Athletics Australia

The 100^th edition of the Australian Track and Field Championships is set to start with a bang as Paralympic stars and the nation's emerging talents battle ...

The seasoned veteran no stranger to the venue after nailing a B-qualifier of 51.71m for the World Para Athletics Championships at last week’s Brisbane Track Classic. Main challengers loom in the form of Harris’ World Under 20 teammate Olivia Rose Inkster (NSW, Katie Edwards and Melinda Gainsford-Taylor) and Jessica Milat (VIC, Neville Down), whose breakthrough season has seen her career-best drop to 11.65-seconds. Walking a personal best of 45:19.63 in the 10,000m at Supernova #1 in January before setting a new South Australian record of 21:09.08 over 5000m in March – Sandery possesses a combination of form and experience that will make her hard to beat in any conditions. For multi-class events, results will be determined using the BASELINE system which generates a percentage score rather than using distance/time – more information can be found Rising to stardom with a 100m Australian Under 18 record of 10.27-seconds in October, Sebastian Sultana (NSW, Greg Smith) delivers must-watch athletics. Establishing himself a dominant force in the world of Para athletics with T36 world records ranging from 100m-800m, Turner has started 2023 with times agonisingly close to his 100m world record of 11.72-seconds. Low’s rapid comeback has witnessed her leap a season’s best of 5.04m to punch in the A-qualifying standard for the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships to be held in Paris this June, with the multi-class event setting up a showdown with fellow Paralympic champion and trans-Tasman rival Anna Grimaldi (New Zealand, T47). To watch, The South Australian will now chase her maiden Open Australian title in Brisbane. Every time he sets foot on the track, James Turner (ACT, Iryna Dvoskina, T36) is capable of rewriting the record books. The Under 20 action is not limited to the track with a pair of World Under 20 finalists set to make their presence known in the Discus, with Marley Raikiwasa (SA, Steve Larsson) and Darcy Miller (SA, Steve Larsson) taking to the circle. Sultana will have his work cut out for him with 10.4-second runners Joseph Ayoade (NSW, Greg Smith), Alexander Colgan (VIC, Blair Talbot) and Rashid Kabba (NSW, Dan Suchy) poised to pick up the gauntlet.