NSW athletes to chase selection in the WXC team

10 January 2023

NSW athletes to chase selection in the WXC team

This Sunday morning at Stromlo Forest in Canberra, the best domestic distance fields ever assembled will challenge for the rare opportunity to wear the green and gold on home soil. The Australian World Athletics Cross Country trials have attracted phenomenal fields.

The athletes will be chasing selection in the Australian team for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships to be held in the NSW central-western town of Bathurst on February 18.

Athletes will be chasing selection in five events, men and women senior 10km cross country, men U20 8km cross country, women U20 6km cross country and a mixed gender 4x2km relay.

In all the individual events, Australia will select six athletes with the first three across the line at the trial automatically selected. In the mixed relay the first male and first female are automatic. The remaining team positions are discretionary selections.

Mixed gender 4x2km relay

With Australia’s current depth over 1500m, we are considered a medal hope in this event. US-based Sutherland athlete Olli Hoare is one of the rare athletes to receive an exemption from running the trial. If Stewart McSweyn can win the trial, this pair combined with two from Jessica Hull (Bankstown) or Victorian’s Linden Hall, Georgia Griffith and Abbey Caldwell, will form a crack team.

Jessica Hull, is returning from a COVID-effected 2022 campaign, and faces quality opposition. She has good cross country form, placing third in the NCAAs in 2018 and ran the world cross country championships as a junior.

Similarly Olli Hoare does too, winning the Australian U20 title in 2015 and was a two-time NCAA Top-20 finisher in the XC.

Men senior 10km

The quality of this field is astounding with Victorian’s Brett Robinson, Jack Rayner, Liam Adams and Andy Buchanan starting. NSW’s leading hopes look like Ed Goddard and Jackson Sharp. On his day Ed could be top-5. He was third at the National XC last year and has competitive at the World University Cross Country Championships. Jackson Sharp is a dark house, but shows good recent from over the undulating terrain. A member of Australian 2019 World Cross Country team where he placed 36th in the U20 event, last November he was 16th in the NCAA XC in America.

Women senior 10km

In contrast, NSW has two leading prospects here in the women’s race. Tokyo Olympian and two-time Zatopek champion Rose Davies is joined by the most recent Zatopek champion and 2019 World XC representative Leanne Pompeani (BAN). Their toughest opposition looks to be South Australian Olympians Izz Batt-Doyle and Jessica Stenson, along with National XC champion Georgia Hansen (Vic) and Amelia Mazza-Downie.

Men U20 8km

This race really is very open event. Two 2022 World U20 Championships competitors, Archie Noakes (VIC) and Flynn Pumpa (VIC) will certainly be competitive, along with NSW’s Zatopek junior 3000m champion Cameron Myers. Victorian Logan Janetzki will definitely be one to watch. Second in the National under-20 5000m last summer, he has already gone 14:20 this season. NSW will also be well represented by Ciaran Rushton, Max Russell, Jade Kitching, Hamish Hart and Logan Campbell amongst others.

Women U20 8km

Off the back of her stunning Zatopek U20 3000m win in Australian U18 record time, Amy Bunnage (VIC) looks unbeatable here. World U20 Championships representative Claudia Hollingsworth (VIC), who has also entered the senior 2km race, looks a strong prospect. Another World U20 Championships representative, now US-based Lucinda Rourke, will be in the mix. National schools U17 1500m and 3000m champion, Gabrielle Schmidt (QLD) is an inform athlete to watch. Our NSW hopes will be led by Lily Winward. Also on the line will be National 3000m champion Claudia Meaker, Allegra McGivern, Sienna Scahill, Holly Storry and Hyewon Wilson.

Entry list, timetable: https://www.athletics.com.au/events/147692/

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Image: Jackson Sharp competing at the Australian trials for the 2019 World Cross Country Championships team (image courtesy o David Tarbotton)