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2009 Highlights in Summary
In 2009 there were many memorable moments provided by Australia's female junior track and field athletes, with a summary of highlights detailed below:
Chloe Jamieson's Australian junior record in the women's 200m hurdles. Jamieson ran 27.25sec (-2.5 m/s) at the Australian All-School Championships in Hobart, which was the world's fastest time recorded by a junior female for the event in 2009. Another Australian holds the unofficial world record for the event, Pam (Kilborn) Ryan AM, MBE, who recorded a time of 25.7h for the 200m hurdles in November 1971.
Amy Pejkovic's (photo below) silver medal at the World Youth Championships in Italy. Pejkovic cleared 1.85m, which was at the time a new personal best. Pejkovic was also only 2cm's away from the gold medal, won by Italian Alessia Trost with a clearance of 1.87m.
Emily Brichacek's performance at the World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan. Brichacek was the first non-Ethiopian/Kenyan across the line, finishing in 11th place overall. Emily's quote after the race summed up her determination to place in the top-10 - "In the final lap I just concentrated on trying to catch the British girl who was now only a few meters in front of me, and was able to go past her right at the start of the final hill. I worked as hard as I could all the way to the top, and almost caught the tenth girl right on the line".
The emergence of 15 year-old athletes - Jamieson (200m & 400m hurdles), Angela Byrne (sub 12 second performance in the 100m), Ella Nelson (100m & 200m), Christie Pearson (400m & 800m) and Jenny Blundell (800m).
The continued improvement in the discus throw shown by Kimberley Mulhall. She finished 2009 with a new personal best of 55.50m and will be one of the favorites for a medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Canada.
The return to the track for Olivia Tauro - running 23.93sec for 200m and 54.70sec for 400m in late 2009. Always good to see such a talented athlete back in competition.
Overall we had seven junior female performances rank in the world's top-20 (plus another three in 'non-standard events' - i.e Jamieson in the 200m hurdles), with Kimberley Mulhall leading the way at no.8 in the women's discus throw. This is compared with 8 performances in 2008 and 7 in 2007 (see graph below). We also had 1 top-8 performance from the World Youth Championships in Italy (Pejkovic's silver medal), while a further 4 athletes recorded top-16 performances (a positive result from a team of only seven athletes).
So how do our juniors rate against the last five years? Well statistics suggest that it wasn't the most successful years for our Australian junior females, although there are some wonderful prospects leading into the 2010 World Junior Championships and the 2012 London Olympics and beyond. Previously we have such junior stars as Sally McLellan (2005 - 100m hurdles) and Dani Samuels (2006 - discus throw) top the overall world rankings, so hopefully we can see the likes of Melissa Breen and Pejkovic follow in their footsteps and become truly world class athletes.
World Junior Rankings - Australian's in the World's Top-20
Based on the IAAF scoring tables the top rated performance by an Australian junior female for 2009 was Melissa Breen's 100m time of 11.47sec, which ranks her at no.10 on the World Junior ranking lists, while the top field athlete was Amy Pejkovic, who's 1.86m personal best high jump seeing her rank at no.14 on the Australian junior performance list (see full top-50 list at the bottom of this page).
So who do I rate as my top-5 performers of 2009? Well it wasn't an easy task, and there were many athletes who just missed out. In the end Melissa Breen took the top honor from Amy Pejkovic, Emily Brichacek, Caitlin Sargent and Kimberley Mulhall. The interesting aspect of the rankings was the fact that there are so many 15 and 16 year olds in the top-50 performance list for 2009. These athletes included the likes of Pejkovic, Jamieson, Ella Nelson, Christie Pearson and Jenny Blundell - all athletes to keep a close watch on throughout 2010. Watch out for many of these athletes to represent Australia at the World Youth Olympics (applicable to those athletes born in either 1993 or 1994).
Who Do I Rate as My Top-5 Australian Junior Female Athletes for 2009:
Summary:
When you look through the results on the women's side of junior athletics in Australia, it is impossible to go past the performances of Melissa Breen. After setting a sizzling time of 11.33sec at the end of 2008, Breen had all the pressure placed on her for the 2009 season. Although she didn't quite reach the heights of 2008, Breen did manage to end the year ranked 10th in the world for the 100m and 14th in the 200m. Her 11.47sec 100m ranks as the number one performance by an Australian junior female (based on IAAF scoring tables), and in many ways it's hard to argue against the ranking. In fact the performance was enough for Breen to be added to the Australian team for the World Championships, although she was unable to meet the standard required just prior to the Championships to ensure her position on the team. In the end her highlights came at the World University Games, where she placed 8th in the 100m final (11.72sec), and the Australian Championships, where she placed 2nd in both the 100m and 200m finals (11.61sec / 23.96sec).
