Australian Athletics Championships

The Australian Athletics Championships or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of athletics events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athletes wishing to compete at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games or World Championships.^[1] The event is conducted by Athletics Australia.^[2]

The 2023 Australian Championships were the 100th edition of the event, which dates back to 1890 for men, and 1931 for women. These championships has been held in all states of Australia, with the Queensland Sport & Athletics Centre being the venue that has held the most editions of the event (12).

Initially, men’s and women’s events were held separately, in different places, until the Olympic selections of 1972 and 1976, and as a single event since 1978.

These championships are considered open: athletes from other countries such as New Zealand and the USA have competed in and won events.

History

The championships were first held on 31 May 1890 under the name Inter Colonial Meet at Moore Park in Sydney.

In 1893, teams from the Australasian colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and New Zealand competed in the first formalised Australasian Athletics Championships meeting.^[3]

A New Zealand team continued to compete in this event until the 1927/28 event. At the next championships in 1929/30, women's events were included for the first time.

In 1933, the women began conducting their own championships, with a wider range of events. Except for occasional combined championships in 1936, 1972 and 1976, the separation of men's and women's championships continued until the 1977/78 event.^[3]

Championship events

The full range of Olympic events is not usually conducted at the national championships. For example, during the 2007/08 season the following championship events were held separately:

Men's and Women's 10,000 metres – Zatopek Classic – 13 December 2007^[4]
Men's 50 kilometres race walk – Melbourne – 16 December 2007^[5]
Women's 5000 metres – Sydney Grand Prix – 16 February 2008^[6]
Men's 5000 metres – IAAF World Athletics Tour, Melbourne meet – 21 February 2008^[7]
Men's and Women's 20 kilometres race walk – Melbourne – 23 February 2008^[8]

Most successful athletes

The most successful athletes at the Championships have been throwers Gael Martin and Warwick Selvey who won 20 and 19 championships events, respectively.^[9]

