Athletics Australia – News – AJAC13: Donetsk calling for locals Kennedy and McCormick

The host state of Western Australia has delivered two of the big highlights on Day 1 at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships as Nina Kennedy (WA) and Amy McCormick (WA) confirmed their automatic selection to the IAAF World Youth Championships.

Competing in the girl’s under 18 pole vault and the girl’s under 18 steeplechase respectively, Kennedy soared a meet record of 4.31m to win gold, while McCormick crossed the line in 6:39:58 to take home the Australian title.

Once again battling it out with her training partner Emma Phillippe (WA, second 4.00m) and Victorian champion Madeline Lawson (Vic, third, 3.70m), Kennedy entered the competition at 3.80m and soared over an impressive 4.31m to take gold in the girl’s under 18 pole vault.

A meet record and personal best, Kennedy, who is just 15 years old, now sits second on the Australian rankings for 2013 and at 9th on the Australian All-Time List.

“I am so happy with that. I have no idea how I took my PB to that high today. I was aiming for 4.25m today and wanted to come away with that, but then I had the chance to try and jump a bit higher so I took out a bigger pole and just went for it,” Kennedy said.

“It’s exciting to know that the World Youths will now happen. I have no idea what the next few months will look like in terms of preparation, but I guess it will just be lots of training. We’ll see what happens. I’m so looking forward to it.”

Crossing the line below the required 6:40.00 to add a third qualifier to her previous two in the girl’s 2000m steeplechase, McCormick’s performance of 6:39.58 ensured her first national crown at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships and was a mere one second shy of her personal best set in Perth earlier this year.

McCormick is the first Western Australian to compete in a track event at the IAAF World Youth Championships since Michael McCagh placed 6th in the boy’s 10,000m walk in Sherbrooke (CAN) in 2003.

Hannah Gibson (NSW, 6:53.48) and Holly Anderson (Qld, 7:14.13) joined McCormick on the podium by placing second and third respectively.

Kennedy and McCormick are joined on the automatically selected list by throwers Mathew Denny (Qld, discus) Alex Hulley (NSW, hammer throw) and Paletina Lemi (NSW, shot put), high jumper Eleanor Patterson (Vic), long jumper Henry Smith (Vic) and race walker Nathan Brill (Vic).

Denny set a new meet record of 66.40m to win the boy’s under 18 discus and become the first athlete from the Australian Junior Athletics Championships guaranteed a spot on the Australian team for the IAAF World Youth Championships later this year.

A three-time gold medallist at the Australian Youth Olympic Festival earlier this year, 17-year-old Denny’s series included four legal throws of 64.59m, 64.71m and two at 66.40m, all of which fall more than seven metres beyond the World Youth qualifier of 56.60m.

Denny will also compete in the boy’s under 18 hammer throw and shot put across the next couple of days and he is thrilled to have secured his World Youth Championships selection because it means the anxiety of waiting is now over.

“The pressure is off now. I’ve got my ticket for the plane, and now I can just relax in the circle for the hammer throw and the shot put and hopefully just let it fly,” Denny said.

“I’m hoping to throw big in both of my other events. I’ve been performing really well in training with some throws out beyond 80 metres and if things go my way it will happen here.

“I’m pretty lucky to have a thrower’s circle at home. I’ve done a lot of training there these past few weeks and it’s great. Unfortunately it’s been very wet up near where I live to make training tough but it has been a lot of fun getting ready for these championships.”

Joining Denny on the plane to Donetsk in throws events is Alex Hulley (NSW) and Paletina Lemi (NSW) after they won the Australian under 18 title in the girl’s hammer throw and the girl’s shot put.

Hulley boasted five qualifiers for the IAAF World Youth Championships ahead of today’s competition and simply needed to win her event to confirm her selection to the Australian team for Donetsk.

