97 of WA’s best athletes will represent the state at the upcoming 100^th edition of the Australian Track & Field Championships in Brisbane where they will look to claim the 2023 Australian title.

Headlined by four Birmingham Commonwealth Games medallists and six 2022-23 Australian World Championship representatives, WA’s best will be looking to make their mark as they prepare for the return of the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris and World Athletics Championships bound for Budapest.

Declan Tingay (Brent Vallance) is in career-best form with a slew of sensation results under his belt already this year. Dominate performances at the Supernova Walk events saw Tingay claim a new Australian record in the 10,000m and a blitzing performance at the Asian Race Walking Championships in Japan earlier this month. Tingay’s performance in Japan has seen the West Australian climb to number two on the Australian all-time list behind only Nathan Deakes with the fastest time by an Australian in 18 years over the 20km distance in 1:18:36 to win the event.

Fellow Commonwealth Games Medallist Sarah Edmiston (Paul Edmiston), Rhiannon Clarke (Danny Kevan) and Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess) will be looking to consolidate their domestic seasons in Brisbane.

Edmiston has already collected a series of World Para Athletics qualifiers in the Women’s F44 Discus. Throwing her first A-Qualifier of 38.67m at the WA State Championships, the Perth Track and Field Athlete is building a strong case for a golden moment in Paris in April.  

Fresh off a career-best performance in Europe of 5.91m, Kurtis Marschall is edging ever closer to the 6m mark and will look to cement his place in the Australian World Championships Team. No stranger to the Green and Gold, Marschall is proving that the best is yet to come and will look to defend his 2022 Australian title.

Rhiannon Clarke’s recent Australian All-Comers 200m T38 record will spur on the dual Commonwealth Games medallist when she touches down in Brisbane. Clarke claimed two national medals in 2022 but will once again face tough competition from training partner Ella Pardy (Danny Kevan) and a growing field of Australian para sprinters, while also adding the 400m to her repertoire.

Rounding out the Open field will be 2022 World Athletics Championship representatives Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) and Cruz Hogan (Morgan Ward), while World Athletics Under 20 Athlete Etienne Rousseau (Didier Poppe) will step up into the Open divisions for the first time.

While WA’s most recent Australian team representative Charli-Rose Carlyon (Suzi Graves) will look to solidify her breakout season in the Under 20 competition with runs in both the 3000m and 5000m final.

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.

WA TEAM

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: Steve Christo (Athletics Australia)