The end to the year has seen Breen produce a 11.43sec 100m (albeit wind-assisted - +3.7m/s) in Canberra (28 Nov), so we should again be excited about another big year in 2010 from this very impressive sprinter from Canberra. With Sally McClellan currently sidelined with an injury it will be important for Breen to show the way for the rest of our Australian sprinters.
Summary:
Although Pejkovic didn't have everything go her way in 2009, when it counted she was able to rise to the occasion. A new personal best (1.85m) on the biggest stage (at the World Youth Championships), lead to an impressive silver medal for the 17 year-old high jumper. Away from that particular performance she also cleared 1.86m (PB) at the NSW All-School Championships and placed 4th at the Australian Junior Championships in Adelaide (1.76m). A clear favorite for the Australian All-School title in December, Pejkovic was unfortunately injured entering the final and had to settle for the silver medal (1.76m).
Pejkovic finished the year at no.14 on the World Junior ranking list, although her 1.86m only scores 1041 points on the IAAF tables (ranking her as the 14th best performed junior female in Australia for 2009). She is also 4cm away from the Australian U18 record (1.90m held by Gai Kapernick and Petrina Price), although importantly she has another 12 months to close in on the record and many suggest that she has the talent to reach the mark. Already posting qualifying heights for the upcoming World Junior Championships, 2010 looks again to be an interesting year for this exciting junior high jumper.
Summary:
If I was basing my rankings on one particular performance then Brichacek's 11th placing at the World Junior Cross Country Championships would certainly have her in the number one position. Brichacek was the first non-African across the line in Amman, Jordan (and only 48 seconds behind the winner), with the result continuing to enhance her reputation as one of Australia's best junior cross country/road runners in recent history. Brichacek then went to London for the BUPA 10km where she placed 4th in 34:34. Her final race in 2009 was the City to Surf in Sydney, where she just failed to run down Melinda Vernon for the title, finishing in 2nd over the 14km course in a time of 47:51.
Although we still haven't seen Brichacek return to the track since 2007 (when she ran 9.16.50 for 30000m), there is every chance that we will see her return in 2010. She has already carved out a fantastic junior record, but ever since we saw her run a 9.06.41 for 3000m as a 15 year-old there has been the expectation of even bigger and better things to come on the track. The most important thing to note however is the fact that she wants to be in the sport for the long term, and therefore there is no rush for this talented athlete from Canberra to push too hard too early on in her career. What will 2010 bring for Brichacek? All I know for sure is that she will be right in the mix for her debut run at the senior World Cross Country Championships on the 28th March.
Summary:
The 17 year-old from Brisbane was probably the hardest athlete to place in my top-5. With no competitions outside of Brisbane (apart from one 400m victory in Sydney in January), it all came down to her late surge in the later part of the year. In perfect conditions she firstly posted an excellent 11.73sec 100m (+1.8 m/s) on the 25th September, then followed it up with another blistering run in the 200m in October (23.67sec), although run without a wind reading. Based on these two performances it is hard to place her any lower than 4th on my list. Although she did miss selection for the World Youth Championships in the 400m, her recent form has seen her post two qualifying times in the 100m for the 2010 World Junior Championships (she has also run a 11.81sec 100m in October) and one qualifying time in the 200m.
An athlete on a mission in 2010, it would be hard to see Sargent not wearing the green and gold when the Australian team for the World Junior Championships is announced for Canada in July. As with many multi talented junior athletes the next big question for Sargent is what event will she concentrate on for the World Juniors? If she can consistently run 23.50sec for the 200m then I would suggest that this could become her favored event, but we'll just have to wait and see.
Summary:
Another difficult athlete to place, Mulhall certainly didn't do anything wrong in 2009. An impressive personal best of 55.50m at the Australian Junior Championships in April was certainly the highlight of her year, followed closely by her performances at the Sydney Track Classic (6th in the discus and 4th in the shot put) and Melbourne GP (7th in the discus and 5th in the shot put). A silver medal at the Australian Open Championships in the discus (52.10m) rounded out a positive year for an athlete who would love to follow in the footsteps of another junior throwing sensation, 2009 World Champion Dani Samuals. Currently ranked at no.8 on the World Junior ranking list for the discus throw, there is every chance that Mulhall will be a real chance at producing a medal winning performance at the 2010 World Junior Championships.
