The Australian qualification period for the IPC World Athletics Championships drew to a close yesterday, with Athletics Australia expected to announce a team of approximately 40 athletes by mid-September.

Taking into account A-qualifying standards and world rankings when selecting the team, Rohan Short, Athletics Australia’s Paralympic Preparation Program Manager, and his national event group coordinators have a tough task ahead.

“The interesting thing about AWD (athletes with a disability) events is that A-qualifiers don’t always reflect the strength of the event category and need to be measured alongside world rankings,” Short said.

“Whilst an A-qualifier is a brilliant result for the more than 20 athletes boasting one, the important thing to remember is that some Australian athletes are ranked first or second in the world without reaching the specified ‘A’ standard.”

One such athlete with an A-qualifier is Madison De Rozario. The 19-year-old only last week posted an A-qualifying time of 17.90 in the T53 100m at the IWAS World Junior Games.

Making the trip to Europe in an effort to reclassify to a T53 level, De Rozario stole the show by winning six gold medals in the T53 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 5000m and lowering the IWAS Word Junior record mark in the T53 100m, 400m and 800m.

“I was more than pleased with my results at IWAS. I headed over there with only twelve or so real training sessions under my belt and wasn’t sure how I would go, so the way everything played out is just great,” De Rozario said.

“It’s always such a great experience to travel with a team and there’s nothing better than competing at a world level so I’d love to be selected for Worlds, not only to compete but just to be a part of such a great event too.”

Held from January 21-30 2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand, the IPC World Championships will for the first time head to the southern hemisphere.

Australia will host a preparation meet in Sydney on January 14 before crossing the Tasman for the Opening ceremony at Christchurch’s QEII Park.

With competition stretching across nine days, the championships will bring together more than 1200 athletes and 900 officials and as one of the major qualification events for the 2012 Paralympics in London, the world’s best athletes are expected to make the journey.

For more information on the IPC World Championships, team announcement and the Athletics Australia Paralympic Preparation Program, follow this link to the Athletics Australia AWD site. http://www.athletics.com.au/high_performance/awd

By Athletics Australia
Posted 02/09/2010