs a blistering bend and finishes 3rd with a fastest time qualifier 20.12 (+2.3) (a windy PB).

Triple Jump (W) Final In a small field of six, Desleigh Owusu has the chance to become AUstralia's first medalist in this event at the Games - pioneering work she's done before being Australia's first female triple jump medalist at the Universiade last year where she set her PB of 13.86m.
Owusu achieves the best finish of an Australian woman in this event at the Commonwealth Games, with 4th and her best jump of 13.81 (+1.1) was her second best ever

100m (W) T47 Final Lexie Brown goes in the final
A seasons best for Lexie Brown finishing 7th in 13.15 (+1.7), a great finals experience for the 15 year-old.

200m (W) Semis Torrie Lewis, Monique Hanlon and Mia Gross face tough semis to qualify for the final.
Torrie Lewis fights hard in the last 30 metres to take the win in 22.64 (+4.7) and through to the final.  Monique Hanlon runs under 23 for the 2nd time in her life, 22.90 (+1.7) to finish 4th, and just misses the final as a time qualifier (was 3rd fastest). Mia Gross 23.12 (+1.5) in her heat for 4th.

800m (M) Semis Two tough semi-finals sees Peter Bol in the first against three other 1:42 runners, and then Luke Boyes & Peyton Craig in the second - again with a tough field where there's only one athlete thats not sub-1:45..
Peter Bol did it tough and still managed to get past Pattison in the home straight who has a big finish. Finishes 2nd in 1:45.25 and through to the final. Then Luke Boyes and Peyton Craig put the icing on the cake - 3 men into the final - first time ever for Australia at the Games:  Boyes 1:45.11 2nd and Craig 1:45.25 3rd

5000m (W) Final  What a final this will be.  The fastest athletes are around the 14:30 mark, which makes all three of the Australians super-competitive.  Rose Davies brings her 10000m strength, while Jessica Hull and Linden Hall have their 1500m speed.  The Australians will have a big say in how this pans out.
Rose Davies does a double no woman's done at the Commonwealth Games, winning the 5000m in 14:44.53 to go with her 10000m Gold.  Jessica Hull gets her first Commonwealth Games medal finishing  14:45.51 ... and the two of them complete a 1-2 rarely seen on the track for Australia.  Linden Hall finishes 14:55.28 for 7th

100m Hurdles (W) Final In her fourth Games, Michelle Jenneke runs in her fourth final - an incredible achievement.  The 12.72 in her heat - while windy - shows she's in form.
In her fourth final at her fourth Comm Games Michelle Jenneke finishes 5th in 12.84 (+2.5) - thats a 4th and three 5ths over those four finals - amazing 

________

Day 4 Morning Session (30-Jul EVE aest)

Javelin Throw (M) Qualification  Cameron McEntyre set a big PB a couple of weeks ago.  It’s a tough field he faces with some of the best throwers in the world so he'll be keen to make this final.
First throw from Cameron McEntyre got caught in the wind, but second was 78.91m which put him 6th and comofrtably through to the final.

100m Hurdles (W) Heats  Michelle Jenneke starts in her fourth Commonwealth Games and will be looking to qualify through to the final, as she has each time before.
Running the hurdles with a gale behind you isn't easy, and with all her experience Michelle Jenneke manages it easily to finish 3rd with 12.72 (+4.3) ... into her fourth Commonwealth final .. amazing!

Mile (W) Semis  The Australian three, Jessica Hull, Abbey Caldwell and Claudia Hollingsworth are expected to play a big role in the final, with some suggesting a podium clean sweep is possible.  But first they have to get through these qualifiers.
Jessica Hull and Abbey Caldwell comfortably through with no argy bargy.  Hull 2nd in 4:34.20 and Caldwell 3rd in 4:34.87. Claudia Hollingsworth now up in heat two, and comfortably cruises to the win in 4:31.17.

400m (M) Semis Thomas Reynolds and Reece Holder face some very fast competition to make this final but both have shown form this year that suggests they can get through.
Wow ... Thomas Reynolds ... up against the Commonwealth Champion and Olympic medalist in the semi and he's leading the field by 4 metres coming into the straight, and then held on to win in 45.63 - through to the final. Reece Holder has been dealing with hamstring issues and didn't go out in his normal blistering start, and struggled to make gains in the home straight to finish 5th (upgrade to 4th after a DQ) in 45.99. Unfortunately misses the time qualifier.

______

Day 3 Evening Session 30-Jul Morn aest)

800m (W) Heptathlon       It all comes down to the last event for Tori West, currently in bronze medal position.  But she'll be challenged by the English athlete Ellen Barber who West needs to finish at least 6 seconds behind.  Mia Scerri currently 5th will look to finish strong.  
After a competition that was held in tough conditions, it came down to the 800m for Tori West, who then pulls out a PB to hold on to BRONZE, finishing with 6104 points. Mia Scerri also finishes with a big 800m PB, and 5996 points for 7th

** THIS EVENT WAS RE-RUN on DAY 5 MORNING
[T54]  1500m (W) Final  Mikaela Dingley and Eliza Ault-Connell  go in the final 
Mikaela Dingley finished 4th in 4:42.25, the Canadian athlete was disqualified due to crashing into Eliza Ault-Connell who fell and, Dingley was promoted to the bronze medal.
UPDATE: The race will now be re-run on day 6.

Long Jump (M) Final After successfully qualifying Chris Mitrevski and Liam Adcock will go in the final
Chris Mitrevski popped out an 8.02m on his 5th attempt which got him back in the mix, going to fourth.  But just overcooked the final jump and that is where he finished.  Liam Mitrevski, limited by injuries in recent months, could not find his eight metre form and finished 8th with 7.74m.

[T47] 100m (M) Final  Jaydon Page faces stiff competition in his final but could challenged for a medal.
Jaydon Page just misses a medal finishing 4th in 10.97

3000m Steeplechase (W) Final   A straight final for Cara Feain-Ryan in a quality field.
Fantastic run from Feain-Ryan, having to run most of the race solo but still got within a second of her PB, finishing in 9:22.07 to come fourth.

