The 2026 Australian Athletics Junior (Under Age) Championships were held at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre from 15th April to 20th April, with Nowra proudly represented by nine outstanding athletes.
Kadance Naylor had a phenomenal competition on national debut, placing 5th in the under 18 javelin with a personal best throw of 40.91m.
Evie Binney enjoyed a fantastic competition, contesting two events in the under 17 category. In the 2000m steeplechase, Evie showed grit to finish 13th in a season best time of 7.56.52. Evie then went on to compete in the 400m hurdles, where she ran a 2 second PB of 1.06.33, storming home for 2nd place to qualify for the national final. Evie improved again in the final, placing 4th in 1.05.92; an impressive result in her first year of hurdles competition.
Lily Sproule clocked a season best of 2.17.93 in the under 18 800m, missing the final by just milliseconds to place 11th overall. In the Under 16 800m, Lana Crawford ran with impressive determination and achieved a PB of 2.22.94 for 28th place.
Isla Bailie produced some strong sprint performances. In the Under 15 100m, Isla ran a PB of 12.78 finishing 6th in her heat and 12th overall. In the 200m, she clocked a o.4 second PB of 25.62 to qualify for the final, then improved again to place 7th in another PB of 25.57.
Flynn Kelly was another young athlete making a national debut, running strongly in the 200m but unfortunately being disqualified. In the long jump Flynn produced two PB jumps and finished just shy of the podium in 4th place with a best leap of 5.98m.
Emerson Boatswain had an outstanding run in the Under 15 steeplechase, recording a PB of 7.48.76 for 10th place.
Hamish McLaren ran a strong race in the Under 20 3000m steeplechase, finishing 11th with a PB of 10.09.47.
Emily McLaren also contested the Under 20 steeplechase, finishing 19th in 12.18.25. In the 400m hurdles, Emily clocked a PB of 1.12.38 for 24th place.
Congratulations to all athletes on proudly representing Nowra on the national stage and producing a host of personal best performances.
