World Juniors is just one athletics pathway

27 December 2023

World Juniors is just one athletics pathway

In just over three months dozens of NSW athletes will chase their sporting dreams at the Australian Under-20 championships which double as the trials for the World U20 Championships to be held in Lima, Peru in August 2024. Many of our future Olympians have made their debut at the World U20 Championships, but many have NOT and have gone on to have very successful international careers.

In April, Australia can select a maximum of two athletes for each individual event at the World U20 Championships and as we witnessed just last year for the trials for the 2022 World U20 Championships team, there were events with more than 10 qualifiers in some events. Athletes were just battling to make the final of the trials before chasing a top-2 place. In the women’s 200m, 14 athletes arrived at the trials with qualifiers, and they were effectively chasing just one place as Torrie Lewis competed in the open 200m championships of Australia. In the men’s 1500m and 3000m there were eight qualifiers ahead of the trials. Fastest times or best distances meant little at the trials as illustrated in this event where the last ranked (8th) claimed one of the two Australian team positions for the World Under-20 Championships. The fastest ranked 3000m male, ahead of the trials, would place third and initially miss selection, but was later added later to the team due to a withdrawal.

Some other events with large qualifiers ahead of the 2022 trials were: men’s 100m – 9, men’s 200m – 7, women’s 100m – 11 and women’s 1500m – 14.

The 2024 trials will also include some athletes from the 2022 World U20 Championships team, who bring that experience to their competition. They include Peyton Craig, Toby Stolberg, Delta Amidzovski, Aleksandra Stoilova, Olivia Inkster, Claudia Hollingsworth, Tiana Boras and Marley Raikiwasa.

16 NSW athletes have already banked a World U20 qualifier in the 2023/24 season, but as we have seen in 2022 it is just the first step on the pathway to selection. Already seven Australian athletes have a 400m qualifier, including four from NSW.

NSW qualifiers so far: 200m - Paige Campbell; 400m - Campbell, Jemma Pollard, Ella Penman, Annalise Blattman; 800m - Ivy Boothroyd, Tayissa Buchanan; 3000m - Ada Rand; 2000m Steeplechase - Lucie Francis; 100m hurdles - Delta Amidzovski, Alexandra Richards; High Jump - Izobelle Louison-Roe; Discus Throw - Chelsy Wayne; 200m - Sebastian Sultana; 800m - Daniel Williams; 110m hurdles - Timothy Forster; and 10,000m walk - Isaac Beacroft.

Dozens more NSW athletes are just outside the qualifiers this season already.

Advice from high jumper Mitchell Hatfield, himself chasing selection

The last NSW medal won at the recent Australian All Schools Championships was by Mitchell Hatfield in the under-18 high jump. He cleared 2.10m, but missed three attempts at a World U20 Championships qualifier (2.13m).

Wise beyond his years, Hatfield spoke about his 2022/23 season campaign where he missed an opportunity to represent Australia. Last year at the Australian All Schools, in December 2022, he seemed to have put himself on the path to qualification for selection in the Australian team for the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, but alas it was not to be.

“It sounds silly, but I was really hyper focused on a Comm Games qualifier and I stressed myself out about it. So I told myself (this summer) I’m not going to worry about the World Junior qualifier and let it take care of itself.”

But surely World Juniors is the only pathway to senior success?

Some of Australia’s leading athletes who never went to an Australian Juniors (or World Youth/U18) include:

Rohan Browning

Stewart McSweyn

Olli Hoare

Peter Bol

Kelsey-Lee Barber

Izzi Batt-Doyle

Gen Gregson

Catriona Bisset

Amy Cashin

Samantha Dale

Rose Davies

Linden Hall

Bree Masters

Kathryn Mitchell

Liam Adams

Sinead Diver

Liz Clay

Jye Edwards

Ben Buckingham

Pat Tiernan

Jack Rayner

Charlie Hunter

David McNeill

Ellie Pashley

Pathway and emerging athlete competitions include:

• World U20 Championships
• World Race Walking Teams Championships – open and U20 events
• World University Games
• World University Cross Country Championships
• World Cross Country Championships – open and U20 events
• Commonwealth Youth Games (U18)
• World Youth Olympics (U18)

Other competitions in 2024 and/or 2025: Olympics Games, Paralympic Games, World Championships, World Para Athletics Championships, World Indoors, World Road Running Championships and World Relays.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Lucie Francis (image courtesy of David Tarbotton)