400m Hurdles (M) Semis     Matthew Hunt runs in the semis finals
Hunt, who had interrupted preparations, hits the third hurdle early and finishes in 50.33 for 4th which unfortunately is not enough to qualify.

Shot Put (W)  Final    After her success in the NCAA Marley Raikiwasa gets to throw in a Commonwealth Games final
Marley Raikiwasa into the 4th round in the shot put, sitting in 6th with 16.13m, which is where she finishes.

800m (W) Semis After winning her heat with bold front running, Sarah Billings will look to get through her semi-final with similar confidence
A perfectly run qualification from Sarah Billings, made all the right moves, minimising the effort and finishes in second with 2:00.05 to qualify. Definitely running with confidence and in the mix for the podium.

[F44/F64]  Discus (M) Final    Michal Burian throws in this final
Burian throws 44.24m to finish 8th

______

Day 3 Morning Session (29-Jul EVE aest)

Heptathlon   This is a fascinating event - with the Australians in contention for the podium.  Based on the scores from end of Day 1, and taking their scores from their best Heptathlon, Tori West will finish ahead of Mia Scerri, and that could be for the bronze medal.  But anything can happen in the next three events, with Long Jump & Javelin this session, 800m next.
Scerri had a first jump of 6.29m - almost a PB.  Then West  gets out to 6.13m on her second which is a PB.  These women are pushing for the podium, and West, who started athletics because of the Javelin, could make up some big points in that event. Scerri still in 3rd and West in 5th.
It gets interesting with Javelin with West moving into 3rd, and Scerri dropping back to 5th. Barber (ENG) was 80 points behind West and has a 7 second faster PB than West in the 800m which is about 100 points so West needed a big 3rd throw. And she did - gets an extra metre to out to 47.24m which puts her 95 points ahead ... this is on for the bronze medal.  West needs to stick as close to Barber as she can and finish within 6 seconds of her.

200m (W) Heats  With the top 17 qualifying from these heats the two Australians Monique Hanlon, Mia Gross should join Torrie Lewis in the semi-finals
Gross out first and has a solid win in 23.21 (+1.5) which will qualify.  Another comfortable win for Hanlon and finishes in 23.12 (+1.6).  The two will join Lewis in the semi-finals.

Mile (M) Heats Flagged by many as the event of the athletics competition, and some harking back to the miracle mile, where John Landy took on Roger Bannister back in 1954.  Cameron Myers versus the new World Record holder, home town hero, Josh Kerr are the chief protanganists.  Oliver Hoare is here as defending champion (having won the 1500m in 2022) and Adam Spencer returns to Championship racing, with his last global effort a bronze at the World Indoors 1500m. First 6 to qualify.
In the first semi unfortunately Hoare was tripped and lost touch with the pack, finishing 9th but was reinstated for the final. Spencer ran comfortably to finish 6th to qualify.  Myers took no chances and went to the lead for most of the race, fisnishing in 3:53.85, five seconds faster than the first semi. 

200m (M) Heats  Area Record holder one day, sole heat qualifier the next.  Lachlan Kennedy fronts up to qualify for the semi-finals through the heat, while his compatriots, Aidan Murphy & Calab Law got auto Q's to the semis.
Light work moving into the semi-final, Lachlan Kennedy finishes 2nd in 20.50 (+2.6) easing down

T12 100m (M) Semis Nathan Jason aims to qualify for the final.
Jason ran 11.23 but unfortunately did not qualify.

400m Hurdles (W) Heats  One of the busiest on the European circuit in the lead up was Sarah Carli, who consistently ran in the 55 second range.  This will be enough to qualify through to the final, in which she'd love to get closer to her 54.21 PB to be competitive for the medals.
Carli runs 55.76 which is a time qualifier for the final

______

Day 2 Evening Session (29-Jul AM aest)

100m (M) Semis  Crunch time in the sprint finals and Australia has six attempting to reach the final (back in 1950 Australia had a total of 7 in the finals including a clean sweep of the medals by the women!) Lachlan Kennedy, Eddie Nketia & Rohan Browning line up for the men
Kennedy scorches the start and brings it home for 2nd in 9.94 (0.0), a PB and just 0.01 off the National Record.  FInishes 2nd to qualify.  Eddie Nketia also has a barnstorming race to finish 2nd in 10.03 - his PB - and qualifies.  Rohan Browning runs a SB of 10.14 (+0.7) finishing 4th.  Two Australians in the final for the first time since 1982.

100m (W) Semis For the women Torrie Lewis, Ebony Lane and Georgia Harris
Another blistering run - Torrie Lewis wins her heat and the clock reads 10.98 - for a moment the first Australian under 11? Unfortunately no, its rounded up to 11.00 (+1.6) but still another National Record.  Ebony Lane gets her usual fast start and tries to maintain it in the face of tough competition finishing 6th with 11.52 (+0.7).

Heptathlon Mia Scerri & Tori West continue to acquire the points in a bid to move up the leaderboard, this session in the Shot Put and 200m to finish the day
Trying to put a shiny metal ball in the wet adds another layer of difficulty.  Both Mia Scerri and Tori West both around one metre of their Shot Put bests, but so are all the others.  Scerri wins the event with 13.87m and jumps from 10th to 4th overall.  West finishes 6th with 12.51m and jumps to 6th overall. 

High Jump (W) Final Nicola Olyslagers & Eleanor Patterson go into this as competition favourites but will have to navigate the wet conditions

Hammer Throw (W) Final  The young duo, Lara Roberts & Stephanie Ratcliffe, are becoming a regular feature of Australia teams and will test there skills against some of the worlds best

Long Jump T20 (M) Final       Lindsey Hendy has some tough competition but will look to improve his best.

10000m (M) Final       Ky Robinson is one of four sub-27 minutes in this field – the other three Kenyans.  After the excitement of Rose Davies win, we know in slower competition-style running anything can happen.

