Australia’s student-athletes kept things rolling on Day Three of the World University Games, with rising heptathletes Emelia Surch and Mia Scerri delivering powerful campaigns on day one of competition, while Australia’s sprinting stocks proved their worth with four athletes advancing through to the semi-finals.
Surch (QLD, Glynnis Nunn-Cearn) opened her heptathlon with a slick 13.43 (-0.3) in the 100m hurdles to finish first on the leaderboard, followed by 1.71m in the high jump, a personal best in the shot put with 12.53m, and a strong 24.49 (+1.1) in the 200m to close out the day. The Australian championships bronze medallists now sits on 3552 points heading into Day Two and well in the mix for her first global medal.
20-year-old Scerri (VIC, Ralph Newton) also put together a strong opening day, starting with 14.65 (-1.3) in the 100m hurdles, cleared 1.74m in the high jump to rank fifth in her group and sixth overall, impressed with 13.87m in the shot put finishing second overall, and closed with 25.27 (+1.2) in the 200m, finishing with 3438 points and plenty of momentum for the closing day of the event.
In the 200m, it was a clean sweep for the Australians with all four sprinters advancing to the semi-finals. Kristie Edwards (NSW, Andrew Murphy) was the standout, comfortably winning her heat in 23.31 (+0.8) while Jessica Milat (VIC, Cathy Woodruff) also progressed after finishing third in her heat with a 23.65 (+0.2) performance.
In the Men’s 200m, Christopher Ius (NSW, Andrew Murphy) ran 21.02 (+1.5) and Aidan Murphy (SA, Nik Hagicostas) crossed the finish line in 21.04 (+0.7), both looking smooth in taking out their respective heats.
The hurdles produced strong results for the Australian camp, with Colby Eddowes (ACT, Matt Vining) charging to 13.65 (+0.7) in the 110m Hurdles to win his heat and secure a spot in the final, while Austin Little (NSW, Andy Burton) battled well in his heat, finishing in 14.05 (+0.2) and just missing out on advancement.
Over the barriers, Alesha Bennetts (ACT, Matt Beckenham) put together another composed run to place second in her 400m Hurdles semi-final clocking 57.04, to book her place in the final.
Hayley Kitching (NSW, Tim Kitching) gave a solid account of herself in the 800m semi-final, placing sixth in 2:04.47 in a tightly packed field.
On the field, long jumper Alex Epitropakis (QLD, Stacey Taurima) delivered a 7.60m (-0.2) performance to book his place as the final entry into the final, while Liam Fairweather (NSW, Jason Fairweather) was unlucky to miss a place by just 4cm, with a best of 7.56m (+0.2). Alexander Kolesnikoff (NSW, University of Georgia) threw 17.85m in the Men’s Shot Put, also missing out on a spot in the final.
Day Four of the 2025 FISU World University Games will begin at 5.30pm AEST this evening, with Australian viewers able to tune in via FISU.TV.
By Sascha Ryner, Australian Athletics
Posted: 24/7/2025
