RAMSDEN BOUND FOR WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

Matthew Ramsden has produced a powerful performance at the Australian World Cross Country Selection Trials in Canberra’s Stromlo Forrest to secure his spot for the upcoming World Athletics Cross Country Championships. Named alongside 13 other Australians, including Olympic and Commonwealth Games Finalists, Ramsden is now bound to take on the World's best in Bathurst next month. 

Building on his 2022 Commonwealth Games and World Championship appearances, Ramsden lined up against 10,000m and 10km road Australian Record holder Jack Rayner (VIC) in the men’s 10km trial. Leaving no room for doubt, Ramsden took control of the trial in the early stages and lead the 39-strong field across the first half of the race.

Battling a stitch at the beginning of the third lap, Ramsden was overtaken by Rayner who would go on to win the trials. Confident in his position and working through the discomfort, Ramsden crossed the line in second place in 29:29 to secure his third World Cross Country Championship appearance.

"Me, Rayner and Brett all train together, so we set out to work together and get the spots. The race plan we set before didn't play out, but it worked out. After the American went out hard, I started seeing a gap appear and I decided to run hard.”

“The stitch wasn't ideal, whether it was waking up at 1 am Perth time for the race, or the fact that it was the first race in six months, it all played a part. Either way, it’s an Australian team, there is no second thought, you just go.”

Looking ahead at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Ramsden will now reset and work towards representing the country on home soil.

“I am glad that it was a top three finish and that the top three were [Melbourne Track Club]. Jack, Brett, and I can now just focus on working hard towards Worlds. We'll assess what the goals are for Bathurst over the next few weeks as the World Cross Country teams start coming together. We will continue to build and focus on being ready, the job isn't done yet.”

Ramsden was joined by fellow West Australians Ethan Wyatt-Smith and Brandon Ford in the Open Men’s 10km. Debuting in the Open age group, Wyatt-Smith proved he is one to watch as he produced a stellar performance to finish in Australia’s top 10. Adding to his Australian Under 20 Cross Country silver from last year, Wyatt-Smith crossed the line in 30:29 to place eleventh overall, while Ford finished in 34:40 to place 33^rd.

Charli-Rose Carlyon was WA’s sole female runner and contested the Under 20 6km race. A solid race, Carlyon had a sprint finish to place seventh in a time of 22:20, just one second outside the top six.

Jack Rayner and Olympian Rose Davies (NSW) won the Men’s and Women’s 10km trial events, with Athletics Australia naming national record holder Stewart McSweyn (TAS) and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Abbey Caldwell (VIC) to the team as the first two spots in the Mixed Relay Team. Leanne Pompeani (NSW), Caitlin Adams (SA), Brett Robinson (VIC), and Matthew Ramsden rounded out the Open event selections.

Six junior athletes were also named for the Bathurst Championships. Logan Janetzki (VIC), Archie Noakes (VIC), Jack Coomber (QLD), Amy Bunnage (VIC), Gabrielle Schmidt (QLD) and Gabrielle Vincent (VIC) finished in the top three in the Men’s and Women’s U20 events to gain selection. The remainder of Australia’s Senior and U20 teams, made up of discretionary selections, will be named in the following weeks.

The World Athletics Cross Country Championships Bathurst 2023 will take place from February 17-19, with a number of mass participation races on offer to allow runners, walkers and sports fans alike to take on the same course as the world’s top cross country runners.

To find out more about this once-in-a-lifetime experience, visit www.worldathletics.org

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

Photo Credit: Michael Thomas Sports Photography

Posted 16 January 2023