______

Day 2 Morning Session (28-Jul EVE aest)

Heptathlon

Mia Scerri and Tori West start their journey competing in 7 events over two days, accumulating points as they go.  Both are ranked close to the medals, so it will come down to who can perform consistently over the two days. In this session we’ll see them over 100m Hurdles and then High Jump
No surprises over the 100m hurdles which is what you want.  West just under her mark during her PB hept. with 13.55 for 1043 (sits in 4th) points, Scerri just over hers, 14.05 gets 975 points (11th).  In the High Jump, Scerri cleared all heights first attempt up to 1.73m, but then got stuck on 1.76m. Gets 891 points and sits in 10th. West over 1.70m but missed 1.73m, so gets 855 points and sits 8th. Her combined score after two events is on par with her PB heptathlon. 

800m (M) Heats

A full contingent of Australians to compete in what is another world-class field, with quality Kenyan and British runners.  Peter Bol has only improved since his silver medal four years ago so will be looking to go one better.  Luke Boyes always puts himself in a good position which should serve him well through the qualification, while Peyton Craig relies on his strong finish in the home straight.  All of them face four sub-1:45 runners in their heats, and with just the top 3 going through to the semi-finals these heats are going to be hot.
Luke Boyes looks comfortable in his heat after taking the lead and cruising the last 50 metres finishing 2nd in 1:47.37.  Peyton Craig hung back and then came through in the last 100m to grab 3rd for qualifying in 1:47.17. Peter Bol likes to take charge in his qualifying races, and took the lead 200m to go to win his heat in 1:45.86 which was the fastest.  All three through.

400m (M) Heats

The excitement from the World Relays in Botswana still ringing in their ears, Reece Holder & Thomas Reynolds will be keen to show that form which saw them both run under 44 seconds in their relay splits. Fortunately for Reynolds he can wait until the semi-final as he has got an automatic qualifying spot based on a top 8 time this season. 
A fast start as usual sees Reece Holder first into the home straight and cruises to 2nd in 45.63, which will qualify him for the semi-finals.

_____

Day 1 Evening Session (28-Jul Morning aest)

800m (W) Heat

This is one of the world class distance events at these Games, and new National record holder Sarah Billings, despite drawing a good heat, will have to be alert to ensure she qualifies through to the semi-finals.
A very safe race run by Billings, going to the front and not being headed to win her heat in 2:01.51 and qualify for Thursday's (aest) semi-finals.

100m (W) FINAL T38

Rhiannon Clarke looks to challenge for a medal with Ella Pardy & Briseis Brittain also to push their claims.
Clarke has a great run to just miss a medal, 4th in 12.94 SB, with Pardy 5th in 13.48 & Brittain 6th in 13.50 SB.

10000m (W) FINAL

Australia has two highly credentialled athletes in Rose Davies and Lauren Ryan.  1st and 2nd best Australians ever and ranked 3rd and 4th in this field – so an unusual medal in this event for Australia (only 3 times before) not out of the question
WOW!  Rose Davies runs a stunning race to reel in Diana Wanza after she broke away, and then keep going over the last two laps to end up winning comfortably by over 10 seconds. Takes the Gold in 31:39.32 - first time Australia has won this event at the Commonwealth Games for the women - and the men last won back in 1958. Lauren Ryan finished strongly and was only 4 seconds away from bronze - 5th in 31:59.41

1500m (M) FINAL T20

Archer Hewett & Daniel Milone racing in the final
Hewett finishes 4th in 4:07.71 which is a PB, and Milone is 8th in 4:17.18 SB

100m (M) FINAL T38
Straight final for Ullrich Muller & Thomas McGough and with them ranked #2 & #3 this will be a race to watch.
Muller goes very close to the win, and finishes with silver in 11.19 SB.  McGough is 4th in 11.74 SB. 

Shot Put (W) FINAL F57

The evening (early morning AEST) session starts with the first final with Julie Charlton (ranked 5th) and Ainsley Hooker
Hooker with her best of 5.40m finishing 9th and Charlton throws 6.19m to finish 8th.

High Jump (M) FINAL

The withdrawal of Hamish Kerr (NZL) throws this event open, and at his best, Yual Reath could be looking at a medal.
Yual Reath has three misses at 2.15m, meaning he'll finish 7th with 2.10m.

_____

Heading into this first evening (AEST time) of Commonwealth Games action there's plenty of quality athletics coming to get excited about, there's an incredibly strong Australian team to raise the expectations, there's the knowledgable and experienced Cnannel 7 commentary team providing the Australian-specific insights we love, and I've also realised there's a wealth of online content options to give you an layered online experience with all the facts and figures at your figuretips.

TrackAthletes will be updating our schedule, highlighting performances on the socials and updating this blog, no doubt including a few quirky stats along the way.  But you've also got InsideAthletics providing a 'second screen' experience, complemented by Fred Etter's on-the-ground photography - worth checking that out.  Also on the socials @mitchdyerlive / @straightatit_ is pumping out some great stats on the fields and no doubt the performances.  And of course Australian Athletics has its comms team busy reporting on the stories and the action.

What else do you need? 

No seriously, given all this coverage, are there things you'd like to see covered that are not being covered?  Feel free to reply to a post on the socials with your ideas.  Also send any other content providers that you're following that are tracking Australian athletics team in real-time and we'll give them a mention here.

Day 1 Morning Session (27-Jul eve aest)

Men 100m
Lachlan Kennedy has been a beneficiary of the decision to promote the top 7 directly to the finals, so in these heats we'll see Rohan Browning (heat 7) and Eddie Nketia (heat 11), with 17 to qualify for the semi finals.  Nigeria's Kayinsola Ajayi is strong favourite with the third best time in the world this year of 9.84 (+0.7), but strong representation from Jamaica and South Africa will also test the Australians.
Both the Australias qualify through to the semifinals, Rohan Browning 2nd in heat 7 in 10.24 (+1.8) 16th qualifier, and Eddie Nketia 2nd in 10.07 (+3.9) 4th fastest qualifier

Men Long Jump
Liam Adcock and Chris Mitrevski will be flying in the qualifying to make the final, with 8.00m the automatic qualifier.
BANG! Chris Mitrevski gets out to 7.89 (+1.8) on his second jump and Liam Adcock has jumped 7.74m (+2.5) on his first which is good enough for both of them to qualify.

