SBS VICELAND and will provide all the action from August 19-27, with live and free coverage of all sessions, as well as full replays, extended highlights and more available for Australian audiences.
Collecting one gold, two silver and three bronze medals, the Australian team made history with an eighth overall finish on the medal tally and improved on the nation's previous best of four medals at a world championship.
Australia’s female athletes led the charge claiming five of the team’s six overall medals including their only gold medal won by Pole Vault superstar Nina Kennedy.
Kennedy soared to the top of the podium with an Aussie record of 4.90m in the Women’s Pole vault, before displaying incredible sportsmanship by agreeing to share the gold and world title with US rival Katie Moon.
Aussie jumpers dominated the final standings in the Women’s High Jump with Eleanor Patterson finishing in second and Nicola Olyslagers in third on Day 9 of the competition.
Mackenzie Little broke through for her first World Championship medal winning bronze after an inspired 6.33m final throw in the Women’s javelin, while it was also the first World Championship medal for Jemima Montag with a silver in the Women’s 20km Race Walk.
Pole Vaulter Kurtis Marschall became the first male Australian Athlete since Fabrice Lapierre in 2015 to finish on the podium when his jump of 5.95m secured a bronze medal.
Athletics Australia General Manager - High-Performance Andrew Faichney said the results from these Championships are just the beginning of what is possible when this crop of athletes converge again at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“We couldn’t be more proud or impressed by our team and their performances this week. Claiming six medals was terrific but equally great was having so many finalists and semi-finalists, showing that our team is really on track for our most successful Olympic Games since 1968,” Faichney said.
“Our team has made history this week in claiming more medals than we ever have before, but what excites me is their potential in Paris. In Mexico in 1968, we won six medals by some of the country’s greatest athletics stars including Ralph Doubell, Pam Kilbourn, Peter Norman, Raelene Boyle, Maurine Caird and Jenny Lamy. This team has the potential to be as successful and inspire the nation in the same way as some of those athletes did back then.
“I have been extremely impressed with how much the standard has lifted since the last World Athletics Championships in Oregon last year. We have successfully built upon those results and it’s clear that the performances from last year inspired the whole team to lift, whether it be to their first national team, first finals, first medals or even in the case of Nina, her first world title.
“While we leave successful, we also recognise there is still much room for improvement and with 11 months to go, we know this is achievable. This has been as much of a learning opportunity for our athletes ahead of the Olympics and it has given all of our athletes and coaches an insight into the standard of competition that we’ll see next year.
“The future is certainly looking bright, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve as a group throughout the domestic season at home and all the way into Paris 2024.”
