JANUARY 23 RECAP | WA’S BEST LAUNCH 2023 CAMPAIGNS

Published Wed 01 Feb 2023

The state’s top athletes have launched into 2023 with a collection of World Championship qualifiers, Australian selections and titles being collected by WA's best. Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) and Madison de Rozario (Louise Sauvage) lead the way, while WA Masters Athlete David Carr was named World Masters Athletics Male Athlete of the Year.

With Australia set to host its first World Athletics Championship in 25 years, Matthew Ramsden has produced a powerful performance at the Australian Cross Country Trials in Canberra’s Stromlo Forrest to secure his spot for the upcoming World Athletics Cross Country Championships. Crossing the line in a time of 29:29, Ramsden has secured his spot in the Australian team set to take on the world in Bathurst on the 18^th of February.

De Rozario has returned to competition after another sensational year in 2022. At the Summer Down Under 2023 Wheelchair event, De Rozario collected wins in the 800m and 5000m, before heading to Sydney to claim her seventh consecutive Oz Day 10km title. The Sydney road event saw the West Aussie battle hot conditions to cross the line in 25:28.6, less than 60 seconds ahead of Australia’s Christie Dawes.

After an incredible slew of results at the 2022 World Masters Athletics Championships in Tampere, Finland, WA Masters Athlete David Carr has been named World Masters Athletics 2022 Best Male Athlete. Competing in the Men’s 90 age category, Carr set six world records in his age group and collected five World Masters medals in 2022 to take out the title.

Declan Tingay (Brent Vallance) stepped back up on to the top of the podium at the World Athletics Race Walking Tour Stop in Canberra. Supernova 2023, which is a World Athletics Silver level event, saw Australia’s top race walkers take on the 10,000m race at the AIS. A rematch of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Tingay faced Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Evan Dunfee (Canada) and produced a winning performance in a new State Record time of 39:23.98.

Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess) has found an extra gear over in Germany, producing his third-best jump of all time and an equal world lead. Clearing 5.83m at an indoor competition in Karlsruhe, Marschall was just four centimetres off his 2019 personal best. The jump bested the 5.81m World Championship qualifier and will lay the foundations for Marschall’s upcoming block of European competitions.

With the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships set for Paris in July, WA’s Para Athletes are making strong moves early in the season to secure their selection.

Training partners Ella Pardy (Danny Kevan) and Rhiannon Clarke (Danny Kevan) have looked fast out on the track with both athletes setting multiple Australian B Qualifiers. Collecting 100m qualifiers at the first Strive powered by Go For 2&5 program of the year, Clarke and Pardy finished the month with wins at the 2023 ACT State Track and Field Championships. Clarke collected gold in the 200m and 400m Women’s Para Event, while Ella Pardy collected gold in the 100m. Both Clarke and Pardy also set Australian B Qualifiers in the 200m.

2022 Commonwealth Games Silver Medallist Sarah Edmiston (Paul Edmiston) has opened her year with style, throwing a World Para Athletics Qualifier in her opening round. Edmiston is looking strong early and has proved that age is no barrier to success, throwing five Australia B Qualifiers in her opening competition, with her 36.15m being her best.]

WA Thrower Alex De Silva (Lindsey Glass & Braiden Clarke) unleashed at the Victorian Country Athletics Championships on Australia Day with an impressive performance in the Men's Hammer Throw. Competing in the Under 20 Hammer Throw competition, De Silva threw 53.09m to claim the second spot on the dais and set himself up for a huge 2023.

Up-and-coming para-athletes Niamh MacAlasdair (Danny Kevan) and Reese Prior (Danny Kevan) also competed at the 2023 ACT State Track and Field Championships. Competing in the Under 20 Women’s Para Long Jump, MacAlasdair won the competition with a best jump of 4.11m (78.74%), while Prior just missed out on the medals with a best jump of 3.41m (61.89%).

At the state level, WA’s first State Championships of 2023 saw more than 350 athletes take part in the WA Country Championships powered by Coles in Northam. Competing in hot and windy conditions, the State’s best Country Athletes delivered record-breaking performances and close finishes.

Finally, a massive month of Strive delivered a range of notable performances with two of the largest Strive programs ever delivered. Olivia Dodds (Lyn Foreman) has set a new Under 18 and Under 20 100m State Record in a time of 11.48 (1.3). Josh Reeve (Suzi Graves) continues to add to his list of state and national para-records, setting a new State Record in the Under 20 Para 3000m in a time of 9:55.15, as well as a pending National Record in the Under 20 Para 1500m with a time of 4:35.16. Out in the field, Robert Marchesi Scott (Leanne Marchesi) has set a new Under 20 Shot Put State Record, throwing 17.65m.

Upcoming Events

The athletics season will start to heat up in February with some major events set for Australia:

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

Photo Credit: Michael Thomas Sports Photography & Getty Images

Posted 31 January 2023