View source for 1996–97 Australian Athletics Championships

{{Infobox Athletics Championships
| Name = 1996–97 Australian Athletics Championships
| Host city = [[Melbourne]], Australia
| Dates = 27 February–2 March 1997
| Stadium = [[Olympic Park Stadium (Melbourne)|Olympic Park Stadium]]
| Stadium image = [[File:Mbnolypkst.jpg|200px]]
| Previous = [[1995–96 Australian Athletics Championships|1995–96]]
| Next = [[1997–98 Australian Athletics Championships|1997–98]]
}}

The '''1996–97 Australian Athletics Championships''' was the 75th edition of the [[Australian Athletics Championships|national championship]] in outdoor [[track and field]] for [[Australia]]. It was held from 27 February–2 March 1997 at the [[Olympic Park Stadium (Melbourne)|Olympic Park Stadium]] in [[Melbourne]]. It served as a selection meeting for [[Australia at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics]]. The men's [[10,000 metres]] event took place separately at the [[Adelaide]] Grand Prix on 1 February 1997 while the women's [[5000 metres]] took place at the Melbourne Nike Classic on 20 February 1997. The [[combined track and field events]] took place at the [[Hobart]] Grand Prix from 14–16 February 1997.<ref>[http://athletics.possumbility.com/aust_tf/tf_m_1996-97.htm Australian Track & Field Championships - Men 1996–97]. Athletics Australia. Retrieved 2020-01-14</ref><ref>[http://athletics.possumbility.com/aust_tf/tf_w_1996-97.htm Australian Track & Field Championships - Women 1996–97]. Athletics Australia. Retrieved 2020-01-14.</ref>

==Medal summary==
===Men===
{| {{MedalistTable|type=Event|columns=2}}
|-
|100 metres<br>(Wind: +1.2 m/s)
|[[Steve Brimacombe]]<br>Queensland || 10.31
|[[Chris Donaldson]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 10.32
|[[Gus Nketia]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 10.39
|-
|200 metres<br>(Wind: +0.5 m/s)
|[[Chris Donaldson]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 20.42
|[[Steve Brimacombe]]<br>Queensland || 20.44
|[[Patrick Johnson (sprinter)|Patrick Johnson]]<br>Australian Capital Territory || 20.54
|-
|400 metres
|[[Brad Jamieson]]<br>South Australia || 45.94
|[[Declan Stack]]<br>Western Australia || 46.20
|[[Casey Vincent (athlete)|Casey Vincent]]<br>Victoria || 46.31
|-
|800 metres
|[[Elijah Kipruto Maru]]<br>{{flagteam|KEN}} || 1:47.33
|[[Justin Rinaldi]]<br>Victoria || 1:47.78
|[[Paul Byrne (runner)|Paul Byrne]]<br>Victoria || 1:47.87
|-
|1500 metres
|[[Paul Bitok]]<br>{{flagteam|KEN}} || 3:41.56
|[[Scott Petersen (runner)|Scott Petersen]]<br>Victoria || 3:43.38
|[[David Kibet]]<br>{{flagteam|KEN}} || 3:44.85
|-
|5000 metres
|[[Paul Bitok]]<br>{{flagteam|KEN}} || 13:31.90
|[[Julian Paynter]]<br>Victoria || 13:35.13
|[[Lee Troop]]<br>Victoria || 13:36.69
|-
|10,000 metres
|[[Julian Paynter]]<br>Victoria || 28:35.31
|[[Lee Troop]]<br>Victoria || 29:16.03
|[[Rod de Highden]]<br>Victoria || 29:27.56
|-
|110 metres hurdles<br>(Wind: -2.5 m/s)
|[[Kyle Vander-Kuyp]]<br>Victoria || 13.81
