Tokyo 2020 in focus for athletes at 75th NSW Country Championships in Dubbo

16 January 2020

Tokyo 2020 in focus for athletes at 75th NSW Country Championships in Dubbo

The line-up of elite country-based athletes competing at this week’s 75th NSW Country Championships, is headed by Newcastle Paralympian Erin Cleaver and Tokyo Olympic hopeful Tyler Gunn. The three-day meet will be held this Friday to Sunday at Barden Park, Dubbo with the assistance of the Dubbo Athletics Club and the Dubbo Regional Council.

Cleaver, 19, a T38 cerebral palsy class athlete, is opening her season as she strides towards selection for the Tokyo Paralympics. Cleaver, who won a relay medal at the Rio Paralympic and a long jump silver medal at the 2017 world championships, will line-up in the open 100m and long jump in Dubbo. The second fastest Australian 400m sprinter last year, Central Coast-based Gunn, who is returning from injury, will race over 200m and 400m in Dubbo. Gunn, just 20-year-old, ran his breakthrough 400m personal best 12 months ago on Australia day.

Joining Tyler in Dubbo is his sister Katie Gunn, who leads a strong contingent of juniors. Gunn a leading Australian long jumper, is pursing the qualifying standard for the World U20 Championships. Her personal best of 6.09m is just short of the standard of 6.15m. Gunn, will also line up in the sprints where she meets Newcastle’s Teah Macpherson and Wallsend specialist hurdler Tiahna Skelton – the Oceania under-18 400m hurdles champion.

Another athlete who is odds on to record her first World U20 championships discus qualifier is Newcastle’s national schools under-18 champion Ashlyn Blackstock. Her personal best of 49.34m exceeds the standard, but it was in September a month before the qualifying period commenced. For Blackstock, she just needs to repeat that distance to qualify.

Western NSW sprinter, Zen Clark, will be an unbackable favourite in the under-20 100m and 200m, the son of national 400m record holder Darren Clark, Zen is nearly a local, as a resident of Bathurst. The women’s distance program will be dominated by Wollongong’s Rosie Davidson, a former NSW junior steeplechase record holder.

Two of Australia’s leading young high jumpers, Emily Whelan and Bella Stewart compete in Dubbo. Adamstown’s Whelan, just 20, has a personal best of 1.83m and should win the open event, while Narrabri’s Bella Stewart, aged 18, competes in the under-20 event. With a personal best of 1.74m, she will be targeting the World U20 Championships standard of 1.82m.

In the masters events, there is a group of national champions and medallist competing. Wollongong’s Gianna Mogentale will compete in the 50-59 year sprints, jumps and throws. A teammate at the Illawarra Blue Stars club (IBS), is the legendary Mary Thomas. She first competed at the NSW Country Championships, on the Sydney Sports Ground on January 28, 1961 – 60 years ago.

“I was 16-years-old and belonged to Southern Flame Athletic Club in Wollongong which is now Athletics Wollongong,” Thomas recalled.

“In those days we only had open events and I remember having to compete against June Heath (Newcastle) who had competed in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956.”

This weekend in Dubbo, Mary Thomas will compete in the four throws in the 70+ age division.

Some other masters athletes to watch for will be throwers Gavin Murray (Central Coast) and Melissa Holahan (Newcastle), and sprinters Jay Stone (Armidale) and John Wall (Central Coast).

A favourite in the under-20 throws will be Narromine’s Aiden Butcher. The town is famous for producing Olympic sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor.

EVENT FACTS

Name: NSW Country Championships

Venue: Barden Park, Dubbo

Organiser: Athletics NSW

Dates: Friday 17th to Sunday 19th January 2020

Entries, timetable, rules: https://www.nswathletics.org.au/events/51665/&cat=2643-2697-2698&f=list

Live results: http://www.nswathletics.info/liveresults/

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Erin Cleaver competing at the Commonwealth Games.