Australia’s path to the global stage in 2025 has officially begun, with world record holders, Olympic and Paralympic medallists, and debutants announced for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo and the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi this September.
Following an unforgettable 2025 Australian Athletics Championships, the first wave of green and gold representatives have earned their positions on teams, with a star-studded group of athletes headlined by Paralympic champion James Turner, five-time global medallist Eleanor Patterson and teenage sensation Gout Gout – who gets ready to make his Australian Team debut in the Open ranks at just 17-years-old.
Turner will be joined by fellow Paralympic champion and world record holder Vanessa Low, asthe duo spearhead eight Paralympic medallists from Paris in the first wave of selections for the championships to be hosted in India, with early selection recognising those who returned from the 2024 Paralympic Games with medals and have since maintained their edge.
Para athletes selected have posted at least two A-qualifying standards since the Games and returned to compete on home soil throughout the Chemist Warehouse Summer Series, with Low setting her eyes on more history in New Delhi fresh off a long jump T61 world record of 5.71m in Perth:
“The last couple of weeks I felt like something clicked and I had my pop back. In jumps, it’s a funny world – it can be all there but it’s about doing it on the day and feeling that perfect jump,” Low said.
“We want to hit the six-metre mark which is our big goal behind the scenes. We have been working hard turning all the little rocks over to find the last one per cent, and we feel like it’s possible. It’s a really big mark to work towards but I know it’s there and I want to set the standard for the next generation to come.”
On the able-bodied side, athletes earned their tickets to Tokyo through a number of factors – delivering a top two finish at the Australian Athletics Championships, holding a World Athletics qualifying standard or top five finish at the 2023 World Athletics Championships or 2024 Olympic Games, and showing form and fitness throughout the Chemist Warehouse Summer Series.
While Olympic medallist Patterson is looking to make it six medals from six consecutive major championships when she takes on the high jump in Tokyo, global sprint sensation Gout will face the world’s fastest men for the first time over 200m:
“I’m super excited to be picked to run the 200 in Tokyo at the World Championships! That’s what we’ve been aiming for. I’m looking forward to September being part of my first Australian senior team and looking forward to seeing what I can do against the best of the best,” Gout said.
Australian Athletics General Manager, High Performance Andrew Faichney noted the strength of these athletes:
“These athletes have not only proven themselves to be the best in the country, but so too the best in the world. Their selection is credit to the work they’ve put in across the season as well as their support in lifting the domestic season to the strong showing it has become today,” Faichney said.
“We can’t wait to see what they do in Tokyo and in New Delhi and we’re also really looking forward to the next few months of international athletics as more Australians look to book their spots on both teams.”
Further announcements will be made over the coming months as the road to both World Championships continues. More information can be found within the selection policies for the 2025 World Athletics Championships and 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be streamed live and free via SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand led by Bruce McAvaney, with more information to come on how to watch the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships this September.
Australian Athletics Team – 2025 World Athletics Championships, Tokyo (17*):
100m – Lachlan Kennedy (QLD, Andrew Iselin)
200m – Gout Gout (QLD, Diane Sheppard)
800m – Peter Bol (WA, Justin Rinaldi), Peyton Craig (QLD, Brendan Mallyon & Craig Mottram), Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren), Claudia Hollingsworth (VIC, Craig Mottram)
1500m – Cameron Myers (ACT, Dick Telford), Sarah Billings (VIC, Nic Bideau)
20km Race Walk – Rhydian Cowley (VIC, Brent Vallance), Jemima Montag (VIC, Brent Vallance), Rebecca Henderson (VIC, Simon Baker)
35 km Race Walk – Cowley, Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent), Elizabeth McMillen (NSW, Jared Tallent)
400m Hurdles – Sarah Carli (NSW, Abbie Taddeo)
Long Jump – Liam Adcock (QLD)
High Jump – Eleanor Patterson (VIC, Fayaaz Caan)
Javelin Throw – Mackenzie Little (NSW, Angus McEntyre)
Australian Athletics Team – 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, New Delhi (8*):
100m – James Turner (ACT, Iryna Dvoskina, T36), Rheed McCracken (NSW, Louise Sauvage, T34)
200m – Mali Lovell (NSW, Katie Edwards, T36)
400m – Turner, McCracken
800m – McCracken
1500m – Reece Langdon (VIC, Tim O’Shaughnessy, T38), Michael Roeger (SA, Philo Saunders, T46)
Long Jump – Vanessa Low (ACT, Scott Reardon, T61)
Javelin Throw – Dayna Crees (VIC, Gordon Talbot, F34), Michal Burian (VIC, Dale Stevenson, F44)
By Sascha Ryner and Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 22/4/2025
AloJapan.com