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 by Athletics 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 in Sydney on May 31, 1890. Teams from the Australasian colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and New 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's 50 km walk - Melbourne - 16 December 2007 [ [http://www.athletics.com.au/community/events/50k_road_walk_07 Australian 50k Road Walk Championships] ] .
* Women's 5000 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's 20 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 and Warwick 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