WA athletes competed at the 2026 Australian Cross Country and Australian Athletics Junior Race Walking Championships in Ballarat

WA athletes competed at the 2026 Australian Cross Country and Australian Athletics Junior Race Walking Championships in Ballarat over the weekend, with wet and rainy conditions making for an incredibly challenging course. Athletes had to navigate plenty of mud, water and obstacles throughout the weekend.

The Cross Country Championships were held on Saturday, with some fantastic performances across all age groups.

A major highlight was Matt Ramsden (Andreas Prem), who made his return to racing in the Open Men’s 10km, finishing as the 4th Australian. Lucas Turnbull also produced a fantastic performance, claiming his first national medal with silver in the U12 Boys 3km. Other athlete highlights finishing in the top 10 were:

The U17 Girls put together a strong performance, taking home the bronze team medal. Mia Clark (Rafael Baugh), Hope McHenry (Gina Grayson Cassey) and Meg White (Rafael Baugh) led the way for WA, finishing as the team’s top three athletes.

The Junior Racing Walking Championships followed on Sunday, with Kayley Henderson-Mason taking out the U12 Girls 2km race walk. Kaytee Bogaers  (Mike Reid) also raced strongly in the U20 Women’s 10km race walk, finishing in 4th place.

Congratulations to all of the WA athletes who competed over the weekend. Your hard work, determination and commitment were fantastic to see, particularly in such challenging conditions!

Find the full results here