|[[David Cooper (hurdler)|David Cooper]]<br>Western Australia || 14.23
|[[Jagan Hames]]<br>South Australia || 14.27
|-
|400 metres hurdles
|[[Rohan Robinson]]<br>Victoria || 49.83
|[[Zid Abou Hamed]]<br>New South Wales || 50.28
|[[Matthew Beckenham]]<br>New South Wales || 51.21
|-
|3000 metres steeplechase
|[[Chris Unthank]]<br>Victoria || 8:50.12
|[[Martin Dent]]<br>New South Wales || 8:59.46
|[[Tim Readwin]]<br>Victoria || 9:06.04
|-
|4 × 100 m relay
|{{flagteam|New South Wales|code=NSW}}<br>[[Mike Wiener]]<br>[[Toluta'u Koula (sprinter)|Toluta'u Koula]]<br>[[Matt Shirvington]]<br>[[Jason Snell (sprinter)|Jason Snell]] || 40.49
|{{flagteam|South Australia|code=SA}}<br>[[Timothy Johnson (sprinter)|Timothy Johnson]]<br>[[Steve Hutton]]<br>[[James Noblet]]<br>[[Brad Jamieson]] || 40.60
|{{flagteam|Victoria|code=VIC}}<br>[[Justin Lewis (sprinter)|Justin Lewis]]<br>[[David Baxter (athlete)|David Baxter]]<br>[[Paul Pearce (athlete)|Paul Pearce]]<br>[[Nick Rennie]] || 41.13
|-
|4 × 400 m relay
|{{flagteam|New South Wales|code=NSW}}<br>[[Patrick Dwyer (sprinter)|Patrick Dwyer]]<br>[[Todd MacDonald (athlete)|Todd MacDonald]]<br>[[Robert Medlicott]]<br>[[Lewis Rangott]] || 3:09.25
|{{flagteam|NZL}}<br>[[Callum Taylor (sprinter)|Callum Taylor]]<br>[[Robert Hanna (athlete)|Robert Hanna]]<br>[[Bjorn Jansen]]<br>[[Henry Semiti Rogo]] || 3:09.65
|{{flagteam|Victoria|code=VIC}}<br>[[Robbie Lynch]]<br>[[Christopher Cornish]]<br>[[Mark Moresi]]<br>[[Casey Vincent (athlete)|Casey Vincent]] || 3:09.72
|-
|5000 metres walk
|[[Nicholas A'Hern]]<br>New South Wales || 19:24.31
|[[Scott Nelson]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 20:13.84
|[[Brent Vallance]]<br>New South Wales || 20:25.87
|-
|High jump
|[[Tim Forsyth]]<br>Victoria || 2.36 m
|[[Jagan Hames]]<br>South Australia<hr>[[Glen Howard (athlete)|Glen Howard]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 2.18 m
!colspan=2|Not awarded
|-
|Pole vault
|[[James Miller (pole vaulter)|James Miller]]<br>Western Australia || 5.30 m
|[[Paul Gibbons (athlete)|Paul Gibbons]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 5.20 m
|[[Paul Burgess (athlete)|Paul Burgess]]<br>Western Australia || 5.00 m
|-
|Long jump
|[[Shane Hair]]<br>Western Australia || 8.01 m <br>(+2.8 m/s)
|[[Jai Taurima]]<br>Queensland || 7.88 m <br>(+2.9 m/s)
|[[Jagan Hames]]<br>South Australia || 7.83 m <br>(+1.3 m/s)
|-
|Triple jump
|[[Andrew Murphy]]<br>New South Wales || 17.03 m <br>(+4.1 m/s)
|[[Tim Barnes (triple jumper)|Tim Barnes]]<br>New South Wales || 15.78 m <br>(+4.2 m/s)
|[[Stacey Taurima]]<br>Queensland || 15.71 m <br>(+1.0 m/s)
|-
|Shot put
|[[Clay Cross (athlete)|Clay Cross]]<br>New South Wales || 18.16 m
|[[Justin Anlezark]]<br>Queensland || 18.00 m
|[[Chris Gaviglio]]<br>Queensland || 17.18 m
|-
|Discus throw
|[[Gerard Duffy]]<br>Australian Capital Territory || 52.18 m
|[[Ben Jaaniste]]<br>New South Wales || 52.06 m
|[[Peter Lonsdale]]<br>Queensland || 51.66 m
|-
|Hammer throw
|[[Stuart Rendell]]<br>Australian Capital Territory || 75.90 m
|[[Demetri Dionisopoulos]]<br>Western Australia || 64.82 m