Women Hammer Throw
Qualifying for Australia's two young talents in the hammer, Australian record holder Stephanie Ratcliffe and Lara Roberts.
The two Australian throwers have both got good first throws out, Lara Roberts with 66.73m and Stephanie Ratcliffe 65.73m - both qualify for the final.

Women 100m
Another trio of Aussies go in the heats, Ebony Lane (heat 2), Torrie Lewis (3) and Georgia Harris (7)
Ebony Lane a close 2nd in 11.50 (+0.9) and Georgia Harris is 3rd in her heat 11.51 (0.0) - both had to sit and wait to see if they made top 17 and they did!  Torrie Lewis through with a win and 11.15 (+2.4). 

Women 100m [T38]
A spot in the finals awaits another trio, Ella Pardy & Briseis Brittain (semi 1), and 2nd-ranks for the event, Rhiannon Clarke (semi 2)
Rhiannon Clarke (13.00), Ella Pardy (13.44) & Briseis Brittain (13.50) all qualified for the final

___

A wrap of this amzing Championships coming shortly 
.......
Some updates from the track - I have seen Jessica Hull near the warm-up track so looks like she'll be running the 5000m.  Unfortunately Kennedy is not running the 200m, and Liz Clay did not start in the 100m hurdles.

I raised the question below if there'd be an upset in the women's discus and Ashlyn Blackstock has indeed taken the title from Taryn Gollshewsky with a 5th round throw of 55.92m.  Tricky conditions with the wind swirling at the moment.
Which also makes it hard for the long jumpers - but Delta Amidzovski and Brooke Buschkuehl are putting on a show of quality jumping - Delta leads by 3 cm currently with 6.62m. And then wow - Buschkuehl wins on her last jump - getting out to 6.67m.

In the 200m qualifying, last years champion Jessica Milat did not unfortunately qualify for the final.  In the men's Gout Gout flew to a 20.11 (+0.4) win in his heat ... look out the 20 second barrier in the final.
.....
The last day of what's been a fascinating Australian Championships .. 17 finals to be contested:

In the field, a highlight will be the women's high jump, where two of Australia's greatest athletes going head-to-head, Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.
In the women's long jump can Delta Amidzovski repeat her sensational jumping from the qualifying or can another great champion, six-time title holder Brooke Buschkuehl challenge her? 
Women's discus see's another multiple title holder Taryn Gollshewsky go for her 6th title - can someone cause an upset

For the men, we have the 6-metre-man Kurtis Marschall vault for his 9th title. 
The long jump has been a close contest this year, with Liam Adcock leading the way but Alex Epitropakis and Chris Mitrevski have showed winning form.  Adcock & Mitrevski have been sharing the title the last four years - according to the pattern it's Mitrevski's turn.
The javelin throwers will need to navigate some tricky winds. Cameron McEntyre almost hit 80 metres in qualifying and will be hard to beat. 
Alex Kolesnikoff since returning from the USA college system, has had some good battles with Aiden Harvey who is going for his fifth straight title - this will be a contest to watch.

On the track the we have men's steeplechase where Ben Buckingham has shown the best form this season, but you can't count out Australian record holder Ed Trippas. 
Also jumping obstacles we have heats and finals for the 110m hurdles, and the final of the 400m hurdles, where Matthew Hunt goes in as favourite, but keep your eye on Ashley Moloney.  Each race his stride pattern improves, and with a 45.82 best over the flat, if he's close towards the finish he'll be storming home.
A fascinating 800m final is in store and while Peter Bol is firm favourite, there is so much talent in this field that an upset wouldn't surprise.

Lachlan Kennedy and Gout Gout face off in the 200m.  Can Kennedy do the double? - not done since 2016 (Alex Hartmann) and if successful Kennedy will be the youngest since 1999 when a 20-year-old Matt Shirvington took it out - he'll be trackside commentating this 200m and listen for the crowd as Gout makes his charge over the final 60 metres.

Speaking of doubles, how many women have completed the classic 800/1500m at the championships?  Claudia Hollingsworth could join them but as with the men's 800m she faces a stacked field.
The heats of the women's 100m hurdles will help us see the form for the final, particularly that of Liz Clay who hasn't raced this year but blasted her best time last year to defeat Michelle Jenneke in the final.  Sarah Carli goes in as strong favourite over the long hurdles. 
Monique Hanlon hasn't lost a 200m race this year, and after her 4th in the 100m, you'd back her to keep the unbeaten record.
How the women's 5000m plays out depends to some extent as to whether Jessica Hull has recovered from the fall in the 1500m, and will toe the start line. Rose Davies' tactics could differ from her normal sit and kick if Hull's in the field.

... thoughts on yesterday to come ...

.....
In the field the women's javelin ended up being a close affair.  Mackenzie Little gets the win 58.76m, but only 48cm ahead of Lianna Davidson, with Mackenzie Mialczarek another 81cm behind.

The men's high jump saw Roman Anastasios clear 2.20m on his first attempt to take his first title, Yual Reath second and Brandon Starc in his first comp back after injury third.
......
More excitement on the track with the 100m & 800m semi-finals, 400m finals
In the women's 100m semis there'll be a few disappointed to miss the final, the Olivas (Rose Inkster, Hastings Dodds) all ran 11.73 but Inkster got the last time qualifier.  Great to see Riley Day back in finals, and Georgia Harris ran a quick semi to put her into the mix. 

In the mens 100m you'd think Lachlan Kennedy was saving something for the final tonight (but still ran 10.05), with others qualifying as expected with perhaps Alexander Colgan the surprise omission.

Qualifiers into the women's 800m final were as per the rankings.  Klara Dess's qualification means she will not run the 5000m (was entered for the treble as well).