Opening her account with 52.64m, Hulley continued with a foul, 55.98, a foul, 55.52m and her best mark of 56.33m to close, with the Australian All-Schools champion joined on the podium by Ellen Scott–Young (Qld, second, 55.07m) and Brianna Smith (Qld, third, 49.59m). Her winning throw was also a meet record.

Lemi won the gold medal in the girl’s under 18 shot put with a throw of 14.85m after a battle with her training partner Yasenaca Denicaucau (NSW, second, 14.73m) across the six throw series.

Denicaucau now sits in the box seat for the second spot in the girl’s shot put on the Australian team in Donetsk thanks to her five qualifiers from previous competitions including the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (15.76m) and the Australian All-Schools Championships (15.15m).

Jumpers Eleanor Patterson (Vic) and Henry Smith (Vic) soared 1.86m in the girl’s under 18 high jump and 7.54m (w: +0.3) in the boy’s under 18 long jump to earn their Australian uniform.

Patterson, who is the Australian All-Schools champion and the Victorian All-Schools and State champion in the high jump, first sailed the bar at 1.75m, before continued first attempt success at 1.78m, 1.80m, 1.82m and 1.84m. Patterson’s winning mark is a season best.

Australian Youth Olympic Festival representative Smith’s series was flawless. Opening with 7.46m, Smith then jumped 7.29m, 7.12m, 6.68m, his best mark and 7.38m to close.

Smith’s longest jump improves his personal best by nine centimetres and adds second Australian Junior Athletics Championships gold medal to his trophy cabinet after winning the under 17 event in Sydney last year.

Rounding out the automatic selections was Nathan Brill (Vic) in the boy’s under 20 10,000m race walk. Competing up an age group to ensure his Australian team selection, Brill’s time of 42:48.70 improves his personal best by more than a minute.

“That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It was tough out there with Brad (Aiton) and Jesse (Osborne) behind me and I’m glad to have improved my personal best too,” Brill said.

“I’d love to see my time come down to something in the very low 41 minute barriers at World Youths. I’ve got a lot of training to do to make that happen and I am excited about getting into it.”

In other highlights on Day 1 of the Australian Junior Athletics Championships:
–        The first medal of the championship was won by Jimmy Gordon (Qld) in the boy’s under 17 discus throw. His best mark of 50.12m saw him take home the Australian crown as Alex Dalton (Qld, 49.03m) won silver and Lachlan Page (SA, 46.88m) bronze.
–        Biniyam Hagos (Tas, first, 6:09.2), Kale Adams (Tas, second, 6:15.00) and Alex Bessell (Tas, third, 6:19.11) delivered Tasmania’s first ever track treble in the boy’s under 18 2000m steeplechase.
–        Madison Gipson (NSW) crossed in 13.82 (w: +0.8) to win the girl’s under 20 hurdles, while the boy’s under 20 110m hurdles event was taken out by Anthony Collins (Qld) in14.18 (w: +1.1).
–        Trae Williams (Qld) won the boy’s under 17 200m in 22.35 (w: +0.9) by a mere 0.01 seconds from Michael Mullett (Vic, second, 22.36).
–        Athletics Australia Under 19 Squad Member Kate Spencer (NSW) won the girl’s under 20 5000m in a meet record 16:57.78. Olivia Lucas (Qld, 17:08.11) and Catherine Clohesy (SA, 17:14.68) won silver and bronze respectively, with both of their times also below the previous meet record.
–        Daniela Roman (Vic) and Aliyah Johnson (Qld), who both have World Youth Championship qualifiers in the event, qualified first (13.60) and second (13.75) fastest for the final of the girl’s under 18 100m hurdles.
–        IAAF World Junior Championships representative Abbey de la Motte (Tas) and Victorian champion Deluca Lawson Matthews (Vic) won the girl’s and boy’s under 20 400m in times of 56.16 and 48.11 respectively.

The Australian Junior Athletics Championships continue at the Western Australian Athletics Stadium tomorrow.

To view and download more information, including entry lists and results, on the Australian Junior Athletics Championships, please click here.

 

Athletics Australia – News