22.03.2009

Thirty-nine Australians bound for Berlin

Thirty-nine Australian athletes are bound for the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin following the Selection Trials and 87^th Australian Athletics Championships which concluded in Brisbane yesterday.

The current team is already nearly double the size of the squad which was sent to the 2005 world championships in Helsinki (19) with the team predicted to swell further before the final selectors' meeting on July 20.

Men (26)

400m: Joel Milburn (23, NSW), John Steffensen (26, NSW), Sean Wroe (24, VIC)

1500m: Jeff Riseley (22, VIC), Jeremy Roff (25, NSW)

5000m: Collis Birmingham (24, VIC)

10000m: David McNeill (22, VIC)

400m hurdles: Tristan Thomas (22, TAS)

3000m steeplechase: Youcef Abdi (31, NSW)

20km walk: Luke Adams (32, NSW), Adam Rutter (22, NSW), Jared Tallent (24, VIC)

50km walk: Adams, Nathan Deakes (31, VIC), Chris Erickson (27, VIC), Tallent

Pole vault: Paul Burgess (29, WA), Steven Hooker (26, WA)

Long jump: Fabrice Lapierre (25, NSW), Mitchell Watt (20, QLD)

Triple jump: Alwyn Jones (24, VIC)

Shot put: Justin Anlezark (31, QLD

Javelin throw: Jarrod Bannister (24, QLD)

4 x 100m relay: Anthony Alozie (22, VIC), Matt Davies (23, QLD), Patrick Johnson (36, QLD), Joshua Ross (28, VIC), Aaron Rouge-Serret (21, VIC)

4 x 400m relay: Milburn, Steffensen, Thomas, Wroe

Women (13)

100m: Melissa Breen (18, ACT)

400m: Tamsyn Lewis (30, VIC)

1500m: Sarah Jamieson (33, VIC)

100m hurdles: Sally McLellan (22, Qld)

400m hurdles: Lewis, Jana Rawlinson (26, NSW)

3000m steeplechase: Donna MacFarlane (31, TAS)

20km walk: Jessica Rothwell (19, VIC), Claire Tallent (27, SA), Cheryl Webb (32, NSW)

High jump: Petrina Price (24, NSW)

Pole vault: Alana Boyd (24, QLD)

Discus throw: Dani Samuels (20, NSW)

Javelin throw: Kimberley Mickle (24, WA)

An additional men’s 4 x 400m relay runner will be added to the team prior to the final selector’s meeting. Nominations for the marathon will be made on or before May 4.

“This is the start of a four-year strategy to introduce as many high performance athletes to the pressures of world class athletics,” explained Athletics Australia High Performance Manager Eric Hollingsworth. 

“This is a great opportunity for our athletes to grow and grasp a chance at Olympic success. Athletes need to keep in mind that Australian team selection will get increasingly more difficult as we travel towards London.” 

“To achieve Olympic dreams for London, athletes will have had to have improved over the four-year journey to make sure we can guarantee successful results at the London Olympics.”

Sixteen members of the 39-strong team will be making their world championships debut.

Currently, Melissa Breen is the youngest athlete at 18 years of age, whilst Patrick Johnson at twice her age, is the oldest at 36.

Tamsyn Lewis, Nathan Deakes and Patrick Johnson have been selected for their fifth world championships team. Deakes and Jana Rawlinson will go to the championships as the defending title holders.

Claire and Jared Tallent will be the sixth husband and wife combination to represent Australia at the world championships.

Alana Boyd (Denise Boyd – Helsinki 1983) and Chris Erickson (Tim Erickson – Malmo 1976) follow their parents as world championship representatives.

A final selectors’ meeting will take place on or before July 20, at which time all athletes will be assessed against their ongoing obligations set out in the selection policy. Those obligations include pre-world championships form and fitness.