The men's qualification did not go to plan for Peyton Craig, making a blunder slowing towards the line without checking his opposition, and getting pipped for 2nd, and not making it as a time qualifier.  Given four men already have the standard, and will race the final, Craig will have to do something super special time wise over the next 8 weeks to get discretionary selection.  Alex Hanigan benefited from Craig's slip up and runs in the final his dad won in 1994 & 1998.
......
The start of the evening session for Saturday ... and what a day it was Friday.  Still digesting all the excitement, but when you find out the winner of the women's 1500m only a couple of hours ago then that's not surprising.

We saw a 19-year-old in Cameron Myers do something no one in the World has ever done - run sub 3:30 before May
We saw a 22-year-old in Lachlan Kennedy do something no one in Australia has ever done - run sub-10 seconds in Australia
And we saw Claudia Hollingsworth - who turns 21 tomorrow! - take our her second National open title, in unfortunate circumstances, but sets up a fascinating 800m final for tomorrow assuming all the leading contenders get through tonights heats.

Myers and Hollingsworth join the list from this weekends championships who are eligible for automatic nomination for the Commonwealth Games, with Kennedy joining tonight if he wins the title.

Who else could join them tonight?  The men's 400m final has two with the CG standard, so if Reece Holder or Cooper Sherman win they get an auto-nomination.  However given the form of Luke van Ratingen and Thomas Reynolds, they could also have an eye on cracking the 44.85 standard and a surprise win.

Unfortunately Jemma Pollard has scratched from the women's 400m final, but it will be a fascinating contest between Ellie Beer and Mia Gross - is the 50.75 standard within reach? - with Alice Dixon and Alexia Loizou looking to continue their PB form and perhaps score a surprise win.

In the field, Mackenzie Little has the standard so a win tonight will put her name forward.  Lianne Davidson hasn't flown all the way from Georgia, USA for nothing so this will be a close contest, and Davidson has a PB over the 62 metre standard.

And how can we forget Nina Kennedy going in the pole vault final.  She jumped the standard off her shortened run-up at Maurie Plant - will she extend the steps and use that momentum to push into the 4.80's?

We've already seen one final today - Men's hammer throw where the favourite took out the title - he's extended his PB to 71.21m this year, so will likely press for that 73 metre standard for the cut off (31st May)

The standard is not essential for selection (just for the auto-nomination at these Championships). In their discretionary selections, selectors can also look at how athletes are ranked in the Commonwealth.  Yesterdays result in the heptathlon has set up an fascinating dilema.  Australia already had 3 athletes ranked in the top 5 (Camryn Newton-Smith, Tori West & Emelia Surch).  Mia Scerri's title win and point score will push her up close to Surch's ranking (Surch did not compete at the Championships due to injury).  Will the selectors opt for trhee heptathletes, and then which three do they chose?  

....

Friday

Well ... that didn't turn out as expected!  Jessica Hull tripped in the final straight as Claudia Hollingsworth tried to move out from the rail when the gap closed.  Protests being discussed at the moment apparently ... and Hollingsworth is disqualified so Sarah Billings is the Australian 1500m Champion finishing 0.04 ahead of Abbey Caldwell, with Georgia Griffith 3rd.

But then the men's was more to script, with Cameron Myers completely dominant and Oliver Hoare perhaps finds that run he will feels better represents his training.
....
The women's triple jump final has seen some great jumping with 3 women over 13 metres.  Desleigh Owusu was a strong favourite and and jumped twice over 13.50m, with 13.58m her best to date.  Tiana Boras got out to 13.21m on her second attempt and Chloe Grande 12.98m on her third, to be 3rd Australian.
....
Stephanie Ratcliffe went into the hammer throw as firm favourite and took control of the comp with 67.71m on her third throw to take the title, with Lara Roberts finishing with 65.51m on her last.  Ratcliffe's breaks through for her first senior title after winning three silvers.
....
Watching Lachlan Kennedy run 10.03 (+0.3) on a cold night in Melbourne you thought there was something big to come.  A warm evening in Sydney, a newly laid track, and very little breeze ... Kennedy open's his Championships sensationally with the first run under 10 seconds by an Australian in Australia ... 9.96 (+0.2) ... sensational!  
....
Women's heptathlon ends in a tense finish with Tori West opening a lead over Mia Scerri of over 4 seconds, and therefore hitting the front overall, but Scerri finishes strongly and ends up winning the contest by 13 points, with a big PB of 6175.  West gets second 6162, and Camryn Newton-Smith third 5887
....
The depth of Australian middle distance running is evident when watching the 800m preliminaries - large fields of unseeded athletes just trying to make the heats - racing in big packs, super competitive all the way to the line.  36 men have made the trip to Sydney to fight for the 12 spots, and 20 women for the 13 spots. 
.....
Being at the track you pick up the vibe ... and there was definitely a vibe around those men as they assembled for the 400m heats.  This final is going to be hot with all the big names through (save Murphy who's focused on the 200m) and good to see Zen Clark make the biggest final of his career.
Jemma Pollard leads the qualifiers in the women's heats, with Alexia Loizou and Alice Dixon continuing their good form after PBing this year.
....
Been asking coaches and athletes what they think of the new track ... mostly positive but always good to have some evidence.  In these men's 100m preliminaries there's been 17 PBs in the first 5 races - wind between +0.6 and +1.3.  In Perth last year (the 'fastest' track in Australia) there were 9 PBs in first 5 prelims (wind +0.4 to +1.8) ... not solid stats by any means but definitely looks positive.  Conditions also very good at the moment for the short sprint (with wind forecast to pick up next two days) so might be the night for Lachlan Kennedy to go for it?
For the women it was 11 in 2025 from 1st 4 prelims wind +0.7 to +1.4 and 10 in 2026 wind +0.8 to +1.6
.....
Shout out to the multievent coaches in Tasmania ... in the under 20 events, Bailey Van den Broek and Isabella Wing currently in 1st and 2nd in the heptathlon, and Xavier Davie leading the decathlon - all from Tasmania.  
......
Men's qualifying in long jump and javelin unfolding.  Long jumpers are benefiting from a tailwind so quite a few have gone beyond the auto-Q mark of 7.70m, Liam Adcock got out to 8.12m (+3.8) first jump, Alex Epitropakis 7.85 (+1.0), Chris Mitrevski 7.84 (+1.4), Harrison Williams 7.77 (+2.2) and Mason McGroder 7.70m (+1.5).  Javelin throwers are negotiating the tricky headwind so fewer with a big Q, Cameron McEntyre 79.27m, Howard McDonald 71.68m and Oscar Sullivan 70.80m.  Neil Janse sits in 5th, with 10 to qualify.
....
Qualifying for the women's long jump took a dramatic twist early on when Delta Amidzovski came out for her first jump and soared to 6.84m (+1.3) - her best by 22cm, a Commonwealth Games standard, and goes to #5 all-time Australian.  Others have gone through directly to the final:  Tomysha Clark 6.38m (+1.6), and Brooke Buschkuehl 6.37m (+1.7).  There'll be another 7 to go through to the final 10:50am Sunday (on 7plus)
.....
The javelin in the Heptathlon about to start ... West has a PB of 53.97m, but best in comp 47.36m, Scerri has 38.78m PB (35.18m in comp).  10 metres equates to about 200 points
After two rounds West has thrown 46.72m and Scerri 37.32m which puts West just 57 points behind.  If no improvement then it all comes down to the 800m, 57 points equates to about 4 seconds.  West's in comp best is 4.5 seconds faster than Scerri's.
That's how it finishes.  Scerri needs a sub 2:18 to get the 6200 standard, West needs a sub 2:14 which would be an overall PB, and Scerri needs to finish with four seconds of West to take the title. Don't miss the 800m, 7.05pm live CH7
.....

