Townsville’s Uwezo Lubenda is looking forward to giving it one last crack at 2026 Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics All Schools Championships in Perth next month.
Lubenda, 17, will be going into Perth riding on a high after making the semi finals at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Eugene, USA in August, where he set a new personal best for the 100m in the heats with a time of 10.33-seconds.
The experience of running at the famous Hayward Field left Lubenda wanting more.
“It was such an incredible experience,” Lubenda said.
“It was the first time for me at an international event and to see how all the other athletes worked really inspired me to come back in two years’ time.”
There was a moment in Eugene when Lubenda and his Australian teammate Zavier Peacock lined up at the 100m start line during the first training session, realising that this is the big time.
“I was just so excited to get on the track, it was incredible to be surrounded by so many athletes,” Lubenda said.
“I wasn’t nervous, but it was amazing to be running on Hayward Field as I’ve been watching it on TV for so many years.”
Lubenda got his inspiration for running after watching a Usain Bolt YouTube video from the 2009 World Championships, where the Jamaican superstar ran 9.58 to win the 100m and obliterate the world record.
Ever since then he has had a love of athletics and is one of the nation’s brightest prospects in what is a wonderful era of Australian sprinting.
At Perth he hopes to run the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay for North Queensland in what will be his last All Schools, before looking forward to a summer series of racing ahead.
He has just finished Year 12 at Calvary Christian College and now wants to focus full time on his athletics while getting a part-time job either at Rebel Sport or JD Sports in Townsville.
He has been training hard the past couple of weeks and is primed for some good runs in Perth, on the back of making the semis at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships:
“It made me realise where I am in terms of the rest of the world, and inspired me to work hard and get better.”
By Luke Dennehy, Australian Athletics
Posted 13/11/2026