|[[Pat Hellier]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 63.44 m
|-
|Javelin throw
|[[Adrian Hatcher]]<br>Victoria || 80.02 m
|[[Richard Brockett]]<br>Queensland || 73.82 m
|[[Nick Batty]]<br>New South Wales || 69.98 m
|-
|Decathlon
|[[Peter Banks (decathlete)|Peter Banks]]<br>New South Wales || 7915 pts<ref>(10.93 (+1.7), 7.67 m (+2.7), 13.64 m, 2.06 m, 48.14, 15.66 (+0.1), 40.56 m, 4.40 m, 56.08 m, 4:31.10)</ref>
|[[Matthew McEwen]]<br>Queensland || 7684 pts<ref>(10.83 (+1.7), 7.20 m (+0.3), 14.11 m, 1.97 m, 49.42, 15.48 (+0.1), 41.80 m, 4.50 m, 59.50 m, 4:55.38)</ref>
|[[Brendan Tennant]]<br>Northern Territory || 7593 pts<ref>(10.94 (+1.7), 7.28 m (+2.2), 13.68 m, 1.88 m, 49.99, 15.39 (+0.1), 43.34 m, 4.40 m, 57.70 m, 4:45.22)</ref>
|-
|}

===Women===
{| {{MedalistTable|type=Event|columns=2}}
|-
|100 metres<br>(Wind: -0.7 m/s)
|[[Melinda Gainsford]]<br>New South Wales || 11.25
|[[Lauren Hewitt]]<br>Victoria || 11.43
|[[Nova Peris-Kneebone]]<br>Northern Territory || 11.51
|-
|200 metres<br>(Wind: +5.0 m/s)
|[[Melinda Gainsford]]<br>New South Wales || 22.34
|[[Cathy Freeman]]<br>Victoria || 22.50
|[[Lauren Hewitt]]<br>Victoria || 22.66
|-
|400 metres
|[[Cathy Freeman]]<br>Victoria || 52.09
|[[Susan Andrews]]<br>Tasmania || 53.11
|[[Kirilee Buonaccorsi]]<br>Tasmania || 54.58
|-
|800 metres
|[[Saleena Roberts]]<br>Queensland || 2:04.10
|[[Melanie Collins]]<br>Australian Capital Territory || 2:04.25
|[[Sandra Dawson (runner)|Sandra Dawson]]<br>Queensland || 2:05.10
|-
|1500 metres
|[[Mandy Westbrook]]<br>Tasmania || 4:17.30
|[[Benita Willis]]<br>Queensland || 4:17.79
|[[Susan Michelsson]]<br>Victoria || 4:20.93
|-
|5000 metres
|[[Kate Anderson (runner)|Kate Anderson]]<br>Victoria || 15:14.42
|[[Kylie Risk]]<br>Tasmania || 15:31.93
|[[Natalie Harvey]]<br>Victoria || 15:53.35
|-
|10,000 metres
|[[Kylie Risk]]<br>Tasmania || 32:42.72
|[[Maryann Murray]]<br>Victoria || 33:34.06
|[[Suzanne Malaxos]]<br>Western Australia || 33:52.83
|-
|100 metres hurdles<br>(Wind: +2.8 m/s)
|[[Jane Flemming]]<br>New South Wales || 13.58
|[[Janiene Ashbridge]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 13.63
|[[Kim Birrell (hurdler)|Kim Birrell]]<br>Victoria || 13.80
|-
|400 metres hurdles
|[[Evette Cordy]]<br>Victoria || 57.64
|[[Lauren Poetschka]]<br>Western Australia || 57.97
|[[Leisa Proctor]]<br>Queensland || 58.92
|-
|4 × 100 m relay
|{{flagteam|New South Wales|code=NSW}}<br>[[Nicole Buchanan]]<br>[[Rachael Massey]]<br>[[Rebecca Vormister]]<br>[[Vicky Piggin]] || 45.56
|{{flagteam|NZL}}<br>[[Janiene Ashbridge]]<br>[[Shelley Stoddart]]<br>[[Jane Arnott]]<br>[[Chantal Brunner]] || 46.14
|{{flagteam|Western Australia|code=WA}}<br>[[Ruth Beckham (athlete)|Ruth Beckham]]<br>[[Jodi Lambert]]<br>[[Kylie Reed]]<br>[[Sharon Sutherland]] || 46.62
|-
|4 × 400 m relay
|{{flagteam|New South Wales|code=NSW}}<br>[[Shanie Coutts]]<br>[[Rebecca Vormister]]<br>[[Rosemary Hayward]]<br>[[Amber Menzies]] || 3:41.37
