The stage is set for a Saturday night showdown as Zatopek:10 returns to Lakeside Stadium for the Australian 10,000m Championships, where 25 laps of the track and a host of contenders stand between Lauren Ryan, Stewart McSweyn and victory.
Arguably no current Australian athlete poses a greater challenge over 10,000m than Lauren Ryan (VIC, Stephen Haas), who is a proven bigtime performer having finished in ninth place at the 2025 World Athletics Championships and 13th at the 2024 Olympic Games.
A previous winner of the race in 2023, Ryan will toe the line in pursuit of a second Zatopek:10 title, confident in her ability to dictate terms with her personal best of 30:35.66 and 1500m speed of 4:03.79 – a tough combination for anyone brave enough to pick up the gauntlet.
Returning from her Flagstaff base, Ryan is primed to stamp her name on the event once more:
“Training has been going well! It’s definitely been different living at altitude and experiencing a true winter training in the snow. We have been focussing really hard on some areas that needed work, which has been challenging but also rewarding,” Ryan said.
“Zatopek will be a great test for me going into the World Cross Country Championships. Australian distance running is continuing to improve and everyone is expected to rise to the challenge.
“I’m just glad to be a part of that and show the next generation that we are a really strong distance running country. We can compete on the world stage and hopefully bring home medals in these major events in the future!”
One contender who not only roll with the punches but throw a few of her own is previous Zatopek:10 winner Leanne Pompeani (ACT, Des Proctor), who has earned the right to follow Ryan in the deep end despite their personal bests being separated by more than 60-seconds on paper.
Pompeani arrives fresh off torching the field at the 2026 World Cross Country Selection Trials and won the 2022 installment of the race in dominant fashion when pouring on the pace from 10 laps out.
Melbourne local Georgie Grgec (New Zealand) is on a rapid rise and looks capable of spoiling the Australian party, although ineligible for the national title as an international competitor, while Olympian Ellie Pashley (VIC, Julian Spence) and Australian Cross Country champion Bronte Oates (NSW, Katie St Lawrence) will feature prominently in the battle for the minor medals.
The name Jack Rayner (VIC, Nic Bideau) has become synonymous with Zatopek:10 in recent years with the Australian record holder winning the last four national titles, but his bid for a fifth presents the toughest challenge yet.
Three-time winner Stewart McSweyn (TAS, Nic Bideau) is locked and loaded for his return to the national stage as two of the giants of Zatopek:10 go head-to-head, with McSweyn and Rayner winning seven of the last eight titles – Brett Robinson the only other man to win since 2016.
The Olympic training partners will have company in the form of World Championships representative Seth O’Donnell (VIC, Andrew Russell) who will have no shortage of support at Lakeside Stadium as a fan-favourite, while Edwards Marks (VIC, self-coached) and Australian 10km road record holder Samuel Clifford (TAS, Gary Armstrong) will also be hot on their heels.
Rayner holds the fastest seed time on paper with his Australian record of 27:09.57, while McSweyn sits third on the Australian all-time list with his 27:23.80 run en route to the 2019 Zatopek:10 title – his last appearance over the distance.
A long list of Australian middle-distance stars have announced their arrival at Zatopek:10 in the Under 20 De Castella (men) and Ondieki (women) 3000m races, which double as the Australian Under 20 Championships for the distance.
This year’s contests are headlined by Lucas Chis (VIC, Ben St Lawrence) and Isabella Valinoti (QLD, Lizel Moore), with Chis recently breaking the Australian Under 18 record over 5000m and Valinoti punching her ticket to the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held in Tallahassee, Florida in January.
Adding to the middle-distance action, Olympian Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) will toe the line in the Women’s 3000m, while Paralympic thrower Ella Hose (VIC, John Eden) features in the Mixed Shot Put, and sprinters Nana Owusu-Afriyie (VIC, Cathy Woodruff) and Archer McHugh (VIC, Cathy Woodruff) prepare to fire in the Open 60m events.
Full entry lists and more information can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 11/12/2025
