Live stream: Catch track and field action from the two-day Australian Little Athletics Championships (Australian Little Athletics Championships)
Records have been broken, new stars emerge and champion states crowned after two electrifying days at Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne. Relive the action, see the photos and read the reports.
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NSW and Queensland have come out on top in the teams titles at the Little Athletics nationals at Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne.
NSW are the best state in the younger age groups, claiming the U13 and U14 titles with Queensland coming out on top in U15.
There were also wins for Tasmania and Victoria who took out the Dick Healey Trophy and the handicap titles in under-13 respectively.
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DAY TWO REPLAYS, REPORTS AND PICTURES
RELIVE ALL THE ACTION FROM THE FIELD
Victoria takes prized 100m double
Victoria is the king and queen of the U14 100m, taking out both events at the Little Athletics nationals at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday.
Cooper Brancatisano held off a late challenge from NSW’s Jack Proudford and Queensland’s Leonardo Seremet to claim the boys title.
He took the lead with 60m to go and held on, charging to the line to win in a time of 11.59 seconds.
In the girls, Ariela Sprague dominated the event, winning with a time of 12.32 seconds to complete the double - the 100m and 200m.
She was more than 0.3 seconds ahead of SA’s Claire Hardy and Victoria’s Ishara Ross who finished second and third.
Meanwhile, Victoria’s Kevin De Silva has powered past his rivals to win the blue riband U13 100m.
De Silva might have started behind his rivals at the start but by the 80m mark he was home as he charged to the line.
He won in a time of 11.79 seconds, which was almost 0.4 seconds quicker than anyone else.
In a much closer affair in the U13 100m girls, NSW’s Tayla Bryant was able to close down South Australia’s Mali Walters to claim the title in the final few metres.
Walters led for most of the final but was caught at the end, losing by 0.02 seconds as Bryant won with a time of 12.65 seconds.
Versatile Vic takes big throwing double
Victoria’s Theodore Eliadis saved his best attempt for last to become one of the first Little Athletics competitors to win two events at the nationals in U14.
Eliadis, competing in shot put, threw a distance of 16.54 to claim gold after winning in discus the day before.
Two of his throws were good enough to win overall.
He is now a national champion in both shot put events at Athletics Australia and Little Athletics, completing the double earlier this month in Brisbane.
On Saturday, he won the discus with a personal best throw of 50.26m.
Rising hurdles star impresses again
Western Australia’s Travarn Ackerman has risen above the field to dominate in hurdles in U13.
The Ringwood Athletics Club competitor claimed the 80m hurdles on Sunday morning after winning the 200m hurdles on Saturday.
He is the best hurdler in the country for his age.
Ackerman won with a time of 12.33 seconds to beat Victorian duo Nate Hall and Lenny Clarke.
Relay glory for Queensland
Queensland claims the under-15 mixed relay, blowing away the other states in the final 200m.
The team won by more than one second ahead of Western Australia and Victoria who finished second and third.
Western Australia had the lead from the start to 200m to the end but couldn’t hold on.
Track or field ... Cayden does it all
Multi class athlete Cayden Bell is having a field day at the Little Athletics nationals.
The Victorian won his third title at the event on Sunday morning to become one of the most successful athletes so far.
Bell, competing in under-13, won the 800m on Saturday to win his first.
He then added the 400m and discus on day two to add to his medal haul.
After being beaten by Queensland’s Jack Alcorn in the shot put and javelin, Bell bounced back in the discus, with a throw of 16.75m, on his second attempt, good enough to win.
Bell is one of two athletes to win three titles so far with NSW’s Olivia Earl winning in shot put, javelin and discus in the under-13 multi class girls.
Sky Blues dominate 1500m races
It was almost perfection for NSW in the U13 and U14 1500m boys and girls events.
They claimed three out of the four races, including both the boys and girls U14 titles.
Trent Alley and Eva Gawel both claimed their first titles at the event.
Alley controlled his race to perfection, pulling away from his rivals to win by more than two seconds.
Gawel held off a late challenge from SA’s India Goodall to win her event.
In the U13s, Evan Rowbotham made it three from four with a five-second win in dominant fashion in his race.
He won ahead of teammate Patrick McMahon.
Queensland’s Ruby Hazell spoiled the party by winning the U13 girls after charging home on the final lap.
She won by more than two seconds.
Incredible 1000m medley relay finals
Blistering legs from Sienna Novak and Caitlin Probets has delivered NSW a crushing win in the U13 race.
