Paige Hooper - 6th world youth championships selection!
Twenty-five of the nation’s most promising young athletes have been named in the Australian team to compete at the 6th world youth championships in Bressanone, Italy, in July.
The Australian squad includes five under 20 national champions, with Paige Hooper (10,000m walk title-holder, selected to the 5000m walk), Brooke Stratton (long jump), Alexander Rowe (800m), Dane Bird-Smith (10,000m walk) and Huw Peacock (hammer throw) all set to compete at the championships from July 8-12.
South Australian Hooper will contest the 5000m walk for the second time at a world youth championships, finishing fourth at the 2007 event in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and today named to line up in the same event in July.
The world youth championships are held every two years under the ruling of the IAAF. In 2009, athletes born in 1992 or 1993 were eligible for selection to the event.
Since their inception in 1999 the championships have proven a breeding ground for talent, with Jana Rawlinson (Poland, 1999), Lisa Corrigan (Hungary, 2001), Jared Tallent (Hungary, 2001), Sally McLellan (Canada, 2003), Joel Milburn (Canada, 2003) and Dani Samuels (Morocco, 2005) just some of the names to have competed at earlier editions of the meet before going on to Olympic and world championships representation.
Athletics Australia High Performance Manager Eric Hollingsworth said the world youth event was an important step for young athletes in their transition to the senior ranks.
“The team’s a good team, it’s not one of our bigger squads but they’re all of a really good standard,” Hollingsworth said.
“The athletes have all done a couple of qualifiers which means they’re consistent performers and that’s very important at that age. More importantly, they’re athletes that we hope can go on along the pathway to become senior athletes.”
Hollingsworth said the quality of the world youth team was further testament to the current strength of athletics talent in Australia.
“Right across the board from the world championships to world uni and now with the world youth teams, I think we might just be going through a little purple patch in terms of what we’re doing,” he said.
“I’m really happy with all the athletes that I’m starting to work with and their position in the world and I think we’ll come home with a few medals from the world youth event.”
While the team will again enter July’s event with high hopes of medal contention, performance under pressure will be Hollingsworth’s main focus.
“It’s very difficult to measure medal contenders because of all the various countries and the lesser knowledge of these young kids at 16 and 17 years of age and how quickly they change, but traditionally Australia really does well so there certainly would be the expectation that we’ll bring home a few medals,” Hollingsworth said.
“From my point of view it’s more important that the athletes come on in the long term and the youth championships are just their first chance to show what they can do internationally.
“It’s the first real mark of whether athletes can handle pressure and for Australian athletes to improve their ability to work under pressure and do their best in the heat of competition is very important to me.
“The athletes who can produce their best and do PB’s under the pressure of a championships are the athletes who will make themselves stand out and that’s the most important thing. To get Australian athletes to produce under pressure is one of my big aims and once we can do that, I know the talent’s already there, we’ll do even better on the international scale.”
Selections to the Australian team for the 6th world youth championships in Bressanone, Italy, are as follows:
Men (17)
400m: Alex Beck (QLD)
800m: Alexander Rowe (VIC), Jordan Williamsz (VIC)
1500m: James Connor (NSW), Kane Grimster (VIC)
3000m: Joshua Johnson (NSW)
110m hurdles: Cameron Hyde (NSW), Mitchell Tysoe (NSW)
10,000m walk: Dane Bird-Smith (QLD), Sean Fitzsimons (WA)
High jump: Kent Adams* (WA), Andrew Neville (NSW)
Long jump: Kurt Jenner (NSW)
Shot put: Damien Birkenhead (VIC)
Discus throw: Ben Talakai (NSW)
Hammer throw: Huw Peacock (TAS)
Javelin throw: Luanga Andria (QLD)
* Awaiting Australian citizenship
Women (8)
800m – Bronte Gange (VIC)
5000m walk – Paige Hooper (SA), Shannon Jennings (NSW)
High jump – Amy Pejkovic (NSW), Denise Snyder (VIC)
Long jump – Brooke Stratton (VIC)
Discus throw – Taryn Gollshewsky (QLD), Alix Kennedy (NSW)
http://www.athletics.com.au/news/news/2009/april/twenty-five_book_tickets_to_br
