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Three more's a charm!
Athletics Australia has today nominated a further three athletes for selection to the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Singapore this August, after receiving three additional places on the team from the Australian Olympic Committee.
Joining the 10 track and field athletes already nominated to the team, Brandon Starc (high jump), Raheen Williams (400m hurdles) and Grant Gwynne (2000m steeplechase) will head to the Lion City as part of a green and gold outfit that will field competitors in each of the 26 sports on offer.
“The opportunity for young athletes to compete on the international stage is invaluable in their development into future members of the Australian Flame,” said National Youth Performance Manager Sara Mulkearns.
“We thank the AOC for providing that chance to
three new athletes on top of our previously allocated 10
nominations and know all 13 track and field athletes bound for
Singapore are looking forward to competing in the green and
gold.”
Starc will travel to Singapore as the national Under 18 high jump
champion after taking out the crown with a new personal best leap
of 2.06m at the Australian Junior Championships in March. A current
member of the Athletics Australia Under 17 Development Squad, the
16-year-old New South Welshman once again conquered the 2m mark in
placing sixth at the open age New South Wales Athletics
Championships that same month.
Raheen Williams, who hails from Western Australia, is a member of the Athletics Australia Under 19 Talent Squad. Boasting a personal best time of 52.74 for the 400m hurdles (84cm), the 18-year-old took home the national title for the event at the Australian Junior Championships in March, where he also lined up in the 110m hurdles.
At the open age level in 2010, Williams has taken to the start line of the 400m hurdles at the Briggs Athletics Classic in Hobart and the Go for 2&5 88th Australian Athletics Championships in Perth. Lining up on his home track at the national championships, Williams qualified for the final and placed a gallant sixth behind Australian Flame athletes Brendan Cole and Tristan Thomas.
Seventeen-year-old Grant Gwynne will line up at the Games with a personal best time of 5:57.96 and the national 2000m steeplechase crown to his name, after taking victory at the Australian Junior Championships in Sydney earlier this year. The following month, the Queenslander flew the Australian flag alongside five fellow athletes at the World School Cross Country Championships in Slovakia, the team coming away with a bronze medal.
The trio joins already-selected athletes Elizabeth Parnov (pole vault), Jenny Blundell (1000m), Prabhjot Rai (shot put), Michelle Jenneke (100m hurdles), Demii Maher-Smith (long jump), Damien Birkinhead (shot put), Kurt Jenner (long jump), Blake Steele (10,000m walk), Nicholas Hough (110m hurdles) and Brodie Cross (pole vault) on the team bound for the Games.
Established to instil the Olympic ideals of
excellence, friendship and respect in youth athletes globally, the
inaugural Youth Olympic Games will bring together 5000 athletes and
officials from more than 200 countries from August 16 to 24.
Youth Olympic Games
August 14-26, 2010
Singapore (SIN)
Boys (8):
110m hurdles: Nicholas Hough (16, NSW)
400m hurdles: Raheen Williams (18, WA)
2000m steeplechase: Grant Gwynne (17,
Qld)
Pole vault: Brodie Cross (15, Vic)
High jump: Brandon Starc (16, NSW)
Long jump: Kurt Jenner (16, NSW)
Shot put: Damien Birkinhead (16, Vic)
10,000m walk: Blake Steele (17, SA)
Girls (5):
1000m: Jenny Blundell (15, NSW)
100m hurdles: Michelle Jenneke (16, NSW)
Pole vault: Elizabeth Parnov (15, WA)
Long jump: Demii Maher-Smith (15, Qld)
Shot put: Prabhjot Rai (17, Vic)
For more information on the Youth Olympic Games, visit the event home page by clicking here.
To keep up to date on all Australian track and field athletes, stay tuned to the Athletics Australia website.
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