The Victory Lap

The Future is Bright! End of Newsletter

No, but seriously, how can you not be excited about the future of Australian track and field with the current showing our juniors are putting on at the U20 World Championships in Lima? I thought there was going to be a nice little break before the Diamond League Finals. Nope! We have National Cross Country in crazy conditions down in Tassie, the Paralympics have kicked off, multiple Diamond Leagues are happening, and, of course, the U20 World Championships.

No rest for the team at Straight At It as we try and cover it all for you.

Track Spotlight

U20 World Championships

Last week, I mentioned some of the future stars that we have already knocking on the doorsteps of podiums at the senior level, but nothing could have prepared me for the deluge of medals that our junior team has been sweeping up daily. So, let’s go through some of them.

First up, who had the Mixed 4×400m winning Gold on their bingo card? If you did, then please contact me for some more hot tips because it wasn’t on mine. But goddamn, not only did Jordan Gilbert, Bella Pasquali, Jack Degaura, and Sophie Gregorevic take the Gold—they did it in style. Aussie sprinters are here to stay, baby!

On top of the 4×400m team, Delta Amidzovki took home the Gold in Long Jump, clearing 6.58m. What’s even more impressive was her backing this up with a bronze in the 100m hurdles. Like seriously, who does that?

Maybe we should call this generation of athletes the Silver Generation because silver medals are just falling from the skies, and all of these athletes are genuine future stars on the world stage if you ask me. Start following their journeys now if you haven’t already.

• Gout Gout - 200m - 20.60: This is really no surprise to anyone who follows Australian track and field, but Gout Gout is fast, and now the world knows it too. His 100m from Nationals earlier in the year has resurfaced, and of course, the Bolt comparisons. But Gout Gout is him! Plus, how is he only 16?

• Torrie Lewis - 200m - 22.88: What a season for Torrie—first a Diamond League win, then getting to the Semis in Paris, and to top it off, Silver at U20s.

• Peyton Craig - 800m - 1:46.95: Off the back of an incredible Olympic journey, Peyton had his eyes on Gold but came home with a pretty incredible consolation prize after a very long season.

• Claudia Hollingsworth - 800m - 2:00.87: Very, very excited to see how her future pans out after having a whirlwind breakout season. The strength she showed in her heats in Paris and now this is inspiring.

• Cam Meyers - 1500m - 3:40.60: I am starting to sound like a broken record, but another future (current?) generational talent. What gets me most excited is the positive attitude after what many thought was his race to lose. Calling it now—Cam is going to have a serious breakout year next year and be close to podiums on the world stage.

• Izzi Louison-Roe - High Jump - 1.89m: Is it greedy to just add another world-class high jumper to our list of World Champions? Well, if it is, I honestly don’t care—give us all of them. Izzi is hitting numbers that would do well on the world stage now.

• Women’s 4×400m - 3:31.47: Backed up the mixed 4×400 with a Silver in the Women’s. Something tells me our Area records in the 4×400 are not going to last long.

Ok, ok, I could keep going forever with this, but I don’t want to miss our Bronze medalists either. Marley Raikiwasa (56.25m Discus), Tryphena Hewett (4.15m Pole Vault), Mason McGroder (7.80m Long Jump), and the Men’s 4×400m Team are all going home with heavier suitcases and bright futures ahead.

National Cross Country

Wild Weather and Pure XC!

Hearing reports of 80km/hr winds in Launceston to the point that the airports were shut down, but that didn’t stop these athletes from taking to the start line. Honestly, XC runners are a different breed, and hats off to you, but I personally would have been huddled around a fireplace with hot chocolate and nowhere near the spikes.

I’m just going to go through the Seniors results, but here are all of them if you’re interested:

Men’s Open 10km

• 1st - Seth O’Donell - 33:19

• 2nd - Edward Marks - 33:20

• 3rd - Haftu Stritzos - 33:26

Women’s Open 10km

• 1st - Leanne Pompeani - 38:19

• 2nd - Ruby Smee - 38:35

• 3rd - Holly Campbell - 38:52

Now the question is, how do we get livestreams or TV coverage of this? Because with this weather and the muddy conditions, this would have been electric to watch. Who do we have to speak to? NCAA XC is one of my favourite events to watch each year, so it’s a bit annoying to see that our National Cross had no live coverage outside of individuals’ Instagram stories.

Diamond League

Firstly, the Diamond League feels a bit weird after the Olympics, but that hasn’t stopped the Aussies from continuing their season, so here are some of the highlights from the last two weeks:

• Nina Kennedy just does not lose! Continuing an unbeaten season, including Olympic Gold, Nina cleared 4.83m for the Gold again at Roma. Is this the perfect season?

• Our High Jumping girls Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers took 2nd and 3rd, respectively, at Lausanne, clearing 1.96m and 1.92m.

• Kurtis Marschall cleared 5.82m and got the standard for worlds in Tokyo and 3rd position in a cool outdoor Pole Vault competition. Give us more on-location field events because they are so entertaining to watch!

Not long now till the Diamond League Finals!

Paralympics

Our Paralympians aren’t going to hide in the shadows. No way! They came out with a bang and some medals and National Records to boot:

• Madison De Rozario - 5000m T54 - 11:10.20 - 3rd

• Michael Roeger - 1500m T45 - 3:51.19 - 2nd

• Ella Hose - Shot Put F37 - 11.25m National Record - 4th

• Rhiannon Clarke - 100m T38 - 12.72 National Record - 4th

Many more events are still to come, so watch this space.

Gear Up

Shyu Socks

This review is another collaboration with the Zato AC, and this time, we’re talking Shyu socks. Let me just say, socks are the unsung heroes of a runner’s wardrobe. Bad socks can ruin your day, while good ones—you hardly even notice them.

I got my hands on a pair of Shyu socks that match my Blueprint Nike Alphafly 3s. Now, I’m usually not one for matching gear, but these socks made me rethink that stance. They’re on the slightly thicker side—not thick like cotton socks, but definitely not as thin as some of the race socks I’m used to. What stood out was the compression; my feet felt locked in with zero movement, even on a 28km Sunday Long Run with 22km at marathon pace. Usually, that’s when I start to feel some shifting and rubbing, but not with these bad boys.

If you’re into matching your race day kit or just want a solid, reliable pair of socks, I 100% recommend these. They’re definitely going on my feet for the Sydney Marathon in three weeks. For those who prefer a thinner sock, check out Tracksmith’s Speed Sock or Oat Running’s offerings. And for daily runs or casual wear, the Tracksmith Merino Tube sock is still my go-to.

End Credits

Pretty sure my fingers were cramping up from the end of this huge newsletter, but that just goes to show that the athletics season is still well and truly alive and that the Aussie contingent is tearing it up.

More to come next week, but don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter to stay up to date weekly and follow the Instagram page for more frequent daily updates by Mitch.