Australia to size up region’s best at Oceania Athletics Championships
Published Tue 07 May 2024
Australia will look to assert its authority as the premier athletics country in the region, when a contingent of 217 of the country’s established and emerging stars descend upon Suva, Fiji for one of the most important opportunities on the calendar - the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships.
Taking place from June 1-8, the Oceania Athletics Championships will welcome a host of the nation’s 2024 Olympic hopefuls including Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis and World Championships medallist Mackenzie Little, as they get set to take on up to 19 other countries including New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
Rated by World Athletics above Continental Tour Gold Level meetings and equal to the European Championships, the Oceania Area Championships offer significant world ranking points which prove crucial in qualifying for the Olympic Games and World Athletics Championships, while also offering a world-class competition opportunity for athletes competing in the junior and Para ranks.
Already qualified for the Paris Olympics with her bronze medal winning throw at the World Athletics Championships last year, Little will be using the competition to lift her preparation alongside 16 other Australian Olympians in the team, including Olympic medallist Ash Moloney.
“I want as much experience as possible amongst top level athletes before Paris, so a strong field is ideal! It’s a good combination of established talent as well as those looking to take advantage of huge bonus points up for grabs - so I know people will come out firing,” Little said.
“Controlling nerves and energy is something you can only practice in a championship environment, so it’ll be another valuable competition. It’s also going to be so fun over in Fiji!”
With the 2024 World Athletics Under 20 Championships also on the horizon in Lima, Peru this August, a rising crop of talent in the Under 18 Australian team is spearheaded by sprint sensation Gout Gout and Charlotte McAuliffe.
Hosted just one week after the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan from May 17-25, an emerging crop of Para athletes will not be short of inspiration as they look to relish the international stage in Fiji as a strong pathway opportunity to the elite level. Cameron Crombie, world champion shot putter turned long jumper enters the field in Suva, while Commonwealth Games representative Anthony Jordan wears the Australian colours once again.
“There is nothing quite like an Olympic and Paralympic Games year that gets athletes primed for competition, and it’s certain that our track and field athletes will be out to prove themselves and earn those world ranking points in Fiji,” Athletics Australia General Manager - High Performance, Andrew Faichney said.
“With ranking points accrued from these Championships carrying over for two years, we also have no doubt that athletes across all of Oceania will step up for fierce competition, and give athletes a taste of what’s to come before travelling to Paris and Peru for the World Athletics Junior Championships.”
The 2024 Oceania Area Athletics Championships will be held at HFC Stadium in Suva, Fiji from June 1-8, with streaming details for Australian audiences still to come from Oceania Athletics.
Full team lists are available via the links below:
By Lachlan Moorhouse and Sascha Ryner
Posted: 7/5/2024