In the multievents, Lenny Robin led the decathlon after the first day with 3776 points, second Logoh Tligi & Connor Duggan 3rd Australian. They race over 110m hurdles first thing this morning

In the heptathlon the long jump has commenced, and what does Mia Scerri do first up - jump an PB of course, 6.30m (+1.0). Based on the current jumps, and using Scerri's overall PB for the javelin, the contest between her and West is now neck-and-neck with the forecast points saying only 2 points difference

.....

Arrived at the Sydney Olympic Athletics Stadium with its brand new two-toned track
A big day in store with the Heptathlon and Decathlon events concluding.  Also finals for the 1500m, women's triple jump and hammer throw.
According to those who entered the Fantasy Nationals, there was universal support for Cameron Myers to win the 1500m, Desleigh Owusu the triple jump and Stephanie Ratcliffe the hammer throw. Jessica Hull was a clear favourite in the 1500m but a few also thought Claudia Hollingsworth could cause an upset.

.......

DAY 1: Blog ....

off to catch a flight hopefully
....
Womens 1500m heats - 3 heats, first 3 qualify + 3 fastest
H1: Hollingsworth & Griffith through to final with Zoe Meluish, the fastest qualifier time to beat is 4:22.55
H2: Hull & Caldwell through, along with Thornton-Bott, with Klara Dess, who's also down to do the distance treble, currently with fastest non-Q time 4:18
H3: Billings, Ryan & Hancock-Cameron get the big Q, with Stephanie Kelly and Maddison Caulfield join Dess in the final via fastest times.

The main contenders in Women's Hammer and Men's discuss all look to have qualified to finals
Scerri jumped a PB 1.81m but has retired at 1.84m - hopefully not because of injury - she curently leads West & Newton-Smith who both jumped 1.75m.

......
Flight was cancelled so unfortunately this is coming from the airport and not live ... looking at results on the screen not quite the same experience!

Multievents:  Seems to be a couple of big names missing.  Emelia Surch not competing in the Heptathlon and Ben Guse not in Decathlon

In the 100m hurdles Kajsa Souter and Tori West runs PBs, Souter's a big 0.2 improvement, while Newton-Smith just behind West.  Mia Scerri, 4th in the last U20 Worlds, also PBed, and currently leads the high jump with an equal PB 1.78m - good start to attempt a first time 6000 point score. 

.............

There's so much to unpack for the Australian Nationals this year, that its best consumed on a event-by-event and day-by-day basis ... so we'll be providing you with a preview of each day's events, updates during and after events and then end of day analysis ... tune in!

So the Australian Championships are upon us.  We have a beautiful, two-toned, newly-layed track at Sydney’s Olympic Park to host the event.  We have a sunny forecast, hot on Thursday & Friday, slightly cooler, but still sunny for the weekend.  And we have some amazing athletes competing to do their best in what for many will be the pinnacle of their season.

For some it's about Australian titles and medals, and for a select few it's also a chance to put forward their names for selection to compete at the Commonwealth Games.  With the team restricted to 63 athletes, there's lots of discretion in the selection process, with the only guarantee being for those who have achieved the standard (list here), competed at a summer series event and won the National title.

Thursday Preview

A short overview of what to expect on Thursday.  The first day starts with qualifying rounds, preliminary rounds and the multi-events, where every event is like a final.

This will be a tough competition for the multi-eventers in the heat.  In the women’s, Olympians Tori West and Camryn Newton-Smith face last year’s World Uni Games bronze medallist Emelia Surch.  Surch has set a new heptathlon PB score every year since she started competing in the event, and is only 100 points behind Newton-Smith’s best, and 200 behind Wests.  Expect this to be a fascinating event to follow and we’ll provide score updates, as well as forecasts of possible finishing scores along the way.

Benjamin Guse competes in the men’s Decathlon, the event he won at the World Uni Games last year posting an incredible 9 PBs out of 10 events.  He appears to be a long way ahead of the competition in Sydney with Britain’s Sam Talbot and South Australian Logoh Tligi the likely ones to challenge him.

On the track we’ll see the 1500m heats, where the favourites will be keen to stay out of trouble and finish in the top six to qualify for Friday nights final.  This is Jessica Hull’s first leg of her distance treble attempt.  She has won the 1500m three times and the 5000m four times, and a win in the 800m would make her the first woman to achieve the treble, with only John Landy and Simon Doyle achieving it for the men.  Georgia Griffith and Georgie Clarke are the only women to win medals in all three events.

