EVENT PREVIEW | 2023 AUS OPEN & U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Open and Under 20 Track & Field Championships will see Australia’s best battle it out for glory and a World Championships spot at Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre in Brisbane.

DAY ONE

Sarah Edmiston (Paul Edmiston) will be the first of WA’s Commonwealth Games Medallists to go for gold in Brisbane when she enters the throwing circle in the Open Women’s Ambulant Discus Final. The four-time Australian representative has had a dominant domestic season and enters with three World Championship qualifiers to her name.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Rhiannon Clarke (Danny Kevan) will launch her packed Australian Championships schedule with the Open Women’s 400m Ambulant final. Returning to the longer distance for the first time since 2019, Clarke will take on the circular event at the Australian Championships before switching back to the 100m on Day Three.

The first day of the Championships will see WA’s Para athletes headline with Niamh Mac Alasdair (Danny Kevan) getting things started in the Open Women’s Ambulant Long Jump Final. Edging ever closer to securing her first World Para Championships qualifier, Mac Alasdair will go head to head with Paralympic Champion Vanessa Low and look to make the most of her inaugural Open Championships.

WA’s Under 20 medal chances will open with World Athletics Cross Country representative Charli-Rose Carlyon (Suzi Graves) in the Women’s Under 20 3000m final. Carlyon enters as the underdog and will have to best Victoria’s Amy Bunnage to claim gold, but based on her performance at Bathurst, Carlyon will be one to watch.

DAY TWO

Walks Super Star Declan Tingay (Brent Vallance) will headline Day Two when he lines up in the Men’s Open 10,000m Final. Tingay has been blitzing the fields recently and set a new Australian record in the 10,000m at Supernova in Canberra when he crossed the line in 38:03.78. With a seed time a minute ahead of Kyle Swan, Tingay will be up against the clock as he looks to defend his Australian title and better his own Australian record.

Luke Graves (Suzi Graves) will once again line up in the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase final and look to improve on a sensational run in 2022, where he finished fourth. Fresh off breaking the 49-year-old WA State Record, Graves looks set to break into the medals in 2023 and challenge Birmingham Commonwealth Games finalist Ben Buckingham and Olympian Matthew Clarke.

Out in the field, Alex De Silva (Lindsey Glass & Braiden Clarke) will get things underway in the Under 20 Men’s Hammer Throw. Strong domestic results have set up De Silva for a big Australian Championship with the young gun ranked fourth in the field. In the hunt for a medal, De Silva will be closely matched by ACT’s Ethan Ayodele and Victoria’s Darcy Gildings to see who will round the podium.

Oceania Pole Vault Champion Leila Barker will look to add to her Australian Under 18 title from 2022 when she steps up into the Under 20’s final. Barker is currently the top-ranked Australian in the field and will look to finish the 2023 domestic season with another gold medal.  

DAY THREE

Rhiannon Clarke and Ella Pardy (Danny Kevan) will go head-to-head in the Open Women’s Ambulant 100m on Day Three. Both athletes will expect to cruise through the preliminary rounds in the morning before facing off in the final in the afternoon. An incredibly close final at the WA State Championships saw Clarke edge ahead of Pardy by only 0.007, however, it will be game on come the Final.

Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) will look to improve on his silver medal from 2022 in the Open Men’s 1500m. Facing off against the likes of NSW’s Charles Hunter and QLD’s Jack Anstey, Ramsden has reduced his event load to focus on claiming his inaugural 1500m Open title and securing his spot for the Budapest World Championship in August.  

World Under 20 Championship representative Etienne Rousseau (Didier Poppe) will unleash in the Open Men’s Discus Final. Up against the likes of superstar thrower Matthew Denny and fellow World Under 20 teammate Darcy Miller, Rousseau will look to make some noise in the Final and breakthrough on the Open stage.

Out on the track Brianna Beahan (Danny Kevan) will endeavour to finish off a stellar return to the sport with a start in the Open Women’s 100m final. Beahan has made the most of her return to the sport with a state title win earlier in the month but faces a stacked field including Naa Anang, young gun Torrie Lewis and Ella Connolly to claim a place in Saturday evening's final.

DAY FOUR

The final day of the 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Open and Under 20 Track & Field Championships will see Commonwealth Games Champion Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess) attempt to reclaim his national title. Edging ever closer to the 6-meter mark, Marschall has produced a collection of impressive jumps in 2023, including a 5.91m and 5.85m.

2022 World Championship representative Cruz Hogan (Morgan Ward) will look to seal a golden weekend for the state when he lines up in the Men’s Final on Sunday. Hogan will face tough competition from Cameron McEntrye and Nash Lowis, but will look to replicate his personal best efforts from the Oceania Championships last year.

WA’s Alex Perin (Nenad Peisker) will be one to watch in the Under 20 Men’s High Jump competition. Perin enters the Championships with the same seed mark as Victoria’s Lachlan O’Keefe and will make every jump count as he looks to collect the National title.

Joining WA’s 97 athletes will be seven WA technical officials who will be helping administer the four-day Championships.

The 2023 Chemist Warehouse Australian Open and Under 20 Track & Field Championships will be held from Thursday 30 March to Sunday 2 April at the Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre in Brisbane. Spectators can purchase tickets for the four-day Championships HERE.

You can follow all the athletics action from the 2023 Athletics West Summer Season presented by Go For 2&5 via Athletics West’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

For more information about how you can get involved in athletics, contact Athletics West on 08 6272 0480.

By David Smith, Athletics West