List of championships

Year	Venue	Place
1890–91	Moore Park	Sydney
1893–94	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne
1895–96	Lancaster Park ^[i]	Christchurch
1897–98	Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney
1899–00	Bowen Park	Brisbane
1901–02	Auckland Domain ^[i]	Auckland
1903–04	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne
1905–06	Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney
1907–08	Hobart Cricket Ground	Hobart
1909–10	Bowen Park	Brisbane
1911–12	Basin Reserve ^[i]	Wellington
1913–14	Amateur Sports Ground	Melbourne
1919–20	Sydney Sports Ground	Sydney
1921–22	Adelaide Oval	Adelaide
1923–24	North Hobart Oval	Hobart
1925–26	Bowen Park	Brisbane
1927–28	Basin Reserve ^[i]	Wellington
1929–30	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne
1931–32	Sydney Cricket Ground	Sydney
1932–33	Amateur Sports Ground ^[ii]	Melbourne
1933–34	Adelaide Oval ^[iii]	Adelaide
1934–35	Lang Park ^[ii]	Brisbane
1935–36	North Hobart Oval ^[iii]	Hobart
1935–36	Rushcutters Bay Oval ^[ii]	Sydney
1937–38	Bowen Park ^[iii]	Brisbane
1937–38	Royal Park ^[ii]	Melbourne
1939–40	Leederville Oval ^[ii]	Perth
1946–47	Leederville Oval ^[iii]	Perth
1947–48	St. Kilda Cricket Ground ^[iii]	Melbourne
1947–48	University Oval ^[ii]	Sydney
1948–49	Sydney Cricket Ground ^[iii]	Sydney
1949–50	Adelaide Oval ^[iii]	Adelaide
1949–50	Norwood Oval ^[ii]	Adelaide
1950–51	North Hobart Oval ^[iii]	Hobart
1951–52	Exhibition Grounds ^[iii]	Brisbane
1951–52	Olympic Park ^[ii]	Melbourne
1952–53	Leederville Oval ^[iii]	Perth
1953–54	Sydney Cricket Ground ^[iii]	Sydney
1953–54	Leederville Oval ^[ii]	Perth
1954–55	Olympic Sports AdelaideKensington Oval ^[iii]	Adelaide
1955–56	Olympic Park ^[iii]	Melbourne
1955–56	Brisbane Cricket Ground^[ii]	Brisbane
1956–57	Olympic Park ^[iii]	Melbourne
1957–58	Exhibition Grounds ^[iii]	Brisbane
1957–58	Sydney Sports Ground ^[ii]	Sydney
1958–59	North Hobart Oval ^[iii]	Hobart
1959–60	Leederville Oval ^[iii]	Perth
1959–60	North Hobart Oval ^[ii]	Hobart
1960–61	Lang Park ^[iii]	Brisbane
1961–62	ES Marks Athletics Field^[iii]	Sydney
1961–62	West Parkland Field ^[ii]	Adelaide
1962–63	Thebarton Oval ^[iii]	Adelaide
1962–63	Lang Park ^[ii]	Brisbane
1963–64	Olympic Park ^[iii]	Melbourne
1963–64	Royal Park ^[ii]	Melbourne
1964–65	North Hobart Oval ^[iii]	Hobart
1964–65	Perry Lakes Stadium ^[ii]	Perth
1965–66	Perry Lakes Stadium ^[iii]	Perth
1965–66	Sydney Sports Ground ^[ii]	Sydney
1966–67	Olympic Sports Field ^[iii]	Adelaide
1966–67	North Hobart Oval ^[ii]	Hobart
1967–68	ES Marks Athletics Field^[iii]	Sydney
1967–68	Olympic Sports Field ^[ii]	Adelaide
1968–69	Olympic Park ^[iii]	Melbourne
1968–69	Lang Park ^[ii]	Brisbane
1969–70	Olympic Sports Field ^[iii]	Adelaide
1969–70	Royal Park ^[ii]	Melbourne
1970–71	Lang Park ^[iii]	Brisbane
1970–71	Sydney Sports Ground^[ii]	Sydney
1971–72	Perry Lakes Stadium	Perth
1972–73	ES Marks Athletics Field^[iii]	Sydney
1972–73	North Hobart Oval ^[ii]	Hobart
1973–74	Olympic Park ^[iii]	Melbourne
1973–74	Olympic Sports Field ^[ii]	Adelaide
1974–75	Olympic Sports Field ^[iii]	Adelaide
1974–75	Lang Park ^[ii]	Brisbane
1975–76	Olympic Park	Melbourne
1976–77	The Domain ^[iii]	Sydney
1976–77	Sydney Sports Ground ^[ii]	Sydney
1977–78	QE II Stadium	Brisbane
1978–79	Perry Lakes Stadium	Perth
1979–80	ES Marks Athletics Field	Sydney
1980–81	Olympic Sports Field	Adelaide
1981–82	QE II Stadium	Brisbane
1982–83	Olympic Park	Melbourne
1983–84	Olympic Park	Melbourne
1984–85	Bruce Stadium	Canberra
1985–86	Olympic Sports Field	Adelaide
1986–87	ES Marks Athletics Field	Sydney
1987–88	Perry Lakes Stadium	Perth
1988–89	QE II Stadium	Brisbane
1989–90	Olympic Park	Melbourne
1990–91	ES Marks Athletics Field	Sydney
1991–92	Olympic Sports Field	Adelaide
1992–93	QE II Stadium	Brisbane
1993–94	ES Marks Athletics Field	Sydney
1994–95	ES Marks Athletics Field	Sydney
1995–96	ES Marks Athletics Field	Sydney
1996–97	Olympic Park	Melbourne
1997–98	Olympic Park	Melbourne
1998–99	Olympic Park	Melbourne
1999–00	Stadium Australia	Sydney
2000–01	QE II Stadium	Brisbane
2001–02	QE IIANZ Stadium	Brisbane
2002–03	QE IIANZ Stadium	Brisbane
2003–04	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2004–05	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2005–06	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2006–07	Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre	Brisbane
2007–08	Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre	Brisbane
2008–09	Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre	Brisbane
2009–10	Western Australian Athletics Stadium	Perth
2010–11	Olympic Park	Melbourne
2011–12	Lakeside Stadium	Melbourne
2012–13	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2013–14	Albert Park	Melbourne
2014–15	Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre	Brisbane
2015–16	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2016–17	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2017–18	Carrara Stadium	Gold Coast
2018–19	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2019–20	Main championships not held ^[iv]
2020–21	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney ^[12]^[13]
2021–22	Sydney Olympic Park	Sydney
2022–23	Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre	Brisbane ^[14]
2023–24	SA Athletics Stadium	Adelaide

