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Who to watch at the Olympic trials

3 minute read

Spots on the Australian track and field team will be up for the grabs at the national championships this weekend.

THE KEY EVENTS AT THE NATIONAL ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS/OLYMPIC SELECTION TRIALS ARE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AT SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK

Saturday, April 17

Women's pole vault (1900 AEST) - New national record holder Nina Kennedy is the vaulter to beat. The biggest challenge is likely to come from Elisaveta Parnova.

Women's javelin final (1930) - Australia's only reigning world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber will face stiff competition from evergreen Kathryn Mitchell, the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

Women's 100m final (2044) - Hana Basic will have Melissa Breen's seven-year-old national record of 11.11 in her sights as she stares down the tough Olympic qualifying standard of 11.15.

Men's 100m final (2053) - Could this be moment when Rohan Browning finally joins Patrick Johnson in the official Australian sub-10 club? His long-time rival from junior days Jack Hale will be chasing hard.

Sunday, April 18

Women's discus final (1300) - The 2009 world champion Dani Stevens will become the first Australian to win the same national title 14 times if she salutes yet again as expected. The 32-year-old currently shares the record of 13 with triple jumper Andrew Murphy.

Women's high jump final (1400) - Eleanor Patterson and Nicola McDermott have both already bettered the Tokyo qualifying mark of 1.96m. Who will be the first to clear the two-metre barrier?

Women's 100m hurdles final (1500) - So long the domain of the great Sally Pearson, fellow Queenslander Liz Clay is now Australia's leading sprint hurdler.

Men's 1500m final (1520) - Even with US-based duo Oliver Hoare and Charlie Hunter granted exemptions to miss the trials due to travel restrictions, the field is stacked. Stewart McSweyn and Matthew Ramsden have Tokyo qualifiers, while Rio Games finalist Ryan Gregson is chasing a spot in his third Olympic team.

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