NSW Open Championships: Five athletes/events to watch

18 March 2026

NSW Open Championships: Five athletes/events to watch

Commencing Thursday on the freshly laid track at Sydney Olympic Park, is the 129th NSW Championships. The championships will also incorporate the HART Sport 55th Little Athletics NSW Track and Field Championships for ages U9-U12.

Five things to watch during the championships.

Athletics Wollongong quarter miler, Chase Grant was unlucky to miss selection for the 2024 World U20 Championships, but in 2026 he is making sure he does not miss the highly competitive Australian 2026 team, going to Eugene in July. Incredibly Chase has met the high Australian Athletics standards in the 100m, 200m and 400m events. This week at the NSW open Championships he lines up in the 400m.

UTS Norths Hammer Throw Tim Heyes continues to improve under the coaching of Peter Farmer. At the Adelaide Invitational last week, he broke his four-year-old PB with a throw of 69.86m. It was the longest throw by an Australian since Matty Denny won silver at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 – eight years ago. In Adelaide Heyes also held off his main competition for the National title, James Joycey, who is back from college in America.

Alice Dixon has been a revelation in the long sprints over the last two years. Battling injuries as a teenager, Dixon had a long junior career running as quick as 24.99 (200m) as a 13-year-old in 2016. But in her senior years, during 2025 and 2026, she has really blossomed. Unable to break 24 second (200m) and 55 second (400m) as a junior, she has now progressed to 23.70 and a spectacular 52.64 in the 400m. The now 22-year-old can expect to push for national team selection in 4x400s running at that level. This weekend she will enjoy great company racing against Australia’s leading 400m athlete Jemma Pollard.

The women’s 400m hurdles sees a great line-up and some intrigue. ACT-based former Mudgee resident, Ellesha Bennetts (PB 56.49) heads a quality field. Bella Guthrie has been progressing well this summer with 58.42 recently in Canberra. Brisbane-based NSW athlete Suzie Douglas will be in the hunt for the podium with her PB form of 58.76 seconds at National last year. For outstanding junior Maiya Hewitt, the qualify of the field will be ideal for a PB (currently 58.80). What is intriguing is the potential of two new athletes to the event, Matilda Ryan and Alice Dixon. Ryan, a 2:04 half-miler, has already run 59.58 this summer, while Alice Dixon, mentioned about, who has been making tremendous progress in the 400m, does not appear to have run a 400m hurdles, and has quoted 65 seconds as a seed time.

Ashlyn Blackstock has made a significant break through this summer in the discus. After first throwing over 50 metres in 2020, in 2023 she improved that PB to 51.64m. But this summer she has been at a new level setting three PBs, now up to 56.38m, and winning the Oceania Cup title. Last week at the Adelaide Invitational she pushed Olympian and the clear leading Australian for the last four years, Queenslander Taryn Gollshewsky – 56.24m to 55.49m.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Image: Ashlyn Blackstock (image courtesy of David Tarbotton)