The year of 2026 has long been marked as a World Under 20 Championships campaign for Isaac Beacroft, but the 18-year-old’s rapid rise finds him racing for a Commonwealth Games berth at this weekend’s Australian Athletics 10,000m Race Walking Championships – Supernova.
Already a World Under 20 champion on the roads and world record holder in the Under 20 Men’s 10,000m Race Walk, Beacroft (NSW, David Beacroft) is no stranger to delivering the extraordinary. The walking maestro is a busy competitor, with his bustling energy making him a feature in most races, but historically not Supernova.
Fresh off his world record feat in December, Beacroft delivers a candid assessment of his history at the event which will host the 2026 Australian Athletics Championships for the discipline.
“I typically haven’t had much success at Supernova. The first year I didn’t even finish, and the second time I exploded at halfway,” Beacroft says.
“If I compare myself to where I was a year ago, I’m a much better athlete in general. I’m in a much better spot and I feel a lot more confident in my abilities.”
With a personal best of 38:02.68 to sit in 12th on the all-time list for Open athletes, let alone an 18-year-old, Beacroft’s growing confidence finds him on the brink of his first Australian senior team, which he hopes will come at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“As soon as I knew the Commonwealth Games was going to be a 10,000m, it just became my main goal. I had a small shot at Tokyo last year which didn’t eventuate, but a lot of my motivation has been to make one of those spots on the team mine,” Beacroft says.
First, he will have to topple the likes of Olympic bronze medallist Rhydian Cowley (VIC, Brent Vallance), former Australian record holder Declan Tingay (WA, Brent Vallance) and Kyle Swan (VIC, Jared Tallent) on Monday morning, with only the first athlete across the line with the qualifying time to be automatically nominated for selection.
“Being such a tightly knit group, you don’t really sense the hierarchy. We all work together but there’s also the element of knowing you will be going up against these guys, and you do want to beat them,” Beacroft says.
“I’ve only had one race up at their speed, so they are still well and truly the seasoned professionals and I can’t take them lightly.”
A technically sound race walker who rarely makes mistakes, Beacroft offers an insight into his mindset in an event that demands as much mentally as it does physically:
“Technique is the foundation of race walking. I see it as more of an economy and efficiency thing, rather than something that stops you from getting disqualified,” Beacroft says.
“I put in a lot of work and my Dad constantly picks out the tiniest things in my technique, which I hate, but it makes me a much better walker.”
The race for the Women’s 10,000m Race Walking Australian title will take place on Sunday morning, headlined by World University Games champion Elizabeth McMillen (NSW, Jared Tallent) and Olympians Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent) and Rebecca Henderson (VIC, Simon Baker).
Full entry lists and live results can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 24/01/2026