The last four years have seen Mulhall improve her personal best from 46.68 to 55.50m in the discus. This type of improvement will surely see the 18 year-old Victorian reach the world class standard of 60m over the coming years. Maybe she can even push Samuels over the next 5-10 years in what should be a very interesting time in the history of the women's discus throw in Australia.
So there we have it, my top-5 junior female performers of 2009. So how many athletes just missed selection in my top-5? Well there were more than just a few athletes who would consider themselves most unlucky not to be listed. The athletes being:
Vicky Parnov (Pole Vault) - did manage a season's best of 4.20m (ranking her 11th on the junior world rankings list), but was well down on her career best of 4.40m (which is also the Australian junior record - set back in 2007). Missed out on selection for the World Championships, but certainly has a bright future in the event if she can push into the 4.50m+ region. Good opportunity to make the Australian team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
The Year Ahead - 2010
With the 2010 World Junior Championships likely to be the highlight for many of the above mentioned athletes it will another intriguing domestic season, which culminates in the Australian Junior Championships (11th-14th March, 2010). Who will make their way onto the Australian team for Canada? Will Australia come away with any medals from the World Juniors? There is certainly enough talent on show to think that we will again send a quality team to Canada, so I'm definitely looking forward to another action packed year of junior track and field in Australia.
Personally I'm excited to see the development of such athletes as Selma Kajan, Chloe Jamieson, Christie Pearson and Ella Nelson in 2010. It will also be interesting to see how our high quality athletes such as Kimberley Mulhall and Amy Pejkovic perform when the World Junior Championships takes place in July.
Stay tuned for previews and reviews of all the major championships over the coming 12 months on runnerstribe.com, with the big question being - Who will be the no.1 Australian junior female in 2010?
Major Championships - Dates
17th January - World Cross Country Selection Trials, Melbourne VIC
11th-14th March - Australian Junior Championships, Sydney NSW
28th March - World Cross Country Championships, Bydgoszcz, Poland
16th-18th April - Australian Open Championships, Perth WA
19th-25th July - World Junior Championships, Moncton, Canada
14th-26th August - Youth Olympic Games, Singapore
3rd-14th October - Commonwealth Games, New Delhi, India
Top-50 Performance List - Australian Junior Women
Rank |
Result |
WR |
Points* |
Name (Event) |
State |
DOB |
Place |
Competition |
Venue |
Date |
1 |
11.47 |
10 |
1115 |
Melissa Breen (100m) |
ACT |
17-Sep-90 |
1 |
ACT Championships |
Canberra |
21 February |
2 |
23.51 |
14 |
1114 |
Melissa Breen (200m) |
ACT |
17-Sep-90 |
3 |
Classic |
Sydney |
28 February |
3 |
23.67 |
30 |
1101 |
Caitlin Sargent (200m) |
QLD |
16-Jun-92 |
1 |
|
Brisbane |
24 October |
4 |
23.93 |
66 |
1082 |
Olivia Tauro (200m) |
NSW |
