Colombia is calling for 22 talented young Australians

Colombia is calling for 22 talented young Australians, with Athletics Australia Selectors today confirming the team bound for the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships.

On course for competition against the best under 18 aged athletes from across the world, the squad features 12 boys and ten girls selected on the basis of boasting at least two qualifying performances that rank them amongst the top-eight performers at recent instalments of the event.

Automatically selected after winning gold at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships are Jack Hale (Tas, 100m, 200m), Brandon Herrigan (Qld, 110mH, 200m), Josh Connolly (Qld, high jump), Darcy Roper (Qld, long jump) Ned Weatherly (Vic, hammer throw), Cameron McEntyre (NSW, javelin), Tyler Jones (NSW, 10,000m walk), Annabel McDermott (NSW, 3000m), Clare Gibson (WA, high jump) Phillipa Hajdasz (Vic, pole vault), Samantha Peace (NSW, discus) and Clara Smith (Qld, 5,000m walk).

Set to join them after being selected at the discretion of selectors are Jordan Shelley (NSW, 100m), Louis Stenmark (NSW, 400m), Brenton Foster (Qld, high jump), Conor Warren (Qld, javelin), Kyle Swan (Vic, 10,000m walk), Amelia Mazza-Downie (Vic, 3000m), Danielle Shaw (Vic, 100mH), Tay–Leiha Clark (NSW, high jump), Andrea Thompson (ACT, long jump) and Jemima Montag (Vic, 5,000m walk).

“On behalf of my fellow Selectors, congratulations to all the athletes selected to compete for Australia at Cali 2015. For many of you this will be your first taste of international competition and we hope that you relish the opportunity,” Dion Russell, the Athletics Australia Chairman of Selectors, said.

“The largest possible team has been selected to compete based on the Selection Policy and, if athletes are able to match their qualifying performance at the championships, the team should deliver some fantastic results in the lead up to the IAAF World Junior Championships next year.”

The IAAF World Youth Championships are a biennial athletics event, which in 2015 will be held in Cali (COL). It is the first time the event has been held in South America.

Australia has competed at every instalment of the championships since they began in Bydgoszcz (POL) in 1999. At the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk (UKR), the Australian team of 21 athletes won four medals (three gold, one bronze), with a further eight athletes placing amongst the top-eight in their event.

Departing Australia on 7 July, the team will spend four days in Miami (USA) before descending on the host city on 11 July. Competition spans five days from 15-19 July 2015.

For more information on the IAAF World Youth Championships, please follow this link to the event home page at iaaf.org.

BOYS (12):

100m: Jack Hale (Tas), Jordan Shelley (NSW)

200m: Jack Hale (Tas), Brandon Herrigan (Qld)

400m: Louis Stenmark (NSW)

110m hurdles: Brandon Herrigan (Qld)

High jump: Joshua Connolly (Qld), Brenton Foster (Qld)

Long jump: Darcy Roper (Qld)

Hammer throw: Ned Weatherly (Vic)

Javelin: Cameron McEntyre (NSW), Conor Warren (Qld)

10,000m walk: Tyler Jones (NSW), Kyle Swan (Vic)

GIRLS (10):

3000m: Annabel McDermott (NSW), Amelia Mazza-Downie (Vic)

100m hurdles: Danielle Shaw (Vic)

High jump: Tay-Leiha Clark (NSW), Clare Gibson (WA)

Pole vault: Phillipa Hajdasz (Vic)

Long jump: Andrea Thompson (ACT)

Discus throw: Samantha Peace (NSW)

5,000m walk: Clara Smith (Qld), Jemima Montag (Vic)

PLEASE NOTE: A further four athletes can be added to the team pending results at in the under 18 heptathlon and decathlon at the Australian Combined Events Championships this weekend.