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d - held in New Zealand as part of the Australasian Athletics Championships
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z - women's championship only
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af - men's championship only
^ The main championships were not held but eight events were completed prior to the cancellation.^[10]^[11]

Championships records

Men

Event	Record	Athlete/Team	Date	Meet	Place	Ref
100 m	10.02 (0.0 m/s)	Rohan Browning	1 April 2023	2022–23 Championships	Brisbane
800 m
Discus throw	69.35 m NR	Matthew Denny	13 April 2024	2023–24 Championships	Adelaide	^[15]

Women

Event	Record	Athlete/Team	Date	Meet	Place	Ref
800 m	1:58.32	Catriona Bisset	30 March 2023	2022–23 Championships	Brisbane	^[16]
1500 m	4:04.19	Jessica Hull	1 April 2023	2022–23 Championships	Brisbane
5000 m	15:05.87	Jessica Hull	2 April 2023	2022–23 Championships	Brisbane
High jump	2.00 m NR	Nicola McDermott	18 April 2021	2020–21 Championships	Sydney	^[17]
Pole vault	4.75 m	Eliza McCartney	1 April 2023	2022–23 Championships	Brisbane

References

^ Athletics Australia - Selection Criteria Archived 26 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ Athletics Australia - 86th National Championships Archived 18 June 2007 at archive.today
^ ^a ^b Athletics Australia National Championships results
^ Zatopek Classic Archived 20 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ Australian 50k Road Walk Championships Archived 12 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ Sydney Grand Prix
^ IAAF World Athletics Tour – Melbourne
^ Australian 20k Road Walk Championships Archived 1 August 2008 at archive.today
^ Athletics Australia - Australian Championships Superlatives
^ Men's results 2019–20
^ Women's results 2019–20
^ Men's results 2020–21
^ Women's results 2020–21
^ "Results". Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.
^ John Salvado (13 April 2024). "Denny smashes his own discus national record". yahoo.com. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Hull doubles at Australian Championships, Van Niekerk and Simbine shine at South African Championships". World Athletics. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
^ Steve Smythe (19 April 2021). "Junior records for Athing Mu and Christine Mboma – weekly round-up". athleticsweekly.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.

External links

Australien Championships Meet Records 7 April 2024 updated

[nz-10] - held in New Zealand as part of the Australasian Athletics Championships

[wom-11] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z - women's championship only

[men-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af - men's championship only

[15] The main championships were not held but eight events were completed prior to the cancellation.^[10]^[11]

[1] Athletics Australia - Selection Criteria Archived 26 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine

[2] Athletics Australia - 86th National Championships Archived 18 June 2007 at archive.today

[AA-3] Athletics Australia National Championships results

[4] Zatopek Classic Archived 20 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine

[5] Australian 50k Road Walk Championships Archived 12 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine

[6] Sydney Grand Prix

[7] IAAF World Athletics Tour – Melbourne

[8] Australian 20k Road Walk Championships Archived 1 August 2008 at archive.today

[9] Athletics Australia - Australian Championships Superlatives

[13] Men's results 2019–20

[14] Women's results 2019–20

[16] Men's results 2020–21

[17] Women's results 2020–21

[18] "Results". Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023.

[19] John Salvado (13 April 2024). "Denny smashes his own discus national record". yahoo.com. Retrieved 13 April 2024.

[20] "Hull doubles at Australian Championships, Van Niekerk and Simbine shine at South African Championships". World Athletics. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.

[21] Steve Smythe (19 April 2021). "Junior records for Athing Mu and Christine Mboma – weekly round-up". athleticsweekly.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.

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