Olympics: Australian Athletics Team Named
June 27th 2008 15:08
Reigning world champions Jana Rawlinson and Nathan Deakes headline Australia’s smallest Olympic track and field team since 1992, with only 41 members. Jane Saville is the most experienced member of the team, becoming just the sixtrh track and field athlete to compete at four Olympic Games. There are 24 Olympic debutants.
Four competitors were added to the squad at the final Athletics Australia (AA) selection meeting this week: pole vaulter Paul Burgess, steeplechasers Youcef Abdi and Victoria Mitchell and 4x400m relay runner Mark Ormrod.
The most notable exclusions were in the men's 4x100m relay, where AA declined to nominate a squad even though Australia currently sits inside the top 16 on the rankings compiled by the IAAF, the sports's world governing body.
That means that the likes of national record holder Patrick Johnson and four-time national 100m champion Joshua Ross will not be competing in Beijing unless they successfully appeal their exclusion.
The 41-strong squad is the smallest since Australia was represented by 39 athletes at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Australia had a record track and field team of 86 on home soil in Sydney in 2000.
The 2008 team is also smaller than for 2004 in Athens (44) and 1996 in Atlanta (62).
Australian Olympic track and field team:-
Men
400m: Joel Milburn, John Steffensen, Sean Wroe
800m: Lachlan Renshaw
1,500m: Mitch Kealey
5,000m: Collis Birmingham, Craig Mottram
3,000m Steeplechase: Youcef Abdi
4x400m relay: Dylan Grant, Clinton Hill, Milburn, Mark Ormrod, Steffensen, Wroe
20km walk: Luke Adams, Chris Erickson, Jared Tallent
50km walk: Nathan Deakes, Adam Rutter, Tallent
Marathon: Lee Troop
Pole vault: Paul Burgess, Steve Hooker
Shot put: Justin Anlezark, Scott Martin
Javelin: Jarrod Bannister
Discus: Benn Harradine
Women
400m: Tamsyn Lewis
800m: Lewis, Madeleine Pape
1,500m: Lisa Corrigan, Sarah Jamieson
100m hurdles: Sally McLellan
400m hurdles: Jana Rawlinson
3,000m steeplechase: Donna MacFarlane, Victoria Mitchell
20km walk: Jane Saville, Kellie Wapshott, Claire Woods
Marathon: Benita Johnson, Kate Smyth, Lisa-Jane Weightman
Pole vault: Alana Boyd
Long jump: Bronwyn Thompson
Discus: Dani Samuels
Heptathlon: Kylie Wheeler
Four competitors were added to the squad at the final Athletics Australia (AA) selection meeting this week: pole vaulter Paul Burgess, steeplechasers Youcef Abdi and Victoria Mitchell and 4x400m relay runner Mark Ormrod.
The most notable exclusions were in the men's 4x100m relay, where AA declined to nominate a squad even though Australia currently sits inside the top 16 on the rankings compiled by the IAAF, the sports's world governing body.
That means that the likes of national record holder Patrick Johnson and four-time national 100m champion Joshua Ross will not be competing in Beijing unless they successfully appeal their exclusion.
The 41-strong squad is the smallest since Australia was represented by 39 athletes at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Australia had a record track and field team of 86 on home soil in Sydney in 2000.
The 2008 team is also smaller than for 2004 in Athens (44) and 1996 in Atlanta (62).
Australian Walker Jane Saville
Australian Olympic track and field team:-
Men
400m: Joel Milburn, John Steffensen, Sean Wroe
800m: Lachlan Renshaw
1,500m: Mitch Kealey
5,000m: Collis Birmingham, Craig Mottram
3,000m Steeplechase: Youcef Abdi
4x400m relay: Dylan Grant, Clinton Hill, Milburn, Mark Ormrod, Steffensen, Wroe
20km walk: Luke Adams, Chris Erickson, Jared Tallent
50km walk: Nathan Deakes, Adam Rutter, Tallent
Marathon: Lee Troop
Pole vault: Paul Burgess, Steve Hooker
Shot put: Justin Anlezark, Scott Martin
Javelin: Jarrod Bannister
Discus: Benn Harradine
Women
400m: Tamsyn Lewis
800m: Lewis, Madeleine Pape
1,500m: Lisa Corrigan, Sarah Jamieson
100m hurdles: Sally McLellan
400m hurdles: Jana Rawlinson
3,000m steeplechase: Donna MacFarlane, Victoria Mitchell
20km walk: Jane Saville, Kellie Wapshott, Claire Woods
Marathon: Benita Johnson, Kate Smyth, Lisa-Jane Weightman
Pole vault: Alana Boyd
Long jump: Bronwyn Thompson
Discus: Dani Samuels
Heptathlon: Kylie Wheeler
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