Friends, families and rivals became teammates on the second day of the Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships in Ballarat for the Mixed 4x2km Relays, while Isaac Beacroft stole the show on a record-breaking morning at the Australian Athletics Junior Race Walking Championships.
Hundreds of the country’s best runners returned to Victoria Park for a fun-filled day while still competing for glory, with teams of four (male, female, male, female) taking on hot laps of the circuit from the Under 12 ranks all the way through to the Masters.
The fastest team of the day was “Tri Running” who scorched the course one final time to take out the win despite being an Under 20 quartet, comprised of Kieran Shepherd, Zoe Honeybrook, Daniel Randall and Matilda Cole – clocking 25:38.
The local team from Eureka Athletic Club were popular winners in the Open category, as Benjamin Stevens, Katherine Dowie, Joshua Johnston and Lucy Jones combined to prove too good in a time of 25:48.
Earlier in the day it was rising star Isaac Beacroft (NSW) who stole the show at the Australian Athletics Junior Race Walking Championships, blazing his way to an Australian Under 20 record and the fifth fastest Under 20 time in history in the 10km race walk.
The 18-year-old stopped the clock in a stunning 38:55 on the roads of Victoria Park to carve 61 seconds off his former national record, cementing his status as one of the discipline’s brightest young stars.
“I’m probably the most overtrained athlete of all time for these championships, I’ve just come back down from three weeks at Saint Mortiz – that helped out,” Beacroft said.
“I went through the first kilometre exactly how I wanted, but the second and third I went a bit quicker than I would’ve liked to which took a bit of sting out of my legs. I know what I’m capable of so I just want to hit my own targets.”
Ela Uzun (VIC) also hit the national record books en route to the Australian title when lowering her Under 16 Girls 5km Race Walk mark, while the Under 20 Women’s 10km was won by Zoe Woods (NSW) in a new personal best of 48:17.
The 2025 Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships are part of the Chemist Warehouse Winter Series and is supported by the Victorian Government through Sport and Recreation Victoria.
Full results from the weekend’s action can be found below:
Australian Athletics Cross Country Championships
Australian Athletics Cross Country Relays
Australian Athletics Junior Race Walking Championships
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 24/08/2025
