- Australian Championships in Athletics
The Australian Championships in Athletics or Australian Open Track and Field Championships are held annually to determine Australia's champion athletes in a range of
Track and Field events. The championships are the primary qualification trial for athletes wishing to compete at the Olympic Games,Commonwealth Games or World Championships [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/community/392/general_selection Athletics Australia - Selection Criteria] ] . The event is conducted byAthletics Australia [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/community/events/aust_championships_08 Athletics Australia - 86th National Championships] ] .History
The championships were first held in 1890 under the name Inter Colonial Meet. The competition was staged at
Moore Park inSydney onMay 31 ,1890 . Teams from theAustralasia n colonies ofNew South Wales , Victoria,Queensland andNew Zealand competed in the first meeting [http://www.athletics.com.au/history/aust_tf/index.htm Athletics Australia National Championships results] ] .A New Zealand team continued to compete in this event until the 1927/28 event. At the next championships in 1929/30, women's events were included for the first time.
In 1933, the women began conducting their own championships, with a wider range of events. Except for occasional combined championships in 1936, 1972 and 1976, the separation of men's and women's championships continued until the 1977/78 event.
Championship Events
The full range of Olympic events is not usually conducted at the National Championships. During the 2007/08 season the following championship events were held separately:
* Men's and Women's
10000 metres -Zatopek Classic - 13 December 2007 [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/community/events/zatopek_07 Zatopek Classic] ] .
* Men's50 km walk - Melbourne - 16 December 2007 [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/community/events/50k_road_walk_07 Australian 50k Road Walk Championships] ] .
* Women's5000 metres - Sydney Grand Prix - 16 February 2008 [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/freestyler/files/Sydney%20Athletics%20Grand%20Prix%20DRAFT%20timetable%20as%20at%2013%20feb%200….pdf Sydney Grand Prix] ] .
* Men's 5000 metres -IAAF World Athletics Tour , Melbourne meet - 21 February 2008 [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/freestyler/files/Melbourne%20Athletics%20Grand%20Prix%20DRAFT%20timetable%20as%20at%2019%20fe….pdf IAAF World Athletics Tour - Melbourne] ] .
* Men's and Women's20 km walk - Melbourne - 23 February 2008 [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/community/events/20k_road_walk_08 Australian 20k Road Walk Championships] ] .Most successful athletes
The most successful athletes at the Championships have been throwers
Gael Martin andWarwick Selvey who won 20 and 19 championships events, respectively [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/history/most_nat/gold_ATF.htm Athletics Australia - Australian Championships Superlatives] ] .List of National Championships
References
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