Australian javelin thrower Jarrod Bannister dies suddenly aged 33

THE Australian athletics community has been shocked by the passing of champion javelin thrower and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jarrod Bannister.

Javelin thrower Jarrod Bannister death has shocked the Australian athletics community. Picture: AFP

THE Australian athletics community has been shocked by the passing of champion javelin thrower Jarrod Bannister.

Bannister, 33 — who won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi — died suddenly in Holland where he’d been training and living with his girlfriend.

His death is not believed to be suspicious.

“Athletics Australia is saddened and shocked to learn of the death of Jarrod Bannister,” said a statement released by the governing body shortly after the news was confirmed.

“Jarrod’s mark of 89.02m is the current Australian record in javelin, set in Brisbane in 2008.

R.I.P Jarrod Bannister. A talented athlete with so much more to give. You will be missed. ❤️

— Sally Pearson OAM (@sallypearson) February 9, 2018

“Two years later, he won gold for his performance at the Delhi Commonwealth Games. It was the highlight of the many occasions that Bannister represented Australia which also included the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 and Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, and the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.”

Athletics Australia CEO Darren Gocher paid tribute to Bannister.

“On behalf of Athletics Australia, I extend our deepest condolences to Jarrod’s family and friends and urge the athletics fraternity to support each other at this difficult time,” he said.

89.02m 🌹

— Kim Mickle (@kimmickle) February 8, 2018

Bannister finished sixth at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and made the world championships final in both South Korea and Daegu.

Hurdles star Sally Pearson, who was a long-time friend of Bannister’s, broke the news of his passing on Twitter.

The Queenslander was a popular team member who had started to rebuild his career and was looking at returning to the sport.

In 2013 Bannister was controversially banned for 20 months for avoiding drug tests.

The national record holder missed three tests within 18 months — which is treated the same as a positive test.

Jarrod Bannister after winning gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Bannister blamed poor communication and procedures by Athletics Australia as a factor behind the circumstances which saw him breach the ASADA Athlete Whereabouts program, which requires the drug agencies to be made aware of the movements of athletes at all times.

In an unfortunate series of events, WADA drug testers arrived at the hotel in Cologne, Germany, only to be told Bannister had checked out the day before.

In fact, he was asleep upstairs in a room he was sharing with another Australian athlete, Jarrod Milburn, as per Athletics Australia policy and the room was paid for by AA.

Milburn had checked in the day before so the room was registered in his name and Bannister’s name was not added to hotel records to reflect that he was also staying in the room.

The ban devastated Bannister but in recent months he’d got back into serious training with a view to reigniting his career.

Athletics Australia said it would be honouring Bannister’s career in the coming days.

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Originally published as Australian javelin thrower Jarrod Bannister dies suddenly aged 33