Sally McLellan of Australia clips the final obstacles but wins the 100m Hurdles (© Getty Images)
strong team for the 2004 IAAF World Junior Championships to be held in Grosseto Italy in July.
The team will be led by strong medal hopes, Sally McLellan (100m Hurdles) and John Thornell (Long Jump).
McLellan enjoyed a dream 2003 season, winning the IAAF World Youth 100m Hurdles title in Sherbrooke, then going on to compete in the 4x100m relay at the IAAF World Championships in Paris, and at the age of just 17 years, she became Australia’s youngest ever representative at the World Championships.
During Australia’s 2003/04 domestic season, she continued to make significant progress, lowering her 100m Hurdles best from 14.01 to 13.46. In Grosseto, she will contest the 100m, 100m Hurdles and 4x100m relay.
John Thornell will, also carry the hopes of Australia in the men’s Long Jump. He placed a competitive sixth in the IAAF World Junior long jump final in Kingston. In 2003 he improved his best to 7.81m and a windy 7.97m while claiming the Brazilian senior title. His Australian 2003/04 domestic season has been superb leaping 7.97m and a windy 8.00m both in January.
Australia’s next best hopes are IAAF World Youth discus champion, Ronnie Buckley, and Jacinta Boyd who was sixth in the previous World Junior Championships long jump in Kingston.
Australia also has many other excellent top-8 hopes who are all capable of converting to medallist.
They include:
200m - Matt Davies and Luke Mansfield
800m - Ross Ridgewell and Werner Botha
Javelin – Joshua Robinson
Men 4x100 and 4x400m relays
100m – Sally McLellan
400m – Jamiee-Lee Hoebergen
800m – Brooke Simpson
100m Hurdles – Sally McLellan
Pole Vault - Katrina Miroshnichenko
Javelin – Annabel Thomson
With only four athletes leaping over 16.00m in the Triple Jump at the 2002 IAAF World Juniors, Adelaide’s Alwyn Jones, coached by former Russia 17.55m triple jumper Vassili Grichtchenkov, looks a good hope with a best of 16.16m, despite the early 2004 rankings which reveal nine Chinese and Cuban jumpers over 16.20m.
The team’s two race walkers, Lisa Grant and Adam Rutter, are in good shape after both claiming top-10 places at the recent IAAF World Race Walking Cup.
The team also possess tremendous experience with 13 2003 IAAF World Youth Championships competitors and five 2002 IAAF World Juniors heading to Grosseto.
The team management also includes a mix of past athletes and management with a wealth of experience. Triple Olympian, Nicole Boegman will travel with the team as a jumps coach. Dual Olympian and two-time World Junior race walker Dion Russell will accompany the team as assistant manager, while former World Junior Championships 400m Hurdles representative, Kylie Robertson is a physiotherapist on the team. Marg Koenen, who was an athlete, then coach and an official at the 2000 Olympics and has managed all three Australian World Youth teams, will manage the team to Grosseto.
Australia will he hoping to place top-10 on the IAAF points table, last achieved in 2000, when the team was eighth, with five medals and 16 top-8 positions.
The team will prepare with a major competition on June 26/27 in Brisbane, before travelling to Manchester for a match against GBR on July 3.
Prepared by David Tarbotton, Athletics Australia
Australian Team
[Personal bests are in brackets]
Men
100m Jacob Groth [10.59]
200m Matt Davies [20.94], Luke Mansfield [20.95]
400m Ben Offerins [47.01], Sean Wroe [47.27]
800m Ross Ridgewell [1:48.70], Werner Botha [1:49.17]
110m Hurdles John Burstow [14.39]
3000m Steeple Jayden Russ [9:06.44]
10,000m Walk Adam Rutter [44:02.15]
4x100m Groth, Davies {10.74], Mansfield [10.70], Thornell [10.4], Gary Finegan [10.87], Brandan Galic [10.74]
4x400m Offerins, Wroe, Joel Milburn [47.43], Gavin Jeffries 47.86], Tim Rooke [47.92]
Long Jump John Thornell [7.97m], Chris Noffke [7.63m]
Triple Jump Alwyn Jones [16.16m]
Shot Putt Raff Laurins [6k] 18.18m, 7.2k 16.41m]
Discus Throw Ronnie Buckley [1.75k 59.66m, 2k 52.49m], Laurins [1.75k 58.71m, 2k 51.54m]
Hammer Throw Simon Wardhaugh [6k 70.84m, 7.2k 62.77m]
Javelin Throw Joshua Robinson [71.11m]
Women
100m Michelle Cutmore [11.94], Sally McLellan [11.57]
200m Rebecca Negus [24.18], Kylie Bent [24.16]
400m Jamiee-Lee Hoebergen [53.78], Jacqueline Davies [54.43]
800m Brooke Simpson [2:05.44], Katherine Katsanevakis [2:07.28]
1500m Simpson [4:22.32], Madeline Heiner [4:24.54]
100m Hurdles McLellan [13.46]
3000m Steeple Pippa Hendon [10:26.94], Aleisha Anderson [10:48.73]
10,000m Walk Lisa Grant [48:58.83]
4x400m Hoebergen, Davies, Carly Feben [54.60], Zoe Buckman [54.62]
High Jump Ellen Pettit [1.82m]
Pole Vault Katrina Miroshnichenko [4.00m]
Long Jump Jacinta Boyd [6.35m], Naomi Bligh [6.23]
Triple Jump Alyisha House [13.03m]
Discus Throw Sharmaine Motuliki [48.44m], Calista Lyon [51.45m]
Javelin Throw Annabel Thomson [51.55m], Zoe Pelbart [49.87]
Management
Manager Margaret Koenen
Head Coach John Sessarago
Asst Manager Dion Russell
Doctor Katherine Rae
Physiotherapist Elizabeth Molloy
Physiotherapist Kylie Robertson
Coach Nicole Boegman
Coach Marilyn Pearson
Coach Aaron Holt
Coach Penny Gillies
Coach Denis Knowles
Coach Peter Fortune
