SA Athletes Good to Go for Smart South Australian Athletics Championships

The SA Athletics Stadium in Mile End will play host to the Smart South Australian Athletics Championships this weekend, as some of the state’s best track and field athletes look to claim state titles.

Among those athletes will be rising pole vault talent Tryphena Hewett, fresh off the back of solid performances at the Adelaide Invitational and most recently the Perth Track Classic, where she vaulted a PB of 4.25m. The World U20 Bronze medallist will have her eye on another good performance to carry through to Nationals in April.

Fellow Australian U20 teammate Charlotte McAuliffe will also be competing, looking to take on the fields in the Open Women’s 200m and 400m. McAuliffe’s recent pace has been good, a 53.53 season best in Perth last weekend suggesting she’ll be coming into the State Championships in good form.

On the men’s side of things, local sprinter Aidan Murphy will take to the track in the Open Men’s 100m, 200m and 400m. Murphy recently ran a 20.98 200m, putting him inside the top 8 performances nationally. He will be hoping to impress, and put in performances to solidify his chances of representing Australia at the World Championships later this year.

Virtus World Record holder in shot put, discus and javelin, Hugo Taheny (T/F21), will also be competing. Taheny has already broken his own discus and javelin world records this season, and seems to set a new record each time he competes. He’ll be taking part in the Para Men’s Discus, Javelin and Shot Put.

As usual, the middle and long distance fields will look to serve up some entertaining races. In particular, the Open Women’s 1500m field will feature some strong runners, including Hannah Tourneur, Jessica McManus, Tessa Ebert, and Zoe Toland. Also keep an eye out for Amelia Sheridan, whose incredible run at National All Schools set the State 1500m Record in the U18 age group – at just 13 years of age.

The Open Women’s 100m is also shaping up to be an entertaining battle, with Adelaide Invitational competitors Olivia Hastings, Kayla Lemm and Taylah Spackman all back in action.

A few notable South Australian junior athletes will also be out competing – including National All Schools Team SA representatives Ken Ferrante Tanikawa and Iluka-Rose Taylor, who will be competing in a number of events in the U17 boy’s and girl’s age groups respectively.

The weekend will also be an opportunity for new names to establish themselves as competitors, vying for spots on the state representative team for Nationals in April.

The Smart South Australian Athletics Championships will run from Saturday, March 8 until Monday, March 10 at the SA Athletics Stadium.

The full event program can be found HERE