Athletics Australia – News – A.J.A.C: One sleep to go, and the throws will be huge

The Australian Junior Athletics Championships are but one sleep away, and the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre is busily readying for the onset of athletes from across the country.

Continuing our preview of what will be a bumper five days for Australia’s best emerging talent, athletics.com.au today previews all the action in the throws.

There are excitingly 15 athletes, eight boys and seven girls, on the hunt for IAAF world junior championship selection in the throws events. Set to compete in Under 20 Selection Trial events for the javelin throw, discus, hammer throw and shot put, the group all lay claim to qualifiers ahead of competition in the coming days.

In the javelin, Under 19 Talent squad member Elliott Lang (NSW), world youth championships representative William White (Qld), Under 17 Development Squad graduate Cruz Hogan (WA) and Luke Cann (Vic), who has thrown the furthest of the quartet this year, will do battle.

Lang has donned the green and gold of Australia twice before, having competed at the 2010 Youth Olympics and the 2011 IAAF world youth championships, while White won the national under 18 crown last year.

Cann has competed four times across the National Athletics Series, including a 73.88m heave at the Qantas Melbourne Track Classic & Olympic Trial. Hogan, who is coached by National Youth Event Coach Grant Ward, set a new personal best of 67.91m in Perth late last year to record one of his two qualifiers.

Target Talent Program athlete Monique Cilione (Vic) headlines the girl’s event.

Cilione in the past two years has won gold in the under 17 and under 18 javelin. Last year, the now 18-year-old went on to win a bronze medal at the 2011 IAAF world youth championships in Lille (FRA) with a best mark of 52.77m.

An equally impressive battle between four exists in the girl’s under 20 discus, as Taryn Gollshewsky (Qld), Keshia McGrath-Volau (Qld), Filoi Aokuso (Qld) and Taylah Sengul (NSW) take to the thrower’s cage.

Gollshewsky was an inaugural member of the Australian Spark at the 2010 IAAF world junior championships in Moncton (CAN), while McGrath-Volau and Aokuso donned the national kit at world youths last year. The trio boast personal bests of 53.10m, 50.93m and 50.85m respectively.

Sixteen-year-old Sengul will fly the flag for cross-state rival New South Wales, and will head in with confidence after bringing home a silver (shot put) and gold (discus throw) medal from the Commonwealth Youth Games last year.

In the boy’s event, Mitchell Cooper (Qld) and Jake Stein (NSW) are the ones to watch. Cooper is the Queensland under 20 champion, while Stein, who won the decathlon gold at the IAAF world youth championships last year, only days ago etched his name into the history books with a new national under 20 decathlon record at the Victorian Track & Field Championships.

Hammer throwers Robert Johnston (Qld), Danielle McConnell (Tas), Mikayla Genge (Tas) and Damien Birkinhead (Vic) are also in the mix for world junior championships selection.

Johnston threw a personal best of 66.43m to record his first qualifier at the Briggs Athletics Classic in February, while McConnell, who competed for Australia at the IAAF world youth championships last year and is a member of the Under 19 Talent Squad, has already recorded 14 qualifiers ahead of the Trial.

Birkinhead was a Youth Olympian in 2010, and he is one of 43 athletes in the Target Talent Program. The 18-year-old has also achieved the qualifying mark in the shot put, where he is the national under 20 record holder.

The 2012 Australian Junior Athletics Championships begin at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre tomorrow evening, at 6:30pm.

Competition will continue Thursday, March 15 through Sunday, March 18, with entry lists and the timetable available for download here.

One event program will be provided to each competing athlete through their team managers for their family and friends. Some will also be made available at the gate. In an exciting move for the event, the program features a QR Code to instantly download the event program and timetable to your iPhone or smart phone via the Athletics Australia website.

 

Athletics Australia – News