From Cameron Myers’ international dominance to Australia’s race walking and wheelchair racing national champions being crowned, the long weekend of athletics action produced a long list of noteworthy performances.
Stealing the headlines in Boston, Myers (Dick Telford) blazed his way to the fastest 3000m time by an Australian in history when lighting up the New Balance Grand Prix in 7:27.57, bettering Ky Robinson’s national short track record of 7:30.38 and Stewart McSweyn’s outright record of 7:28.02.
Winning the race over his Olympic-calibre rivals, Myers set the tone for fellow Australians Sarah Billings (Nic Bideau) and Linden Hall (Ned Brophy-Williams), with Billings finishing fourth over 1500m in 4:01.79 and Hall clocking 8:27.03 in the 3000m to take second place – both World Athletics Indoor Championships qualifying standards.
On home soil, Isaac Beacroft (David Beacroft) and Elizabeth McMillen (Jared Tallent) reigned supreme at the Australian Athletics 10,000m Race Walking Championships – Supernova, breaking the tape in their respective races to be the first Australian athletes automatically nominated for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
It was smooth sailing for the 18-year-old Beacroft who took the title in 38:54.11 to beat home Declan Tingay (Brent Vallance, 39:13.93) and Timothy Fraser (Jared Tallent, 39:28.76), while McMillen was equally stylish when cruising to victory in 42:50.13 over Rebecca Henderson (Simon Baker, 43:26.86) and Olivia Sandery (Jared Tallent, 44:46.41).
The national titles rolled on in the Australian Athletics Wheelchair Racing Championships (1500m and 5000m) hosted as part of the Summer Down Under Series, with Samuel Rizzo (Fred Periac) the standout performer when winning a clinical golden double.
Rizzo was joined on the women’s side by Angela Ballard (Jamie Green) who took out the 1500m title, while the 5000m crown was won by Mikeala Dingley. In the sprints, longtime Australian teammates Rheed McCracken (Louise Sauvage, T34) and Sam McIntosh (Fred Periac, T52) impressed with times of 15.01 (+1.5) and 17.03 (+0.3) over 100m.
Adding to the Para-athletics action, national records fell at the hands of Layla Sharp (Greg Smith) in the Long Jump T38 and Stephen Martin (Olivia Clare) in the Shot Put F57, with Sharp leaping 4.64m (+0.5) and Martin launching the shot to 9.84m.
14-year-old Alex Mijailovic (Iryna Dvoskina, T62) also piled on the pace in the 400m to take the win against his able-bodied rivals, obliterating the former national record for his class.
Canberra proved a happy hunting ground once more for Australia’s sprinters at the Capital Athletics Open and Under 20 Championships, headlined by the teenage duo of Olivia Dodds (Lyn Foreman) and Zara Hagan (Christopher Dale).
Dodds opened proceedings with a scorching 7.17 (+0.8) performance over 60m before doubling back to win the 100m, while the 18-year-old Hagan served up the run of the championships to stop the clock 11.16 (+0.8) in the heats – the third fastest time ever by an Australian Under 20 woman behind only Leah O’Brien and Raelene Boyle.
Toowoomba product Jai Gordon (Jaqui Gallagher) won the Men’s 60m in a time of 6.54 (+2.2) before setting a new personal best of 10.17 (+1.2) for the fastest wind-legal 100m time of the day, as Alexander Colgan (Blair Talbot) capitalised on the blustery conditions when racing to a 10.01 (+5.7) performance – the sixth-fastest time by an Australian in all conditions.
World Under 20 silver medallist Izobelle Louison-Roe (Karen Roe) raised the bar when soaring over 1.95m to win the high jump, piling on five centimetres to her personal best to continue her rapid rise and qualify for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The 18-year-old returned the next day to leap to a career-best of 13.31m (+0.3) in the triple jump, while Olympic finalist Connor Murphy (Andrew Murphy) opened his season with 16.30m (+0.8) on the men’s side.
Also on the runway, Jalen Rucker (Mike Barber) returned to form in the long jump with a 7.94m (-0.1) leap, while Geena Davy (Jason Hodson) was an impressive winner in the Under 20 Women’s event when posting 6.41m (+2.2) as a wind-legal personal best looms – as goes for Luke Vrataric (Leo Dulay) who leapt to 7.84m (+2.2) in the Under 20 Men’s bout.
World Championships teammates Cooper Sherman (Neville Down) and Thomas Reynolds (Mathew Oakley) went toe-to-toe in the 400m where Sherman flexed his credentials as the Australian champion, setting a new personal best of 45.08 to beat home Reynolds in 45.17, while Jemma Pollard (Tim Eschebach) won the women’s contest in 52.18-seconds.
The hurdling action was not limited to Michelle Jenneke (Bronwyn Thompson) who ensured 2026 will be another year well under the 13-second barrier with a 12.96 (+1.4) victory in the 100m hurdles, as 19-year-old Matthew Hunt (Ben Liddy) blasted through the 50-second barrier in the 400m hurdles with a 49.95-second performance.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 26/01/2026