Preliminary rounds for the 400m involve all but the top 15 seeds as they compete for a spot in the first round heats on Friday.  The only other track event being a mixed 4x100m relay between the states.

A busy day in the field, with qualifiers in the women’s hammer and javelin, men’s discus and triple jump for both.  Will be great viewing to see the two Australian hammer reps, and 70 metres plus throwers, Stephanie Ratcliffe and Lara Roberts launch the metal ball.  Also of interest will be how Mackenzie Little goes in her first event since winning javelin bronze in last year’s World Championships, and US-based Lianna Davidson in only her second event of the season.

The men’s discus is missing Matthew Denny who’ll be launching his disc into the wind at ‘thrown town’ Ramona this weekend.  In his absence Darcy Miller, Etienne Rousseau and Ethan Ayodele will look for strong qualifying, with Ayodele taking the title last year.

Men’s triple jump has been highly competitive this year with Connor Murphy, Shemaiah James and Awan Akuen sharing the wins over the summer.  While in the women’s Desleigh Owusu had an unusual domestic loss to Isobel Louison-Roe, but in the absence of the junior athlete, looks to be a strong favourite for the final.

Keep an eye on this page for updates after each event – also the “quick updates” box on the home page for action as it happens.

For a bit of fun why not enter the Fantasy Nationals before 10am Thursday – predict the podium for 10 events of your choice and then cheer on your chosen athletes –  entry form link here.

I like stats.  They keep you grounded.  It’s hard to do hyperbole if the numbers don’t support you.

So when I say this Maurie Plant Meet could see some of the 'greatest' races ever seen in Australia – and that includes the Sydney Olympics – you know I’ve done the numbers on that.
(Some of the potential 'great' races underlined below)

FRIDAY

But first starting with Friday evening’s events, a new initiative that brings in community relays interspersed with mainstream events, including a senior Mixed 4x100m relay.

In the pole vault [Lakeside record: 5.50m]* Dalton di Medio (5.53m) and Lachlan Burns (5.41m) have both set PBs this year and will be looking to fly higher.  As too will the high jumpers.

This is the third time Victoria’s three best high jumpers [2.33m] face off at what is becoming a Maurie Plant Meet tradition.  Roman Anastasios had his first win amongst this trio last year, while overall Yual Reath has finished ahead three times and Joel Baden two.

In the women’s 400m [51.35] Ellie Beer and Carla Bull are building form as they come into Nationals, while Alexia Loizou and Alice Dixon will be looking to continue their PB setting trend this year.

SATURDAY

IN THE FIELD

Saturday's meet starts with the men’s triple jump [17.23m] where Shemaiah James has been upfront about seeking that 16.50m+ jump to put his 2018 PB behind him. He’s improved each comp this year so Saturday could be his day.  Connor Murphy has come back to the field somewhat this season, which has enabled 20-year-old Awan Akuen to finish ahead of him for the first time, with Awan now consistently over the 16 metre mark.

Australian’s are outnumbered by the international field in the women’s discus [66.81m] which will make for a fascinating competition.  Sixty metre plus throwers from Nigeria, Obiageri Amaechi, Cameroon, Nora Monie, and Italy, Daisy Osakue, could well push Taryn Gollshewsky to go over that mark for the first time this season, and potentially edged Ashlyn Blackstock ever closer.

For the first time this year we see Chris Mitrevski compete and it’s always a tight competition when he’s up against Liam Adcock.  They have been long jumping [8.10m] against each other for well over a decade, and despite being 21 days older than Mitrevski, it took Adcock until 2023 before he finally got the better of him.  Since then they are 3-3 head-to-head, and with little between their PBs (Adcock 8.34m / Mitrevski 8.32m), this is a contest to watch.  Jalen Rucker and Shay Veitch (NZ) are both eight metre men and will be keen to cause an upset.

It’s thrills all-around with Olympic Champion Nina Kennedy back competing: thrills for the crowd, thrills for the junior Australian pole vaulters [4.71m] with an opportunity to compete alongside her, thrills to see the competition with Amanda and Hana Moll, the twins from the USA, and no doubt thrills for Kennedy herself to break the monotony of training and recovery.  Thrilling!

Likewise how lucky are we to have Nicole Olyslagers performing in the high jump [1.99m] days after taking silver at World Indoors.  Olyslagers is now one of five Australians with seven global championship medals, but will still have to contend with Izobelle Louison-Roe who is just 1cm off Eleanor Patterson's Australian junior record of 1.96m.

Still on the champions theme, Matthew Denny.  We’ve come to expect big things from him – but when he says he’s feeling in his best form and this is the last event before he heads to “throw town” Ramona, then this discus [68.17m] comp is one you need to watch.  Particularly when another Olympic Champion, Roje Stona (JAM) is here to compete.

TRACK

Women’s 400m hurdles [56.01] in Australia had become a two-way contest between Sarah Carli and Alanah Yukich.  But Marli Wilkinson is approaching career best form and had her first summer series win in Hobart and first victory over Yukich.  Winning can become a habit, but Carli still looks to have the edge, given her recent PB form over the 400m flat.

Australia’s second-youngest ever to break the 4-minute mile, and second fastest junior ever over 3000m, Charles Barrett, gets his chance to run against some of the big names in Australian distance running.  Stewart McSweyn has been building back, as too has Morgan McDonald who visits Australia from his US-base.  Jack Rayner drops down distance for this 3000m [7:41.38] after his recent National half marathon record run.  Throw in NCAA alumni Jackson Sharp & Toby Gillen, steeplechasers Ben Buckingham & Ed Trippas, and two of the fastest in this field, Seth O’Donnell and Irishman Brian Fay; whichever way you look at this, its going to be a cracker of a race.

The state of men’s sprinting in Australia is such that a sub 10.18 PB is what you need to get to race at the Maurie Plant Meet 100m [10.17].  It took almost 25 years to find 11 Australians who could run sub 10.18 after Damian Marsh first did it in 1994, and now only 6 years to find the next 11.  While the record 5-under-10.20-in-the-same-race from the Nationals final last year in Perth is unlikely to be broken, this race still holds plenty of intrigue:  Lachlan Kennedy’s first race over 100m this season, Rohan Browning’s second, Alexander Colgan surprised with a windy 10.01 earlier this year, and New Zealand record holder Tiaan Whelpton (NZL).