|{{flagteam|Queensland|code=QLD}}<br>[[Leisa Proctor]]<br>[[Saleena Roberts]]<br>[[Alice Barrett (athlete)|Alice Barrett]]<br>[[Sandra Dawson (runner)|Sandra Dawson]] || 3:46.29
|{{flagteam|Victoria|code=VIC}}<br>[[Anna Deery]]<br>[[Georgina Connell]]<br>[[Jennifer Marshall (sprinter)|Jennifer Marshall]]<br>[[Evette Cordy]] || 3:49.39
|-
|5000 metres walk
|[[Jane Saville]]<br>New South Wales || 21:32.26
|[[Natalie Saville]]<br>New South Wales || 21:34.23
|[[Jill Maybir-Barrett]]<br>Queensland || 22:49.86
|-
|High jump
|[[Alison Inverarity]]<br>Western Australia || 1.84 m
|[[Lisa Bruty]]<br>Victoria || 1.81 m
|[[Sherryl Morrow]]<br>Victoria || 1.81 m
|-
|Pole vault
|[[Emma George]]<br>Victoria || 4.30 m
|[[Tracey Shepherd]]<br>Western Australia || 3.80 m
|[[Melina Hamilton]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 3.80 m
|-
|Long jump
|[[Chantal Brunner]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 6.68 m <br>(+1.0 m/s)
|[[Vicky Piggin]]<br>New South Wales || 6.28 m <br>(+1.4 m/s)
|[[Kylie Reed]]<br>Western Australia || 6.23 m <br>(+0.3 m/s)
|-
|Triple jump
|[[Tania Dixon]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 13.50 m <br>(+1.4 m/s)
|[[Nicole Mladenis]]<br>Western Australia || 13.16 m <br>(+4.5 m/s)
|[[Carmen Miller]]<br>Tasmania || 12.98 m <br>(+4.3 m/s)
|-
|Shot put
|[[Beatrice Faumuina]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 15.68 m
|[[Georgette Reed]]<br>{{flagteam|CAN}} || 15.54 m
|[[Helen Toussis]]<br>Queensland || 15.38 m
|-
|Discus throw
|[[Beatrice Faumuina]]<br>{{flagteam|NZL}} || 68.28 m
|[[Lisa-Marie Vizaniari]]<br>Queensland || 65.86 m
|[[Alison Lever]]<br>Queensland || 53.40 m
|-
|Hammer throw
|[[Deborah Sosimenko]]<br>New South Wales || 65.68 m
|[[Brenda MacNaughton]]<br>New South Wales || 59.36 m
|[[Karyne Perkins]]<br>New South Wales || 57.96 m
|-
|Javelin throw
|[[Joanna Stone]]<br>Queensland || 63.78 m
|[[Bina Ramesh]]<br>{{flagteam|FRA}} || 54.06 m
|[[Kate Farrow]]<br>South Australia || 53.16 m
|-
|Heptathlon
|[[Clare Thompson (heptathlete)|Clare Thompson]]<br>Queensland || 5534 pts<ref>(13.91 (+0.2), 1.71 m, 12.12 m, 24.99 (-2.2), 5.78 m (-0.3), 35.02 m, 2:24.47)</ref>
|[[Sherryl Morrow]]<br>Victoria || 5229 pts<ref>(14.29 (+0.2), 1.80 m, 11.14 m, 26.18 (-2.7), 5.53 m (+0.3), 36.20 m, 2:35.65)</ref>
|[[Theresa Martin]]<br>Queensland || 5044 pts<ref>(14.68 (+0.2), 1.68 m, 10.03 m, 26.09 (-2.7), 5.35 m (-2.2), 35.36 m, 2:23.73)</ref>
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.athletics.com.au/home/ Athletics Australia website]

{{Australian Athletics Championships}}
{{1997 in athletics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Australian Athletics Championships}}
[[Category:Australian Athletics Championships|1997]]
[[Category:March 1997 sports events in Australia|Australian Athletics Championships]]
[[Category:1997 in athletics (track and field)|Australian Championships]]
[[Category:1997 in Australian sport|Athletics Championships]]
[[Category:Sports competitions in Melbourne]]
[[Category:1990s in Melbourne]]
[[Category:February 1997 sports events in Australia]]