11-Jun-90 |
1 |
|
Sydney |
12 December |
5 |
11.73 |
75 |
1071 |
Caitlin Sargent (100m) |
QLD |
16-Jun-92 |
1 |
|
Brisbane |
25 September |
6 |
24.09 |
104 |
1070 |
Ella Nelson (200m) |
NSW |
10-May-94 |
1 |
NSW Championships |
Sydney |
7 March |
7 |
24.14 |
120 |
1066 |
Karlie Morton (200m) |
NSW |
2-Feb-93 |
7 |
Classic |
Sydney |
28 February |
8 |
2.05.19 |
29 |
1063 |
Selma Kajan (800m) |
NSW |
30-Jul-91 |
1 |
Australian Championships |
Adelaide |
4 April |
9 |
24.27 |
161 |
1057 |
Melissa McKinnon (200m) |
QLD |
13-Mar-92 |
2 |
|
Brisbane |
24 October |
10 |
24.39 |
211 |
1048 |
Larissa Pasternatsky (200m) |
NSW |
11-Dec-92 |
1 |
|
Sydney |
8 November |
(10) |
=11 |
54.70 |
110 |
1045 |
Olivia Tauro (400m) |
NSW |
11-Jun-90 |
1 |
|
Sydney |
28 November |
=11 |
6.37.99 |
10 |
1045 |
Jessica Gilfillan (2000m St) |
QLD |
10-Feb-92 |
1 |
|
Gold Coast |
5 July |
13 |
10.21.38 |
21 |
1044 |
Jessica Gilfillan (3000m St) |
QLD |
10-Feb-92 |
1 |
|
Gold Coast |
25 September |
=14 |
24.49 |
251 |
1041 |
Lauren O'Sullivan (200m) |
QLD |
3-May-92 |
1h |
|
Brisbane |
23 October |
=14 |
1.86 |
13 |
1041 |
Amy Pejkovic (High Jump) |
NSW |
1-Feb-93 |
1 |
|
Sydney |
7 November |
16 |
24.50 |
260 |
1040 |
Claire Cuttler (200m) |
VIC |
11-Jan-92 |
1 |
|
Melbourne |
12 February |
17 |
11.95 |
243 |
1034 |
Virginia Trad (100m) |
QLD |
26-Oct-90 |
3h |
Australian Championships |
Brisbane |
19 March |
=18 |
4.20 |
11 |
1033 |
Vicky Parnov (Pole Vault) |
WA |
24-Oct-90 |
1 |
|
Perth |
18 January |
=18 |
11.96 |
261 |
1033 |
Larissa Pasternatsky (100m) |
NSW |
11-Dec-91 |
1 |
|
Sydney |
22 September |
=18 |
11.96 |
261 |
1033 |
Angela Byrne (100m) |
VIC |
20-Aug-94 |
1 |
|
Melbourne |
7 November |
(20) |
21 |
4.22.44 |
72 |
1032 |
Chloe Tighe (1500m) |
NSW |
28-Sep-90 |
4 |
Briggs Classic |
Hobart |
30 January |
=22 |
55.15 |
175 |
1031 |
Caitlin Sargent (400m) |
QLD |
16-Jun-92 |
1 |
|
Brisbane |
25 October |
=22 |
59.66 |
43 |
1031 |
Chloe Jamieson (400mH) |
NSW |
20-Apr-94 |
1 |
Australian All-Schools |
Hobart |
6 December |
=22 |
34:27 |
14 |
1031 |
Hollie Emery (10km) |
NSW |
5-Aug-90 |
2 |
|
Sydney |
2 May |
25 |
11.98 |
271 |
1030 |
Karlie Morton (100m) |
NSW |
2-Feb-93 |
1 |
|
Sydney |
7 February |
26 |
55.50 |
8 |
1028 |
Kim Mulhall (Discus Throw) |
VIC |
9-Jan-91 |
1 |
Australian Junior Championships |
Adelaide |
3 April |
=27 |
12.00 |
295 |
1026 |
Ashleigh Whittaker (100m) |
VIC |
12-Aug-93 |
1 |
|
Melbourne |
12 February |
=27 |
2.07.38 |
76 |
1026 |
Bronte Gange (800m) |
VIC |
24-Feb-92 |
4 |
Victorian Championships |
Melbourne |
22 February |
29 |
34:34 |
16 |
1025 |
Emily Brichacek (10km) |
ACT |
7-Jul-90 |
4 |
BUPA |
London |
25 May |
30 |
2.07.52 |
81 |
1023 |
Christie Pearson (800m) |
NSW |
10-Jan-94 |
1 |
Australian All-Schools |
Hobart |
7 December |
(30) |
31 |
2.07.63 |
85 |
1022 |
Jenny Blundell (800m) |
NSW |
9-May-94 |
2 |
Australian All-Schools |
Hobart |
7 December |
=32 |
55.62 |
262 |
1016 |
Christie Pearson (400m) |
NSW |
10-Jan-94 |
1 |
Australian All-Schools |
Hobart |
6 December |
=32 |
55.63 |
269 |
1016 |
Shayleigh Gould (400m) |
QLD |
13-Feb-90 |
1 |
Australian Junior Championships |
Adelaide |