In a world where juniors seem to be as competitive as ever, it shouldn't surprise that the fastest woman in Australia this year is an 18-year-old, Zara Hagan (11.16).  She’ll be joined by U16 National record holder Emilia Reed, fastest over 60m this year Olivia Dodds, Ebony Lane who ran 11.16 as well albeit windy, and Chloe Mannix-Power who took the victory in Adelaide.  This women's 100m [11.20] is looking like it could be a blanket finish and settled by the best dip on the line.

On the theme of returning champions working back to their best, the 3000m [8:34.30] features Rose Davies and Georgia Griffith, over a distance that best pits Griffith’s speed with Davies’ strength.  They are joined by a host of juniors who are in a tight battle for an edge before their cut-throat Nationals in April where first two across the line are likely selected given most have the standard.

Australia's three sub-45 men, Reece Holder, Aidan Murphy and Cooper Sherman take on Jacory Patterson (USA) in this 400m [45.14] which is likely the race of the meet.  Consider Luke van Ratingen has had two races back on the track this season and PB’ed in both, now down to 45.10.  This makes Thomas Reynolds the “slowest” man in the field with his 45.17 PB.  Not slow! ... that time would have qualified him for the Sydney Olympics final, a final in which 3 men went under 45 seconds, the record number in Australia on 3 occasions.  With this field boasting five men with sub-45 PBs, and two very close, there’s a good chance Australia will never have seen a 400m race like this.

A few years ago if you said there will be five Australians in an 800m [1:44.78] field, and the slowest was 1:44.38, people would questioned your predictive powers, particularly given it took 50 years for Ralph Doubell's 800m National record of 1:44.40 to be broken.  The front running, 2024 National champion, Luke Boyes, won’t be phased at being the 'slowest' as he knows how to win against this field, particularly with Peter Bol & Bob Abdelrahim travelling back from Europe.  It was Perth Nationals last year where we first saw three Australians under 1:45 in the same race, and a Sydney Olympics semi-final saw four internationals sub-1:45s, something these Australians could better with Peyton Craig & Daniel Williams making up the five under 1:45.

When then John Landy 1500m [3:34.98] has a 1:45 800m man in Brad Mathas (NZL) to pace, then it suggests the pacing is going to be fast.  You can almost guarantee Cameron Myers will be slotting right in behind him.  Or will he?  There’s a few others who like that on-the-front-shoulder positioning: World Indoors bronze medallist, Adam Spencer, US-based German, Robert Farken, and Australian indoor 1000m record holder, Jack Anstey.   Callum Davies has shown he’s the form athlete this year, while Jude Thomas will look to make his mark on his return to the track in 2026.  Doubtful we'll see eight athletes under 3:38 which is the record in Australia from when the IAAF Grand Prix FInal was hosted in Melbourne, 2001.  But could we see an Australian challenge Myers home soil record of 3:33.30?

Women’s 100m hurdles [12.49] sees Michelle Jenneke, after facing the worlds quickest at World Indoors, now facing the challenge domestically.  With Celeste Mucci back racing, Emily Britton and Danielle Shaw showing good form this year, and Delta Amidzovski always looking for that next level, Jenneke won’t be taking this race lightly.  Unlikely this will be a Japanese clean-sweep of the podium as it was last year.

Olympic, World Championship and World Indoors Champions are competing at Maurie Plant, but none so recently crowned as Georgia Hunter-Bell. Not surprisingly the elite of Australian women’s distance running are turning out – save Jessica Hull having a well-deserved break after her double-medal effort at World Indoors.  Linden Hall was the first Australian to break 4 minutes for the 1500m, and surprisingly Claudia Hollingsworth is just the second to do so in Australia, with her recent 3:58.09 the fastest by any woman on Australia soil. Tactics may prove crucial in this race - could we see these two look to push the pace to take the sting out of Hunter-Bell's kick, as well as the other two Australian fast-finishes in Abbey Caldwell and Sarah Billings.  Likely we'll see the Lakeside stadium record of 4:05.97 broken, and could we see more than three Australians under that time in the same race in Australia for the first time?  Watch also for the battle between juniors Emma Fryga and Milla Roberts who will soak up this experience.

The women’s 200m sees World U20 bronze medallist Jessica Milat take on Monique Hanlon, undefeated over 200m this year.  With Kristie Edwards, Mia Gross and junior Amaya Mearns also looking to challenge for the win, this race may well come down to the line.

The difference between the Peter Norman Memorial 200m [20.26] this year and last year is there's no doubting Lachlan Kennedy can run a fast 200m (he started last year's event with a 20.93 PB).  Another difference is we have two sprinters who have recently PBed under 20.60 seconds, Christopher Ius & Rory Easton, joining Calab Law (20.42 PB).  While all eyes will be glued on Gout Gout to see if he can reverse the result from last year, we may also witness for the first time four Australians sub 20.60 in the same race in Australia, which would surpass three that happened way back in 1998.

Safe to say this is an incredible display of the burgeoning Australian athletics talent, along with some highly-credentialled international athletes visiting our shores.  The fact we are talking about 'greatest' races ever seen in Australia points to the competitiveness of these events, as much as the quality.  The excitement levels will run high in the Lakeside Stadium ... any sports fan would be crazy not to be there!    

* Lakeside track records [in square brackets] sourced from InsideAthletics 

Other Events this weekend
Sound Running's "The TEN" sees Brett Robinson and Ky Robinson race against each other for the first time since the 2023 World Cross Country.  They race in what is usually one of the fastest 10000m of the year, with Ed Marks in the "B" 10000m.  Oliver Hoare has a hit out over 1500m.

A much anticipated second half marathon (Berlin) by former professional cyclist Jimmy Whelan has got people excited given his debut effort was 61:37.