Sydney University Athletics Club has 13 members in the Australian team to contest the 2024 Oceania Area Championships, to be held at National Stadium in Suva, Fiji, from 1-8 June.
The first Oceania Championships in 1990 were held at the same venue. Since then there have been 17 championships at eight different venues, with Australia hosting the event seven times, including the past two in 2019 and 2022.
The 13 SUAC members off to Fiji include Kailyn Joseph, Jenny Blundell, Paige Campbell, Liz Clay, Alex Harrison, Rohan Browning, Alex Beck, Jacob McCorry, Liam Adcock, Connor Murphy, Cam McEntyre, Mackenzie Little and Erin Shaw, four of whom are current members of the Sydney University Sport and Fitness Elite Athlete Program.
Long jumper Kailyn Joseph, a para-athlete competing in the F37 category, first came to notice as a 14-year-old when she won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Junior Para Athletics Championships in Switzerland and backed up the following year competing for Australia at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Now a Bachelor of Applied Science student, she is on an EAP member and a University Blue.
Alexandra Harrison is also a B.Applied Science student, has a University sporting Blue and is an EAP member. She is the current Under 20 Oceania high jump champion and finished third with a 1.83m clearance at the Australian Championships in April.
Hurdler Jacob McCorry has also competed at the Oceania Championships as well as the World Under 20 Championships and Open World Championships and at three World University Games. The M.Applied Economics graduate has a PB of 13.48 for the 110m hurdles.
Connor Murphy won gold in the men’s triple jump at the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, breaking a 12-year-old record with a jump of 16-45m. He has since taken that to a PB of 16.82m. The B.Engineering/Science is a World Universiade representative and national triple jump champion. He is also an EAP member and University Blue.
Liam Adcock competes for SUAC in the long jump. He is the national champion with a PB of 8.15m and has also competed at the World Championships and the World University Games.
Paige Campbell, a former EAP members, is the Australian champion in the 3000m steeplechase and a two-time Oceania champion with PB of 9:44.80. She has competed a two World University Games, the 2018 World Cross Country Championships and the 2019 World Championships.
Cameron McEntyre is a two-time national champion in the javelin with a PB of 82.01m. The B.Human Sciences graduate has also competed at two World Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the World U20 Championships and the World Youth Championships.
Alex Beck, who has a doctorate in physiotherapy, competed in the men’s 400m at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He is a four-time national champion and a World Relays bronze medallist in the event with a PB of 45.54. He was also a Commonwealth Games finalist and has competed at three World Championships.
Distance runner Jenny Blundell, a B.Applied Science graduate, competed in the 1500m and 5000m at the Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo Olympic Games. A University Blue, she is 7th All Time Australian in the 1500m (4:04.62) and 10th All Time Australian in the 5000m (15:10.27).
Erin Shaw, a B.Applied Science/Advanced Studies student, is the Oceania Champion in the women’s high jump with a PB of 1.90m. An EAP member, she has competed at the World Championships, the World U20 Championships and the Diamond League.
Liz Clay is the third fastest Australian of all time over the 100m hurdles with a PB of 12.71s. A semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympic Games, she has also competed a two World Championships and the 2017 World Universiade. A B.Science graduate, she is a University Blue and a former member of the EAP.
Sprinter Rohan Browning was semi-finalist in the men’s 100m at the Tokyo Olympic Games. He is the second fastest Australian over the distance with a PB of 10.01s. He has competed at three World Championships and two Commonwealth Games and is a B. Arts/Law graduate. He is also a University Blue and member of the EAP.
Mackenzie Little has an imposing record in the women’s javelin. She was a finalist at the Tokyo Olympics and has a bronze medal from the World Championships and a silver from the Commonwealth Games. She was the World Under 18 Champion in 2013 and is a three-time National Champion. With B.Science and D.Medicine degrees, she was also an EAP member and is a University Blue.
Selection in the Australian team for the Paris Olympic Games will front and centre on many minds when they arrive to compete in Suva.