5 April |
=32 |
4.24.64 |
98 |
1016 |
Selma Kajan (1500m) |
NSW |
30-Jul-91 |
1 |
Australian Junior Championships |
Adelaide |
5 April |
=35 |
23.15.73 |
13 |
1015 |
Regan Lamble (5000mW) |
VIC |
14-Oct-91 |
1 |
Victorian Championships |
Melbourne |
20 February |
=35 |
55.67 |
291 |
1015 |
Zoe Riikonen (400m) |
QLD |
19-Aug-92 |
4 |
NSW Championships |
Sydney |
14 February |
=35 |
6.13 |
43 |
1015 |
Brooke Stratton (Long Jump) |
VIC |
12-Jul-93 |
q |
World Youth Championships |
Bressanone, ITA |
11 July |
38 |
6.45.15 |
18 |
1014 |
Natalie Dudkowski (2000mSt) |
QLD |
15-May-92 |
2 |
|
Gold Coast |
4 September |
39 |
14.16 |
151 |
1012 |
Virginia Trad (100mH) |
QLD |
26-Oct-90 |
1 |
|
Brisbane |
27 February |
40 |
1.83 |
22 |
1009 |
Trudy Thompson (High Jump) |
NSW |
13-Jan-90 |
1 |
Australian Junior Championships |
Adelaide |
3 April |
(40) |
41 |
53:15 |
n.a |
1008 |
Hollie Emery (15km) |
NSW |
5-Aug-90 |
7 |
Great Australian Run |
Melbourne |
29 November |
42 |
6.47.94 |
22 |
1004 |
Robyn Bennett (2000m Steeple) |
QLD |
14-Feb-92 |
2 |
|
Sydney |
16 January |
43 |
9.31.26 |
68 |
1003 |
Demi Wood (3000m) |
NSW |
11-May-92 |
1 |
Zatopek |
Melbourne |
10 December |
44 |
23.42.03 |
37 |
1002 |
Rachel Tallent (5000m Walk) |
VIC |
20-Feb-93 |
4 |
Victorian Championships |
Melbourne |
20 February |
45 |
23.44.54 |
40 |
1000 |
Beth Alexander (5000m Walk) |
VIC |
28-Nov-92 |
2 |
Victorian Championships |
Melbourne |
20 February |
=46 |
4.10 |
22 |
999 |
Elizabeth Parnov (Pole Vault) |
WA |
9-May-94 |
1 |
WA Championships |
Perth |
13 March |
=46 |
24.02.54 |
59 |
999 |
Shannon Jennings (5000m Walk) |
NSW |
11-Jan-93 |
2 |
Australian Championships |
Brisbane |
21 March |
=48 |
34.44.49 |
9 |
998 |
Tamara Carvolth (10000m) |
QLD |
17-Jul-90 |
11 |
Zatopek |
Melbourne |
10 December |
=48 |
49:34 |
35 |
998 |
Rachel Tallent (10km Walk) |
VIC |
20-Feb-93 |
1 |
Australian Championships |
Melbourne |
7 March |
50 |
4.27.67 |
131 |
993 |
Natalie Dudkowski (1500m) |
QLD |
15-May-92 |
3 |
|
Brisbane |
5 November |
(50) |
Rank |
Result |
WR |
Points |
Name |
State |
DOB |
Place |
Competition |
Venue |
Date |
n.a |
27.25 |
1 |
n.a |
Chloe Jamieson (200mH) |
NSW |
20-Apr-94 |
1 |
Australian All-Schools |
Hobart |
5 December |
n.a |
20:57 |
n.a |
n.a |
Emily Brichacek (6km XC) |
ACT |
7-Jul-90 |
1 |
Australian Junior Championships |
Jamison |
8 February |
n.a |
21:01 |
n.a |
n.a |
Tamara Carvolth (6km XC) |
QLD |
17-Jul-90 |
2 |
Australian Junior Championships |
Jamison |
8 February |
n.a |
21:02 |
n.a |
n.a |
Emily Brichacek (6km XC) |
ACT |
7-Jul-90 |
11 |
World Junior XC Championships |
Amman, JOR |
28 March |
n.a |
21:32 |
n.a |
n.a |
Hollie Emery (6km XC) |
NSW |
5-Aug-90 |
3 |
Australian Junior Championships |
Jamison |
8 February |
WR = World U20 Ranking, * - Based on IAAF Scoring Tables (www.iaaf.org)
Special Thanks....
A special thanks must be given to the following people/organisations for the ranking lists and records contained within this webpage:
Paul Jenes, David Tarbotton, Athletics Australia, Athletics Victoria, Athletics NSW, Athletics Queensland, Tilastopaja.com, Peter Larsson and All-Athletics.com
