On a night full of impressive results, young guns Claudia Hollingsworth, Izobelle Louison-Roe and Delta Amidzovski starred at the Hobart Track Classic alongside stalwarts of Australian athletics Matthew Denny and Peter Bol.
At 20-years-old, Hollingsworth (VIC, Craig Mottram) produced one of the statement wins of her career to date, adding the Australian 3000m crown to her growing resume in a time of 8:37.42 and landing fifth on the Australian all-time list.
Taking down Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren, 8:39.06) and Georgia Griffith (VIC, Nic Bideau, 8:40.71), Hollingsworth ran a patient race behind early leader Rose Davies (NSW, Scott Westcott) before proving too classy in the bell lap with her slick closing speed.
“I came into this race just to get a bit of experience, so to come away with the win is really exciting,” Hollingsworth said.
“It’s only the start of the year for me so to be getting these kinds of times is such a positive for me.”
Hollingsworth added the feat to her national titles in the 800m and Mile, extending her range:
“It’s been tough in training but a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to keep going for the rest of the year. There is so much to look forward to in the next few months.”
Callum Davies (QLD, Collis Birmingham) added a third Australian title to his name in the men’s contest, serving up a final-lap masterclass to dismantle the field in a time of 7:48.21 and finish ahead of Brett Robinson (VIC, Nic Bideau, 7:49.09) and Adam Goddard (SA, Riley Cocks, 7:49.68).
Racing for the first time since July, sub-10 second sprinter Lachlan Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin) made a defiant return to the track when winning the Puddleduck Wines Men’s 200m in a meet record 20.43 (+0.6), launching around the bend before steadying the ship in the home straight.
Kennedy took down training partner Calab Law (QLD, Andrew Iselin) in 20.70, marking his first steps towards the 2026 Commonwealth Games:
“I’m definitely feeling tired, it’s been a while,” Kennedy said.
“It was a good way to blow the cobwebs out, and I think not bad at all for my first race back.”
Earlier in the night, Olympic bronze medallist Matt Denny (QLD, Dale Stevenson) was the first to take out a win at the Hobart Track Classic.
Throwing a world-leading 68.74m in the Men’s Discus Throw, Denny opened up the night with his most impressive start to a season yet, launching a meet record and his second farthest throw ever on Australian soil.
“It felt really tidy and well put together, I thought there was a bit more on the table there as well but still a great result,” Denny said.
“It was great to have a crack, have some fun and hopefully ramp it up for the rest of the season.”
Rising star Izobelle Louison-Roe (NSW, Karen Roe) delivered a show of her own in the field when soaring over 1.93m to win the Women’s High Jump; the 18-year-old cementing her status as one of Australia’s brightest prospects.
Raising the bar to 1.97m in an attempt to snatch world champion Eleanor Patterson’s Australian Under 20 record of 1.96m, Louison-Roe smiled her way to a 10cm victory and another 2026 World Athletics Under 20 Championships qualifier.
“I’m super happy I was really close to my PB,” Louison-Roe said.
“I’m in good form, the jumps are coming along and feeling really easy.”
Joining the party was World Under 20 champion Delta Amidzovski (NSW, Becky Amidzovski) who leapt to a career-best of 6.62m to shatter the meet record in the Women’s Long Jump, while Para-athletes Layla Sharp (NSW, Greg Smith, T38) and Sienna Newton (NSW, Kylie Newton & Andrew Murphy, T38) added to their Commonwealth Games bids with strong performances with jumps of 4.62m (0.0) and 4.44m (+1.4) respectively.
Playing with the field in the Derwent Estate Wines Men’s 800m, Peter Bol (WA, Justin Rinaldi) made it two wins from two starts in the Chemist Warehouse Summer Series, biding his time at the back of the field before levelling up with teammate Bob Abdelrahim (VIC, Justin Rinaldi) – breezing past the teenager in the home straight to win in 1:47.07.
The 2026 Hobart Track Classic was hosted on February 28 at Domain Athletic Centre. The Hobart Track Classic is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania.
Full results can be found HERE.
By Lachlan Moorhouse and Luke Dennehy, Australian Athletics
Posted 28/2/2026
