In the USA, 13 Australians qualified for the renowned NCAA Indoor Championships, which has long served as a stepping stone for burgeoning athletes as they rise up to senior ranks of Australian competition.
Both on home soil and abroad, Australia’s track and field stars continued their pursuit of excellence as the season crescendos towards the 100th edition of the Australian Track and Field Championships.
Sydney, Australia; March 11, 2023 - The 2023 Chemist Warehouse Sydney Track Classic has been etched into history on a record-breaking night at Sydney Olympic Park, as Australian middle distance star Jessica Hull, and sprint sensations Zoe Hobbs (New Zealand) and Fred Kerley (USA) led the charge in ensuring the resurgence of Australian athletics is here to stay.
Rīga, Latvia - Sebastian Coe, a renowned Olympic champion, ran a mile from the Latvian National Art Museum to the Freedom Monument on March 9th as part of a promotional drive for the World Road Running Championships scheduled to take place in Rīga later this year. Coe expressed his excitement about the event, stating that Rīga would make history in world athletics by hosting the World Road Running Championships. He declared that the city would become the road running capital of the world and encouraged everyone to participate in the championships. Unlike other tournaments that are exclusively reserved for elite athletes, Coe emphasized that the event is open to all participants.
The Chemist Warehouse Sydney Track Classic, scheduled for Saturday night at Sydney Olympic Park, is set to showcase Australian athletics as the country's top athletes compete. Sprints will be the main event of the night, with Fred Kerley of the US bidding farewell to Australia and aiming to break the record for the fastest time ever run on Australian soil over 400m. Reigning 100m world champion Rohan Browning will also be in action, along with Naa Anang, competing against kiwi rivals Eddie Osei-Nketia and Zoe Hobbs in the Men’s and Women’s 100m. The Australian 3000m Championships will see athletes including global medallist Jessica Hull and Olympic medallists Nicola Olyslagers and Ashley Moloney competing. The event is expected to attract a large crowd, with a host of other races and events also scheduled.
Australian 800m runner has vowed to push on and compete for gold at the Paris Olympics despite what he says is permanent damage to his reputation caused by a positive test for performance-enhancing drug EPO. Bol, who holds the national record for the event, insists he is innocent, and his ban from training and competition was lifted last month after an “atypical finding” in his B sample. The case is still being investigated by Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), and if cleared, Bol plans to compete in Europe to qualify for the world championships in Budapest in August and next year’s Paris Olympics.
Norwegian athlete Jakob Ingebrigtsen has emerged victorious in the 1500m race at the European Indoor Athletics Championships, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey. His finishing time of 3 minutes 33.95 seconds secured him the gold medal, setting a new championship record. Neil Gourley, the in-form British athlete, finished in second place with a time of 3:34.23, while Azeddine Habz of France claimed the bronze medal, completing the race in 3:35.39.
UK Athletics' CEO, Jack Buckner, has declared his intention to be more "ruthless" when selecting teams for this summer's World Championships and next year's Olympics, as he believes the old system was "too soft," with some athletes simply making up the numbers.
British middle-distance runner Keely Hodgkinson is set to defend her European Indoor 800m title in Istanbul, as she prepares for the heats on Thursday. Hodgkinson rose to fame in 2019 when she won European Indoor gold in Poland, aged just 19.
Australia’s middle-distance athletes headlined a massive night of athletics action in front of a capacity crowd of 6,177 at Lakeside Stadium for the Maurie Plant Meet, as the world’s fastest man descended on Australia’s first World Athletics Continental Tour Gold Level meet.
