Athletics Australia – News – Hammer time in Sydney

The future stars of Australian hammer throw converged on Sydney this week, where 30 of the nation’s most promising juniors took part in a training and education camp aimed at developing the next generation of elite athletes.

The aspiring hammer throwers, aged 11 to 15, travelled from across Australia to attend the three-day camp, where under the guidance of National Youth Event Coach and 2010 Commonwealth Games representative Karyne Di Marco, they took part in a series of education and technical sessions designed to enhance their interest and understanding in the sport.

Di Marco, an Olympic, world championships and four-time Commonwealth Games representative, was joined on the coaching panel by fellow Australian Flame athlete Gabrielle Neighbour, athlete/coach Breanne Clement, former Pathways participant and now athlete/coach Matt Stopel and hammer throw gurus Lawrie Barclay and Demetri Dionisopoulos.

Also joining the athletes at the camp was world discus champion Dani Samuels, who spoke to the group about the life of an elite throws athlete and what it takes to make it all the way to the top.

At the conclusion of the three-day camp athletes hit the competition cage, where a remarkable 14 new personal best distances were recorded.

Athletics Australia Youth High Performance Administrator Kylie Williams said the camp presented a unique opportunity for young athletes to learn from the nation’s leading hammer throwers.

“The camp was a fantastic opportunity for our up-and-coming junior hammer throwers to actively participate in a specific training and education camp led by some of the country’s top hammer throw coaches and athletes,” she said.

“The athletes took part in a range of sessions including nutrition, injury management, recovery techniques and goal-setting in addition to technical training sessions and a competition on the last day that saw 14 PBs achieved.”

It is now hoped some of the 30 participants in the camp will go on to gain selection to Athletics Australia’s Under 17 Development Squad as well as representative teams at future IAAF world youth and world junior championship meets.

In a busy few weeks for athletics around the country, elite junior participants will join in a range of programs run by Athletics Australia in the coming months with camps planned in conjunction with both the Brisbane and Briggs Athletics Classics, two programs on the calendar in New Zealand and event-specific camps in the areas of horizontal jumps and sprint relays.