London calling for Australia’s best, including Pearson, Tallent, Turner and Holt

April 2, 2017

London is calling for twenty of Australia’s best athletes after initial selections for the 2017 IAAF World Championships were confirmed as the 2017 Australian Athletics Championships drew to a close in Sydney (NSW) today.

Featuring Sally Pearson (Qld), who will compete on the same track she won Olympic gold in 2012, and Rio 2016 medallists Jared Tallent (SA) and Dane Bird-Smith (Qld), the green and gold squad is on track to rival the size of Moscow 2013 and Beijing 2015, with Chairman of Selectors, Dion Russell, impressed by how the team is taking shape.

Video: Sally Pearson wins! – Women’s Open 100m Hurdles Final 2017 Australian Athletics Championships

“For the IAAF World Championships, our approach is to send the strongest and largest team possible. This is the first year of the Olympic cycle and we want to provide all athletes with continued opportunities to compete as we begin to prepare for Tokyo 2020,” Russell said.

“All eligible and qualified athletes for in-stadium events have been selected at the close of the Australian Athletics Championships, including Patrick Tiernan who now is available for selection as a consequence of his performance at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships last weekend.

“We’ve also now announced six walkers in total, with Jared Tallent and Chris Erickson added to the 50km event after we confirmed Dane Bird-Smith, among others, post the 20km walk Selection Trial last month.

“The team is in a good position. We have 20 athletes selected now, a good healthy number, and three more than the same time in 2013, the year after the London Olympics. We’re expecting the team to grow significantly before the close of the qualification period in July.”

Athletics Australia also confirmed automatic selections for the 2017 World Para-Athletics Championships, with Paralympic Games gold medallists James Turner (NSW) and Scott Reardon (NSW) to join reigning world champions Isis Holt (Vic), Madison de Rozario (WA), Angela Ballard (NSW) and Todd Hodgetts (Vic) on entry lists for London 2017.

“We have also confirmed the selection of six athletes for the World Para-Athletics Championships. These athletes are gold medallists from either the world championships in Doha in 2015 or Rio 2016 that also have a combination of at least two Athletics Australia ‘A’ or ‘B’ standards for their selected events,” Russell added.

“The qualification period for this event continues until 5 June and we will again select the largest and strongest team possible to compete in London, where we enjoyed fantastic success at the Paralympic Games five years ago.”

The qualification period for both the IAAF World Championships and the World Para-Athletics Championships continues in the coming months, with competition here in Australia and around the world providing continued opportunity for athletes to stake their claim for selection.

Both the IAAF World Championships and the World Para-Athletics Championships will be held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, marking a return of global competition to the same venue as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For more information on the summer of athletics descending on London (GBR), please click here.

IAAF World Championships

4-13 August, 2017

London (GBR)

200m: Ella Nelson (NSW)

400m: Morgan Mitchell (Vic)

10,000m: Eloise Wellings (NSW), Patrick Tiernan (Qld)

100m hurdles: Sally Pearson (Qld)

400m hurdles: Lauren Wells (ACT)

Long Jump: Fabrice Lapierre (NSW)

Pole Vault: Nina Kennedy (WA), Kurtis Marschall (SA)

Shot Put: Damien Birkinhead (Vic)