Australian Olympic & Paralympic Women: Athletics
Olympics: Alana Boyd, Beki Lee, Benita Willis, Claire Tallent, Dani Samules, Eloise Wellings, Jessica Trengove, Kaila McKnight, Kathryn Mitchell, Kim Mickle, Lauren Boden, Lisa Weightman, Melissa Breen, Regan Lamble, Sally Pearson and Zoe Buckman.
Paralympics: Brydee Moore, Carlee Beattie, Christie Dawes, Erinn Walters, Georgia Beikoff, Jessica Gallagher, Jodi Elkington, Katherine Proudfoot, Katy Parrish, Kristy Pond, Louise Ellery, Madeleine Hogan, Madison de Rozario, Michelle Errichiello, Rachael Dodds, Rosemary Little and Torita Isaac.
Jessica Gallagher
Lauren Boden
To me, making the Olympic Games, means all of my hard work, sacrifices and training have culminated in this one event, where I get to compete against the absolute best athletes the world has to offer, and to test my skills against them. The Olympics means that I get to proudly represent Australia and I get to experience something so unique and amazing, that not many people in the world get the opportunity to do.
When I was told I was going to the London Olympic Games I think I experienced a myriad of emotions; mainly relief and elation! I was relieved to have been nominated early for the Olympics and I was just so happy and emotional that my athletics dreams were being realised!
I am looking forward to the entire 'Olympic' experience in London - it is hard to pin point only one thing I am looking forward to! I think the Village will be awesome fun, seeing so many world-class athletes from other countries and other sports will be cool! I am really looking forward to getting my Australian uniform too! I think mostly though, I am looking forward to racing! The stadium will be buzzing and the competition will be fierce so I can't wait to be out there amongst it all, soaking it up and loving every moment!
Lauren Boden's Sport for Women profile
Lauren Boden's Australian Olympic Team profile
Alana Boyd
From a young age it has been my dream to represent Australia at the Olympic Games like both of my parents did. The Olympics is the ultimate and something you spend years working towards so to wear the green and gold and make my country proud is a feeling like no other.
To be selected in my second Australian Olympic Team was a reward for all the hard work and sacrifices I have made. It is a great honour.
Having competed in Beijing I know what to expect, so I am looking to channel that energy and excitement into my performance and enjoy seeing what I am capable of. Putting all my hard work into action on the pole vault runway with the excitement and hype that is the Olympics.
Alana Boyd's Sport for Women profile
Alana Boyd's Australian Olympic Team profile
Dani Samuels
Australian Athletics Olympic News
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Rosemary Little finishes a gallant fourth
West Pennant Hills Paralympian Rosemary Little took on a tough field of wheelchair racers to finish a gallant fourth in the Paralympic T34 200m final on Friday morning.
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Kelly Cartwright's our London Paralympics conqueror, winning a gold and silver
"I hope I have inspired people," Cartwright told the Herald Sun last night. "I get so many great messages from people saying that I am the reason they've changed the outlook on their lives.
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Little up for an encore | London 2012
THE winner of the first medal on the track for the 2012 Paralympic team, Rosemary Little, returns to the Olympic Park Stadium on Thursday for a possible encore.
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Jump for silver joy
WARWICK paralympian Carlee Beattie produced her best jump when it mattered most to win silver in the F46 long jump in London yesterday.
Athletics in the Paralympics
Beki Lee
What does going to the Olympics mean for you? It means that all the hard work and sacrifices that my family and I have made have paid off. It has been a long road not just for me but for my mum and dad who have also sacrificed so much and also my boyfriend Dan who put his own dreams on hold to help me achieve mine. I am so grateful to be able to give back to them by competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games and it's great for them to know that their sacrifics also have paid off. It means the world!
How did you feel when you made the team? I was relieved! It still feels very surreal. I had always imagined what it would be like when I would receive the phone call to say that I will be representing Australia at the Olympic Games and there is no way I could of prepared for it. I felt like I could breathe again.
What are you looking forward to most about London? Racing! I can not wait until race day. To put on my aussie uniform, pin on my numbers, make sure all my dreads are tucked in so they don't fall out, slip on my shoes and get out there and compete. It will definitely be the proudest moment of my sporting career
Beki Lee's Sport for Women profile
Beki Lee's Australian Olympic Team profile
Athletics 101
Basic rules and jargon buster
Running
The running and walking disciplines are staged over events ranging from 100m to 50km.
Besides the marathon and race walk events which are held on the road, the running will take place on a 400m oval track inside London’s Olympic stadium where the finish line is at the end of the ‘home straight’.
While the majority of races are on the flat, the hurdles and steeplechase competitions require athletes to jump over obstacles as they race it out to the finish line.
Anchor: The last runner in a relay race.
Sprint: Technically defined as a race of 400m or under.
Heat: An early race of an event, where the top finishers (usually the top three or four, plus fastest losers) advance to the finals or semi-finals of the competition.
Jumping
In long jump, athletes sprint down a runway before propelling themselves as far as possible into a sand pit.
Triple jump is similar in form, although competitors have to complete a hop and a step before completing the jump.
For the high jump, the object is to leap over a bar that is then raised with each successful attempt. Three attempts are possible at every stage and the winner is the athlete who arches over the bar at the greatest height.
And finally the Pole vault adheres to the same rules, but here competitors must use a long, flexible pole to launch themselves higher into the air.
Fosbury flop: A style of high-jumping – named after the man who perfected it, American Dick Fosbury, where the athlete clears the bar facing upwards and lands with his or her back on the mat.
Take-off board: The board long and triple jumpers jump sprint towards and jump from.
Box: A three sided box where vaulters plant their poles as they attempt to clear the bar.
Throwing
The throws are divided into javelin, shot put, discus and hammer and the athletes are given six attempts to throw the object as far as possible into a field.
Rhythm: The flow of the athlete while progressing through the motion of throwing.
Orbit: The path of the object thrown.
Throwing circle: The circle that athletes must not exit while attempting a discuss or hammer throw.