Opening Action
The 3-day State Championship event commenced on Friday night with Weight and Hammer throw, Pole Vault, and 5000m. While the distance runners may have welcomed the wet conditions, the field event athletes were probably silently cursing. But this is a State Championship, and everyone had to perform with unwavering focus and determination regardless of conditions.
Morning of Day 2
On Saturday morning, as the sun emerged and dried the field, the walkers completed their twelve and a half laps. One 100m heat was required in the Men's 40-44 age division, followed by the 1500m (which is being replaced by the Mile during the next Commonwealth Games). Norths continued their excellent form in the field events, keeping the records officer busy taking notes while juggling officiating duties. Maria Cimino recently completed her National Athletics Referee qualification.
Awards Ceremony
During the lunch intermission, the Masters Association presented the 2024 Annual Awards. UTS Norths were nominated in several categories with the following winners declared:
FEMALE
WALKS - Antoinette Woodward
SPRINTS/HURDLES - Monique Perry
THROWS - Odette Palma
MULTI EVENTS - Nicki Drinkwater
RELAYS - Christine De Vries
MALE
WALKS - Jim Seymon
SPRINTS/HURDLES - Ryan Dowling
RELAYS - Ashley McMahon & Ryan Dowling
OUTSTANDING ATHLETE - Ryan Dowling
Afternoon of Day 2
Competition resumed with the sprint hurdles, where Norths dominated with World Championships representatives Tim McGrath, Nicki Drinkwater, and Maryann Hearn putting on an impressive display for the crowd. President Joanna Davis also tackled her first sprint hurdles, claiming Silver as she expands her run, jump, and throw repertoire after having a standout sprint-focused season thus far.
Recovery Station
Athletes feeling the effects of accumulated effort got to experience the new partnership with Blackroll recovery boots. Situated near the marathon tunnel, recovering athletes could watch the Shot Put, High Jump, and quarter-mile events from the comfort on air-inflated supplementary cushions. These events were followed by the Steeplechase and another relay exhibition.
Relay Action
Athletics NSW agreed to put on the 4 x 200m Relay that was well received by the Masters group with 6 NSW Masters State records and 3 Australian records being set. Nicki Drinkwater was included in the W40 team and Trevor Young and Victor Ramondetta in the Mens M65 team. For more news on this event go to the Masters facebook site and give it thumbs up.
Day 3
Jumpers and Throwers were the early birds on Day 3, while the long hurdlers received an extra hour of recovery. Next came the shortest and quickest event of all – the 60m Dash. Multiple PB's were achieved with favourable tail winds in most races with some being further rewarded with State and National records:
Maryann Hearn (NSWMA - W55)
Christine De Vries (National - W60)
Seven of the eight registered 800m athletes finished on the podium as temperatures soared after lunch. The championships entered the home stretch with the final sprint event, the 200m.
Final Events and Results
Athletes had time to visit the recovery zone before the 200m began. Chris Todd and Alison Lumley recovered in time to return to the podium, contributing to the club's impressive haul of 14 podiums from 22 entrants for this event. Christine De Vries continued her record streak before Antoinette Baron concluded the women's events by claiming her 9th Gold medal in the Javelin and rewriting the record books for the women's 75 age division. Clark Donovan finished the men's events with Bronze in Discus, his fourth event of the championships.
GOLD
Nicholas Bastas 10
Antoinette Baron 9
Tim Mcgrath 6
Nicki Drinkwater 4
Christine De Vries 3
Victor Ramondetta 3
Maryann Hearn 3
Sandy Hoy 2
Maria Cimino 2
Chris Todd 2
Helena Smith 2
Deborah Drennan 2
Kathleen Cook 2
Joanna Davis 1
Caroline Layt 1
Trevor Young 1
Brad Sharpe 1
Lindsay Scholle 1
Ron Ross 1
Ben Hargy 1
Carmel Parker 1
Matteo Passerini 1
SILVER
Ryan Dowling 5
Joanna Davis 4
Michael Johnson 4
Caroline Layt 3
Nicki Drinkwater 2
Christine De Vries 2
Sandy Hoy 2
Elizabeth Morison 2
Victor Ramondetta 1
Maria Cimino 1
Chris Todd 1
Trevor Young 1
Brad Sharpe 1
Clark Donovan 1
Shane Decker 1
Alison Lumley 1
Melissa Ryan 1
Daniel Nolan 1
Clare Chapman 1
Cynthia Thomson 1
Jason Mcintosh 1
Martin Szeto 1
BRONZE
Stuart Maxwell 3
Nicki Drinkwater 2
Sandy Hoy 2
Maria Cimino 2
Helena Smith 2
Clark Donovan 2
Shane Decker 2
Margaret Thomas 2
Warren Jones 2
Tim Mcgrath 1
Trevor Young 1
Lindsay Scholle 1
Ron Ross 1
Ryan Dowling 1
Michael Johnson 1
Alison Lumley 1
Melissa Ryan 1
Yael Reed 1
44 Athletes took part with 22 achieving at least 1 Gold or more (50%)
125 Podiums from 217 completed events (58%)
Closing and Next Steps
Congratulations on your performances and participation throughout 2024-25. For those keen to continue to Nationals, you can find more information at the 2025 Australian Masters Athletics Adelaide. Registration closes on March 13, 2025, for the event being held April 18-21.
