Athletics Australia – News – Youth Olympic Games

The 20-strong athletics section of the Australian team for the 2^nd Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing (CHN) will depart on Tuesday ahead of the start of competition on 20 August. 

Athletes from five different states will represent Australia in the Athletics events at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium from 20 to 26 August, 2014.

The Australian contingent will be part of 680 total athletes competing in track and field in Nanjing, including 340 males and 340 females.

Headlining the Australian team will be Australian Youth Olympic Festival champion Alexandra Hulley (NSW) in the female hammer throw.  Hulley, who is coached by Bre Clement and Karyne Di Marco, has a season’s best of 70.26m and should be a strong contender for Australia in the women’s hammer.

Fellow thrower Grace Robinson (NSW) is also one to watch in the women’s shot put, having thrown 15.91m at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Sydney in March to take the Under 18 national crown.

Leading the men’s hopes in Nanjing will be long jumper Joseph Muller (Qld) who leapt 7.49m to win the men’s Under 18 national title in March.  Sprinter Michael Mullett (Vic) should also be worth keeping an eye on after he clocked 47.52 to win gold in the Under 18 age group as well at the 2014 Australian Junior Athletics Championships.

The team also features Samantha Geddes (NSW) in the girls 100m event.  Geddes is the sister of Australian 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games representative, Jarrod Geddes.

Athletics Australia’s National Junior High Performance Manager Sara Mulkearns said the Youth Olympic Games was an amazing opportunity for promising young Australian athletes to experience a major international multi-sport event.

“Competing at a Games as opposed to a sports specific championship is a unique experience and it is terrific for some of our most promising young athletes to have the opportunity to get a taste of this type of international competition,” said Mulkearns. 

“We’ve seen a number of young athletes benefit significantly from their experience at the previous Youth Olympic Games,” Mulkearns added. “Three members of the Australian Youth Olympic Games team in 2010 – Liz Parnov, Damien Birkinhead and Nicholas Hough – recently competed as senior athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with Hough coming fourth in the men’s 110m hurdles final and Birkinhead fifth in the men’s shot put.

The Youth Olympic Games aim to bring together talented young athletes aged from 15 to 18 from around the world.  Just like the Olympic Games, the Youth Olympic Games are held every four years. The first summer edition was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010.  The Summer Youth Olympic Games will feature over 3,500 athletes and are held over a 12-day period, from August 16 to 28. 

You can follow the action from Nanjing at the official event website at https://www.nanjing2014.org/en/.

In Australia, the Seven Network will broadcast a YOG TV highlights package on 7mate (Channel 73) daily from 17 – 29 August 2014. During the week the highlights will be programmed for 12pm on Channel 73 across the country. The time of the highlights varies on the weekend and checking local guides for the program time is recommended.

 Athletics Australia – News

Athletics Section of the Australian Team for the 2^nd Youth Olympic Games