The Easter long weekend saw Adelaide play host to the 2025 Australian Masters Track and Field Championships, with our club sending a strong contingent of athletes to compete across four days of competition. While some of our regular members opted out for family or religious reasons, those who made the trip represented the club with distinction.
Perfect Conditions to Start
The championships began with sunny conditions and favourable tail winds for sprinters, while field athletes also benefited from excellent conditions similar to those that recently helped Matt Denny break the Oceania Record in Men's Discus at the Oklahoma Throws competition.
Day 1: Remarkable Depth Across Multiple Events
Our club athletes delivered an outstanding collective performance on Day 1, securing an impressive medal haul across sprints, jumps, throws, and walks.
Monique Perry (W50) dominated the sprints with gold in both 60m (7.90s - Championship Record & Australian Record) and 100m (12.46s), while Christine de Vries (W60) matched this feat with gold in both 60m (8.64s - Championship Record) and 100m (13.71s). Caroline Layt (W55) powered to gold in Hammer (40.44m), and Maria Cimino (W50) claimed gold in Hammer (41.47m). Nicki Drinkwater (W45) showed versatility with gold in both Shot Put (10.75m) and High Jump (1.48m), while Deborah Drennan (W65) won gold in the 800m (2:57.11). Sandy Hoy (W55) took gold in the 1500m Walk with a PB (11:03.17), and Antoinette Woodward (W65) set a State Record with her gold medal performance in the 1500m Walk (9:38.29). Ron Ross rounded out our Day 1 gold medal haul with a victory in the 60m.
Our athletes added numerous silver and bronze medals to the tally, with exceptional performances from Joanna Davis, Ashley McMahon, Jason McIntosh, Liz Morison, and many others across multiple events.
Day 2: Medal Count Continues to Grow
The second day saw our athletes continue their winning ways with more medals across various events.
Antoinette Baron (W75) dominated the 5000m Walk (34:23.71), while Christine de Vries (W60) won the 200m (28.76) and contributed to 4x100m Relay gold. Nicki Drinkwater (W45) claimed the 400m Hurdles (73.94), and Jason McIntosh (M55) won the Steeplechase (11:52.09). Monique Perry (W50) took gold in the 200m (26.13) and was part of the victorious 4x100m Relay team with Joanna Davis, while Sandy Hoy (W55) secured gold in the 5000m Walk (40:16.06).
Ashley McMahon set a new club record in the M45 200m (23.38) while securing silver, and Liz Morison achieved a personal best in the W40 Long Jump (4.69m). These performances highlighted a day of both individual excellence and strong relay teamwork.
Day 3: More Medals Despite Changing Weather
Conditions proved challenging on Day 3 as the weather changed to wet and windy, with delays in hurdle races impacting athletes' warm-up and preparation. Despite this, our competitors continued to excel but spare a thought for them packing the appropriate attire before departing Sydney. No matter your age the same factors need to be considered for major competition.
Nicki Drinkwater dominated the W45 80m Hurdles (12.87), while Brad Sharpe and Deborah Drennan combined in the winning Mixed 4x400m Relay (5:09.29). Antoinette Baron won the W75 Throws Pentathlon with an impressive 2164 points. Ashley McMahon and Monique Perry secured silver in the Mixed 4x400m Relay (4:03.83), this is the inaugural running of the mixed event as it has gained favour on the World Athletics Relay format and been adopted by the Masters Association. The challenging conditions couldn't dampen our athletes' competitive spirit as they adapted and performed admirably with Caroline Layt's Discus performance being upgraded to silver due to an international visitor sharing the podium.
Day 4: Strong Finish in Multi-Events and Throws
The championships concluded with more medal-winning performances in the Outdoor Pentathlon, Weight Throw, and Road Walk events.
Nicki Drinkwater dominated the W45 Outdoor Pentathlon (3043 points), demonstrating her exceptional all-around ability. Antoinette Baron claimed gold in the W75 Weight Throw (9.05m), while Maria Cimino powered to victory in the W50 Weight Throw (13.24m). Antoinette Woodward displayed remarkable endurance to win the W65 10km Road Walk in 1:08:30 slashing almost 2 minutes off her State record.
Janet Naylon (W55) earned silver in the Outdoor Pentathlon with 1553 points, as did Cynthia Thomson (W60) with 2124 points. Sandy Hoy (W55) secured bronze in the Outdoor Pentathlon with 1350 points, Caroline Layt (W55) took bronze in the Weight Throw with 12.47m, and Margaret Thomas (W65) earned bronze in the Outdoor Pentathlon with 1359 points.
Championship Wrap-Up
The four days of competition showcased our club's depth and versatility, with athletes excelling across sprint events, jumps, throws, walks, and multi-events. These great results follow our successful State Championships and Treloar Series victory in the 35+ and 50+ Age Divisions.
Another standout of these Championships is the Champion of Champions event for track and field. The track event has always been the 100m Handicap event and this year the club got three athletes qualified they were Monique Perry (2nd), Christine De Vries (5th) and Ashley McMahon opting not to run in the male race this year. In the field equivalent in the Throws Champion of Champions event (Weight Throw this year) Maria Cimino and Antoinette Baron qualified through their age division finishing 4th and 7th respectively, capping off an impressive championship showing.
The Annual Awards evening is also scheduled during the Championships and the club had a stellar 2024 season with the following nominees and winners:
Walks nominee - Antoinette Woodward
Throw nominee - Odette Palma
Relay/Multi-Event nominee - Christine De Vries (W60 4x100m World Record)
Honarary Life Personal Associate - Helena Smith
Official of the Year winner - Maria Cimino
Most Outstanding Male Performance winner - Ryan Dowling
In total, our club athletes secured an impressive 24 gold, 19 silver, and 22 bronze medals over the four days of competition. Congratulations to all our Masters athletes who represented the club with such distinction in Adelaide!
*Full competition results will become available on the Australian Masters Athletics website*
