An incredible four days of competition has concluded at the 100th edition of the Australian Track and Field Championships in Brisbane, with numerous Commonwealth Games alumni displaying standout performances.
Across the competition, a mix of experience and youth were on display with household names of today and the future stars of tomorrow vying for the title of Australian Champion.
Rohan Browning put on a masterclass in the Men’s 100m Final, clocking the fastest time of his career at 10.02, and significantly, the fastest time ever recorded by an Australian on home soil.
Following on from his performance, the man affectionately known as the Flying Mullet was awarded the Betty Cuthbert Medal for Best Single Performance of the Meet, awarded annually to the athlete, female or male, who has produced the most outstanding single performance in the Open events at the Australian Track and Field Championships.
Jessica Hull became the first Australian woman in history to win the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m titles in the same year, capping off an immaculate 2023 Chemist Warehouse Summer Series which saw Hull remain unbeaten after opening her extended stay down under with global bronze at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst.
The 1500m was touted as the event of the championships, with the final delivering all that and more as Hull ran away in the final 100m to claim a new meet record of 4:04.19 ahead of Abbey Caldwell taking silver and Linden Hall bronze.
Birmingham 2022 silver medallist and Australian record holder Declan Tingay served up his fourth race walking masterclass of the Australian summer on the track, walking his way to national glory over 10,000m in a time of 38:46.74, beating Kyle Swan (silver) and Rhydian Cowley (bronze).
Leaping to Australian title number five, Brooke Buschkuehl capped off her domestic campaign with a 6.68m performance to win by a margin of 23cm in the Women’s Long Jump, while high-flying Nicola Olyslagers soared over 1.95m to clinch Australian title number four in the Women’s High Jump.
Alec Diamond and Taneille Crase reigned supreme in the battle to be crowned Australia’s most versatile athletes in the multi-events, registering scores of 7588 and 5960 respectively in the Decathlon and Heptathlon.
Booking her ticket to this year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Michelle Jenneke clocked her fifth 100m hurdles qualifier of 12.77-seconds, as she roared to victory over Celeste Mucci with a time of 12.91.
Three-time Commonwealth Games medallist Angela Ballard took gold in the Women’s 100m Wheelchair Race with Sarah Clifton-Bligh claiming silver, while in the Men’s Ambulant 400m race, Evan O’Hanlon won silver and Jaydon Page bronze.
Also claiming gold in their various events were Ben Buckingham (Men’s 3000m Steeplechase), Matt Denny (Discus), Jake Doran (Men’s 200m), and Australian record holder Catriona Bisset (Women’s 800m), who was as dominant as ever when torching her way to a new meet record of 1:58.32.
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In the Women’s Javelin, Commonwealth Games silver medallist Mackenzie Little defeated back-to-back world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber with a throw of 61.46m, over Barber’s 57.05m.
Rhiannon Clarke’s dominant performances prevailed, seeing her claim gold in the Women’s Ambulant 400m and sizzle her way to a swift 12.91 in the Women’s Ambulant 100m, ahead of home teammate Ella Pardy, with the pair securing another first and second finish in the 200m.
Amy Cashin won bronze in Women’s 3000m Steeplechase with a time of 9:47.09 while Ella Connolly claimed silver in Women’s 200m sprint with time of 23.16 and Kurtis Marschall had an afternoon of mixed fortunes as he cleared the Budapest qualifying height of 5.80m on his third attempt to make it back-to-back Australian titles, before shattering his pole on his first attempt at 5.90m.
The 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Track and Field Championships in Brisbane also served as the selection trial for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, with four athletes so far selected, including two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Matt Denny, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Nicola Olyslagers, as well as Jessica Hull and Michelle Jenneke.
