Oceania Athletics Association are delighted to announce that the 2019 Oceania Athletics Championships will be its biggest ever!
The Townsville Enterprise Limited supported Championships will see more than 700 Athletes, 100 Team Officials and 120 Technical Officials make Townsville home for the last week in June. Twenty- two Oceania Federations will be represented at the Townsville Sports Reserve from the 24-28 June.
With a change in the qualification system for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it sees many of the Oceania Area’s top Athletes, including Olympic and World Championships medallists, making a stop in Townsville to become Oceania Champion, and gain the important ranking points that go along with that.
After a superb season last year, capped off by winning the Diamond League Final and equalling the Oceania Record, Brandon Starc will be looking to jump over castle hill if possible, in the high jump. The Australian team also sees Olympic Bronze Medallist in the 20km Walk, Dane Bird Smith, lead a group of world class walkers in the 10,000m Walk, with 5 athletes currently ranked in the top 10 in the world competing, including Commonwealth Champion Jemina Montag, and U20 Oceania Record Holder Katie Hayward.
New Zealand’s team is led by World Under 20 Champion in the Shot Put, Madison Lee Wesche, who recently threw a World Championship qualifier and will be looking to further that, in what is a strong Pacific event, the women’s shot put. Madison will be joined by another NZ World U20 Champion in the Shot Put, Jacko Gill, who is back to his best, throwing a World Championship qualifier in the New Zealand National Championships in March.
The Men’s 100 metres is set to be a boomer with 7 men entered who have Personal Best times of 10.21 or better. Australian’s Browning, Williams and Hale alongside New Zealander Osei-Nketia, Samoan Dodson and Fijian Tabakaucoro will all be vying to become the fastest man in Oceania.
Local North Queensland based athletes will also be looking to further make names for themselves, with Jake Doran, Nash Lowis and Tori West all selected for the Australian Team. All three have previously represented the Regional Australia Team in the past but this time they make their way into the Australian Team where they will be looking for a berth at this year’s IAAF World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The Championships will be held at the Townsville Sports Reserve, from June 25th to 28thand are an opportunity for the North-Queensland community to enjoy 4 days of world-class Athletics competition.
For any media enquiries please contact Kobie Donovan – sport@oceaniaathletics.com