The event, which sees four runners complete 100m, 200m, 300m and 400m sprints, was won by Sky Blues by just under four seconds.
Western Australia and Queensland started well with NSW third during the first leg of the race.
Novak, once she got the baton, sprinted clear to establish a lead which Probets extended in her leg.
Adelaide Pittis, who finished the race in the last 400m, maintained the gap to help the team win.
Isla Maris, who did the first leg, was the other athlete in the race.
Meanwhile, Victoria has ended their home nationals in the perfect way, winning the final event, the U13 boys 1000m medley relay- and breaking a record in the process.
A superb run by Kevin De Silva in the 200m leg of the race set up the result.
Dolman leaps to massive victory
Victorian Harrison Dolman has broken a state record on his way to victory in the boys U14 long jump.
In a commanding performance, Dolman won the event with a jump of 6.55m, 40cm ahead of his next rival.
In fact all four of his jumps would have been good enough to win.
Dolman’s performance beat the previous best for the state, which was achieved by Michael Cann in 2013 with a jump of 6.44m.
DAY ONE REPLAYS, PICTURES AND REPORTS
FIELD REPLAY
TRACK REPLAY
Vics at the double in the 200m
It was a Victorian double in the U14 200m finals.
Ariela Sprague got to within 0.9 seconds of the 200m record set by Suzanne Broadrick in 1983, finishing first with 25.38.
A similar tale followed in the U14 boys race straight after, where Matthew Millias came out on top in a thrilling finish to the race.
A five-way tie looked likely with 30m to go before Millias found another gear to come home with the gold at 23.63.
Only 0.32 seconds separated first from fourth, with fellow Victorian Cooper Brancatisano coming second at 23.68.
No problem for Novak
Siena Novak has stormed past the day’s biggest field to win gold.
Novak saw off 13 other athletes in the U13 800m race, with 2.15.03 to add another medal to the Sky Blues’ tally.
Canberra’s Olivia Galang finished second with 2.16.25
Sensational Keates sets new record
Australia has a new U13 800m record holder.
And his name is Harry Keats.
Keates’ 2.03.31 edges the previous best of 2.03.68 set by Queenslander Dylan Devine in 2018.
Keates burst out of the pack and never looked like slowing down, finishing six seconds ahead of NSW teammate Evan Rowbotham in second.
Alcorn powers to big shot put win
Queenslander Jack Alcorn has recorded a convincing shot put win, throwing nearly five metres more than the next best.
Alcorn’s 10.34m shot put him well above the rest in the 13-14 year old boy multicast final.
The next best was Victorian Cayden Bell with 5.44m, while Lachlan Margetson received the bronze with 3.91m.
Record tumbles on Little As opening day
A 17-year-old record has been smashed at Lakeside Stadium.
Sophie Polkinghorne, from NSW, has set a new Australian record for the Under-13 girls 1500m race walk, smashing past the previous national best by nearly 14 seconds.
Polkinghorne’s time of 6.21.43 minutes at the Australian Little Athletics Championships eclipsed the record set by Shannon Jennings (6.35.3 minutes) in 2006.
Polkinghorne is the first record breaker of the weekend’s national championships.
Little margin takes the gold
The distance couldn’t split two athletes at the top, so the Under-13 girls long jump medal had to come down to a points decision.
New South Wales athlete Allegra Little claimed the gold by the smallest of margins.
Little (NSW) edged out Jemima Geappen (TAS) by two points despite the pair recording an equal best jump.
Both athletes jumped 5.07m, with Little moving clear after Geappen fouled on her last jump. The Tasmanian still had enough in the bank to pick up silver.
Deena Gerges from South Australia finished third with a 5.04m jump.
It comes after home state Victoria registered their first gold medal of the Australian Little Athletics Championships with Max Davidson waltzing his way to the gold in the Under-14 boys 1500m race walk.
Davidson finished in 6.52.53 minutes, almost seven seconds clear of silver medalist and fellow Victorian, Daniel Pashutin. NSW Christopher Nilon took home the bronze.
NSW perfect start to nationals
The Little Athletics championships are underway at Lakeside Stadium and it was a perfect start to the weekend’s action for the NSW team.
The sky blues took out all three places on the podium in the first final of the Australian Little Athletics Chmpionships.
Matilda Webb was the weekend’s first gold medalist, winning the Under-14 girls 1500m race walk with NSW teammates Jessica Loring and Maisie Mitchell locking out a sky blue podium.
Webb took the lead early and never looked like giving it up, while the NSW trio put a clear gap between themselves and the rest of the field over the 1500m journey.
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