27.10.2009

Athletics on track towards 2012

In a nod to the current state and future direction of the sport, athletics has been recognised by the Australian Olympic Committee as one of the best-performed sports in the nation following last year’s Olympic Games.

In its latest benchmark study released today, the AOC commended the impressive performances of Australia’s elite track and field athletes in the year since Beijing.

AOC President John Coates said athletics was one of a handful of key sports to have weathered the traditional drop-off in results in the years immediately following an Olympic cycle, and noted the sport’s outstanding performance at the recent world titles in Berlin where Australia claimed two gold and two bronze medals.

Australian athletics has hit a purple patch in recent years, the sport backing up its greatest medal haul at an Olympic Games since 1968 in Beijing (one gold, two silver, one bronze) with its best world championships medal tally on record in Berlin.

The AOC commended Australia’s elite track and field athletes for their recent results and highlighted the sport for its positive contribution to the national sporting landscape in 2009.

In response to the findings Athletics Australia CEO Danny Corcoran said the results at the recent world titles in Berlin had cemented the sport’s current standing and the strength of its future direction.

“It has become quite apparent to us that a number of nations - our competitors - are investing heavily in their Olympic and Paralympic programs as we head towards London in 2012. This is particularly evident in the areas of elite athlete and coach support,” Corcoran said.
 
“We recently had our best world championships on record but we were very aware of the level of effort and support our rivals were putting into the development of their teams for London in 2012.”

Corcoran said Athletics Australia was committed to stepping up its preparations for the London Games as the sport moved towards 2012 but would require increased financial support from the Australian Government via the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Olympic Committee to achieve its goals.

“We believe it is a great honour to represent your country and our athletes need a network of support to ensure they can compete at their best wherever in the world these competitions are held. If the green and gold is a priority to Australia we must fund the preparation of our teams as a priority and not be formulating excuses for lack of performance,” he said.

“Let’s face it, we love to take on the Poms and it is even better to beat them on their own soil and to do that we need to match their level of organisation and preparation and the clock is ticking.”

Athletics Australia will look to send a team of up to 90 athletes to next year’s Commonwealth Games in the next phase of its four-year plan to maximise athlete performance in London in 2012.