Australian Junior Race Walks: Zoe Woods defends Australian title

23 August 2026

Australian Junior Race Walks: Zoe Woods defends Australian title

In very contrasting weather conditions to her World Juniors two weeks ago, Zoe Woods was back into competition in Ballarat today at the Australian Junior Race Walking Championships. In the 12 degrees temperatures, she defended her Australian road walk title. She was one of three NSW athletes to be crowned Australian champion, alongside Joel Byatt (U20 men) and Eric Colgan (U12 boys). 

U20 WOMEN 10KM ROAD WALK
From the gun, Zoe was not away to her usual flyer, as she explained.
“I started out pretty slow, just comfortable. Honestly that's kind of out of my comfort zone, I really do like to gun it from the gun.”

She clocked 4:48, then 4:47 for the first kilometre splits, but then she picked up the pace and recorded 4:41 for the next. The remainder of the splits were between 4:43 to 4:46, ahead of her final split of a super quick time of 4:39. She finish in a time of 47:22 minutes, six minutes ahead of the silver medallist.
It was a 46 seconds PB and moved her to number 10 Australian U20 all-time. In the last decade only two Aussie juniors have walker quicker.
“I knew I was pretty fit coming in, obviously, I peaked for World Juniors two weeks ago, so I went into this race pretty confident that I was fit enough to get a PB,” Zoe said.

The experienced race walker wasn’t worried about her slower start.
“I kept my cool, and I'm really proud of that. I was in control of my mindset, I didn't panic, and then I just built into it. I was really consistent in the last 5km, just knocking out consistent splits around 4:44, and then I surged at the end for a PB.”

It must have been a challenge for Zoe to step down from the world stage to compete here.
“Obviously once you compete at a World Championship, you do crave a bit of a break, I'll be honest, however, I love this event, and I was aware that this is my last Nationals as an under-20. It's not something I wanted to pass up, and I knew I was in good form, so I was like, you know, why not? I love this sport, I love what I do, so, it's great to see all my mates and  I'm really glad I came.”

The recent World U20 Championships was her third Australian junior team. She took a moment to reflect on the championships.
“World Juniors was I would say, a life-changing experience. I learned so much from it. I did start that race out too quick, I paid for it in the back half, which is an error that a lot of distance athletes go through. That's something they have to learn, you know, it's just the way it works. But even still, I'm very proud of my result. I came 15th in the world. That is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm just so, content with where I am at in my career, and I'm so looking forward to developing.”

No doubt that Zoe Woods is the emerging hope in Australian women’s race walking. Next year she starts a Law degree at university and in March will tackle her next major race, the Australian Half Marathon Championships, as she moves into the seniors and negotiates the increase in distance.

U20 MEN 10KM ROAD WALK
In the men’s race, Joel Byatt won by over three minutes in a time of 45:35. Although it was not a PB, it was a special performance winning his first Australian title and capping off an excellent six months.
“I'm two minutes off my PB from Adelaide last February, so I'm a bit annoyed with that, but in the conditions today and with my mileage that I've been leading into this race, it's not a bad effort from me,” said Joel.
 “I'm happy to take away the gold in this race. It's quite surreal, actually - it's my first national title. In 2024 in the 5km at nationals, I placed 3rd and since  I haven't won a national medal, so I'm quite happy with this. It's almost a breakthrough. Even though it's not a PB, I'm still, very happy and pleased with this.”

Joel trains alongside Zoe Woods and World U20s and Commonwealth Games star, Isaac Beacroft in the Davd Beacroft coached squad.
“I've been with David since under-15s. My training really stepped up at the end of last year, leading into the 10Km race in Adelaide (February). I just missed out on qualifying time for the Brazil team for the World Race Walking team, but it was a really good effort for me because my PB before that race was, just under 46 minutes, so it was a 2:45 minutes PB. So I was really, really happy with that effort.”
With this increase in training load Joel has had to manage starting a degrees in physics at University of NSW.

Eric Colgan, in the boys U12 2km, was NSW’s third Australian champion on the day. Eric clocked 9:18 to defeat Victorian Fletcher Reid who clocked 9:26.

David Tarbotton for NSW Athletics
Image: Zoe Woods Australia U20 champion (image courtesy of David Tarbotton)