National records, state titles, and a host of World Championships and World Para Championships qualifiers – the arrival of March delivered madness as Australian athletes approach top form.
Race walking sensation Declan Tingay (Brent Vallance) continued his trailblazing season with a dazzling Australian record of 18:12.52 over 5000m at the Victorian Track and Field Championships, with the West Australian spoiling the Victorian party with the second fastest time in history. The performance carved 12-seconds off his previous record, elevating him from fifth all-time to second – only behind Hatem Ghoula’s 18:05.49 from 1997.
Australian records also flowed for teenage Para athletes Mali Lovell (Katie Edwards and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor) and Angus Hincksman (Simon Moran), both nailing down World Para Championships A qualifiers in their respective events. Racing over 200m in New South Wales, Lovell roared to a new national 200m T36 record of 30.43 (+1.9), while Hincksman clocked 3:58.33 over 1500m in Adelaide to improve on his own Australian Under 20 record.
In his first showing since the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, the high-flying Joel Baden (Sandro Bisetto) rose to a new personal best of 2.33m to secure the 2023 World Championships standard and Victorian title. Encountering difficulty early, Baden required all three attempts at 2.12m before bouncing his way into career-best form at 27-years-old.
At the New South Wales Track and Field Championships, Michelle Jenneke (Gary Bourne) joined the qualification party with her third qualifier for the 2023 World Championships to be held in Budapest, flying over the barriers in 12.69 (+1.4) – just 0.03-seconds outside of her personal best. Emily Britton (Mick Zisti) nailed her fourth consecutive personal best to move from 40th to 12th on the Australian all-time list, claiming silver with a swift 13.09 to build on her pre-season best of 13.69.
Olympic teammate Jemima Montag (Brent Vallance) followed Tingay’s lead with a strong walk of 20:54.90 to add another Victorian title to her illustrious resume, crushing the field over 12.5 laps to win with ease ahead of Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Lorena Arenas (Colombia) in 21:30.33. World Under 20 representative Olivia Sandery (Jared Tallent) continued her seamless transition to the senior ranks with a South Australian record of 21:09.08 in Adelaide, climbing to fourth on the Australian all-time list.
Commonwealth Games representative Joshua Azzopardi (Rob Marks) cemented his status as New South Wales’ fastest man in an eventful 100m final, clocking 10.28 (+0.4) to salute as the fan-favourite, while Jacob McCorry (Alex Stewart) hit number six on the Australian all-time list with his scorching 13.59 (+2.0) in the 110m hurdles. Emerging talent Jackson Rowe (Greg Smith) was sharp when taking out the New South Wales state titl in 20.60 (+2.7).
World Para Championships contenders Jaryd Clifford (Philo Saunders, T12) and Reece Langdon (Tim O’Shaughnessy, T38) raced prominently in the Victorian 1500m final against able bodied competitors, rewarded with A Qualifiers in their respective classes for this year’s Paris Championships. Clifford was at his gutsy best when racing aggressively en route to silver in a time of 3:46.85, while Langdon stopped the clock in 3:54.11 for sixth.
Paralympic silver medallist in the javelin Michal Burian (Nick Baltas, F44) also nailed an A qualifier with his 62.00m hoist to clinch silver in the Victorian Open title bout amidst a consistent series, while fellow Paralympic and Commonwealth medallist Sarah Edmiston’s (Paul Edmiston, F44) 38.67m effort in the discus was also an A qualifier at the Athletics West Track and Field Championships.
The strong performances from Australia’s Para throwers continued with a number of B qualifiers at the Victorian Championships. Paralympian Guy Henly (F37) launched the discus 50.74m, while Dayna Crees (Gordon Talbot, F34) registered 16.25m in the Seated Javelin and Ella Hose (Gus Puopulo, F37) mustered a 10.59m in the Ambulant Shot Put.
B qualifiers were also produced by wheelchair racrers Samuel Rizzo (Richard Colman, T54), Rheed McCracken (Louise Sauvage, T34) and Jake Lappin (Jamie Green, T54) in Dubai last week. Rizzo clocked both the B standards in the 800m and 1500m with times of 1:34.50 and 2:59.29 respectively. McCracken gained invaluable race experience and clocked B qualifiers in the 100m (15.89), 400m (51.46) and 800m (1:43.08).
Marathon action rounded out the weekend in Tokyo with Madison de Rozario (Louise Sauvage, T53) leading the charge for four Australians, as the Paralympic champion claimed bronze in the wheelchair race with a 1:44:17 performance, followed by Christie Dawes (Andrew Dawes, T54) in fifth with 1:56:39. Jake Lappin (Fred Periac, T54) finished 14th in the men’s wheelchair race in 1:47:36, while four-time Olympian Lisa Weightman (Dick Telford) backed up last week’s 2:23:15 personal best in Osaka with a run of 2:31:42 for 13th.
Also on international soil, Lauren Ryan (Lara Rogers) clocked a swift 32:09.82 to win Sound Running’s USA The TEN race by over one minute.
By Lachie Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 6/3/2023
