Athletics Australia High Performance Unit

Athletics Australia produced stunning results at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Olympic team collected a total of seven medals, including the first gold medal since 2012 as Nina Kennedy won the women’s pole vault. This is the best medal return achieved by Australia since the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.

The Para Athletics team returned with 11 medals, led by dual gold medals to James Turner in the men’s T36 100m and 400m and Vanessa Low in the women’s T63 long jump.

Throughout the year Athletics Australia’s success is also highlighted by strong performances at World Athletics Series events and impressive medal hauls at the World Para Athletics Championships and World Athletics Under 20 Championships.

The Under 20 team achieved Australia’s best result at the Championships with 14 medals, proving that the spread of talent coming through the athletics pathway is at an all-time high.

The results reflect Athletics Australia’s commitment to enhancing its High Performance (HP) program through targeted initiatives, strategic investments, and a focus on holistic support for athletes, coaches and staff.

Some of the key initiatives include increased education across professional conduct and integrity, coach development and leadership summits, targeted resource allocation for athletes with podium potential, improved training environments for para and endurance athletes, better gender representation across teams and increased investment in equipment and technical support.