WA ATHLETES READY FOR REGIONAL SHOWDOWN AT OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Published Thu 09 May 2024
A supersized Australian team will head to Suva, Fiji for the 2024 Oceania Athletics Area Championships with 13 West Australians set to take on the region's best.
With the path to Paris 2024 heating up and the international season in full swing, Australia's best Track and Field athletes will look to consolidate their standings as the best in the region and showcase the country's growing depth across events.
World Athletics Championships representative Cruz Hogan (Morgan Ward) will headline for the state, as the Javelin thrower looks to replicate his success at the Championships and move up the international rankings. Claiming the 2022 title with a throw of 79.25m, Hogan missed a podium at the recent Australian Athletics Championships and will look to make amends come Fiji.
2023 Commonwealth Youth Games medallists Reese Prior (Danny Kevan) and Niamh Mac Alasdair (Danny Kevan) will return to the Australian team for the first time as senior athletes. The training partners will again battle it out in the Long Jump final, with Prior also set to contest the 100m. While Mac Alasdair bested Prior at the Commonwealth Youth Games, it was Prior who claimed the most recent win with gold at the Australian Athletics Championships.
Up-and-coming Decathlete Jaxon Stewart (Russell Mathanda) has bounced back from a throwing injury to secure a spot in the Decathlon and Javelin competition. The 2024 Australian silver medalist has an impressive mastery across the disciplines but will look to make a mark with the javelin final.
Fellow junior and recently announced World Athletics Under 20 team member Amelia Rowe (Brian Pozzi) will continue her breakout season with a start in the Women's 400m. Rowe delivered one of the performances of the meet when she claimed gold in the Under 20 400m final at the Australian Championships in Adelaide. Embarking on her first Australian team, expect Rowe to utilise her speed and replicate her dominant flying finish.
Congratulations to all of the WA and Australian athletes selected to represent the country in Fiji.
West Australian Athletes for the 2024 Oceania Area Athletics Championships
- Amelia Rowe (Tracksters, Brian Pozzi)
- Anika Gosling (Kingsway, Allana Wignall)
- Cruz Hogan (UWA, Morgan Ward)
- Reese Prior (UWA, Danny Kevan)
- Niamh Mac Alasdair (UWA, Danny Kevan)
- Leah O'Brien (Perth Track & Field Club, Braiden Clarke)
- Olivia Williams (West Track, Kim Bodini)
- Gemma Buckle (Bunbury, Janno van der Linde)
- Kai Gale (Perth Track and Field, Aaron Bresland)
- Benjamin Patterson (Joondalup Track Club, Paul Heywood)
- Matthew Dodds (UWA, Alwyn Graham)
- Jonathan Waddingham (Bunbury, Albert Cianfrini)
- Jaxon Stewart (West Track, Russell Mathanda)
The 2024 Oceania Area Athletics Championships will be held at HFC Stadium in Suva, Fiji from June 1-8, with streaming details for Australian audiences still to come from Oceania Athletics.
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By David Smith (Athletics West)
Posted by 9 May 2024
