PBs, Top Ten movement and encouraging early-season performances at Woden
The first ACT Summer Series meet of 2026–27 arrived at Woden on Saturday, bringing with it an old and particularly unwelcome friend for sprinters: the headwind.
Across most of the short sprint races, athletes were running directly into it. The leading men’s 100m section faced −1.7 m/s, another FAST-heavy section ran into −1.4, Isabelle Jeffs and Bree Madigan Wong had −2.6, while the fastest 200m section was run into the maximum allowable −2.0 m/s headwind.
It wasn’t a day designed to flatter the stopwatch.
That makes some of what happened particularly interesting.
FAST athletes produced a new 200m PB, moved through our historical Top Ten lists, improved on performances from last month’s ACT Schools Championships and, in Clare Rice’s case, removed more than a minute from a previous best.
For the first meet of the Summer Series, there was plenty worth taking away from Woden.
Sam Blood moves forward — twice
Sam Blood produced perhaps the clearest sprint performance of the meet.
He opened with 11.44 for 100m into a −1.7 m/s headwind, improving on the 11.61 he ran at the ACT Schools Championships in September. That Schools Championship performance had itself been affected by a −1.5 headwind, so Saturday wasn’t simply a case of being handed friendlier conditions.
The wind was actually slightly stronger.
Sam then returned for the 200m and ran 22.72 into a −2.0 m/s headwind.
It was a new PB and moves him higher on the FAST Performance Top Ten.
The number is particularly interesting because it leaves Sam just one hundredth of a second behind Jordan Green’s 22.71, a performance achieved with a +1.7 m/s tailwind.
We don’t adjust our rankings to compensate for wind. The time is the time and Jordan retains the position.
But context matters when coaches assess performance.
Sam running 22.72 into −2.0 tells us considerably more than simply where his name now sits on a list. It gives us another indication of the direction his sprinting is heading as the summer begins.
Daniel faster despite the wind
Daniel Nwaobi provided another useful comparison with the ACT Schools Championships.
Daniel won the 17-year-old Schools Championship 100m in 11.25 into −0.3. On Saturday he ran 11.15, despite facing a substantially stronger −1.7 m/s headwind.
That is a tenth of a second faster on the clock in considerably less favourable wind.
His 23.51 in the 200m later in the program wasn’t representative of his established 200m level, but that is precisely why we don’t judge an athlete or a program from a single result.
The 100m gave us a very encouraging early-season marker.
Mitchell keeps climbing
Mitchell Aleksandrowicz’s recent 200m progression continued at Woden.
At the ACT Schools Championships he ran 24.68. On Saturday he lowered that to 24.56, again with no assistance from the conditions — his race was run into a −2.0 m/s headwind.
That performance changes his position in the FAST 14–15 years 200m Top Ten.
Mitchell moves past Joshua Beale’s 24.60 and is now closing on Thomas Madigan’s 24.27.
That is one of the things we like about maintaining the FAST Top Ten. The names and performances give current athletes something tangible to pursue, while every improvement gradually raises the standard for those who come next.
Mitchell now knows exactly what the next mark is.
Isabelle strengthens her place in FAST history
Isabelle Jeffs had one of the least enjoyable wind assignments of the day in the 100m, facing −2.6 m/s on her way to 13.83.
Her 200m provided a much better opportunity, with almost neutral conditions at −0.1, and she responded with 27.65.
Isabelle’s existing FAST ranking mark is 27.61, although that performance came with a +3.0 m/s wind and therefore isn’t wind-legal for record purposes.
Saturday’s 27.65 provides a useful second piece of evidence.
On time, it reinforces Isabelle’s position as the fifth-fastest FAST 11–13-year-old girl over 200m, but this time the performance came in effectively neutral wind.
That distinction matters.
One performance can sometimes be an outlier. Repeated performances begin to establish a level.
Isabelle is showing that she belongs there.
Ryan runs faster in tougher conditions
Ryan Bhaskar also provided a direct comparison with September.
At the ACT Schools Championships he ran 12.81 into −1.6 for 100m.
At Summer Series No. 1, Ryan ran 12.62 into −1.4.
That’s a 0.19-second improvement in broadly comparable headwind conditions.
Ryan then moved to the long jump, where he won his competition with a best legal jump of 5.47m (+1.0).
Again, the combination is useful for us as coaches. Sprint speed and horizontal jumping don’t exist in isolation, and developing speed, force production and elastic qualities can support performance across both.
Clare takes 75 seconds off her steeplechase
Not every significant performance at Woden happened in a sprint lane.
Clare Rice ran 9:11.77 for the 2000m steeplechase, compared with the 10:27.14 she recorded at High Noon in September.
That is an improvement of 1 minute 15.37 seconds.
There is obviously more context involved when comparing performances over a longer event than simply looking at the stopwatch, particularly for a developing athlete still learning the event. But taking more than 75 seconds from a previous performance deserves recognition.
Clare also competed in the long jump, reaching 4.31m, albeit with a +2.2 wind on that particular jump.
Her growing event range continues to make her one of the more interesting developing athletes within FAST.
Lewin opens with 24.06 and 55.46
Lewin Ainsworth had a busy afternoon across the 100m, 200m and 400m.
His 12.16 came into a −1.4 headwind after he had already stepped up considerably over 200m, running 24.06 into −2.0. (half a second faster than in September)
He then completed his day with 55.46 for 400m. A whole second faster than he ran at ACT Schools last month and only 0.07s off the fastest time this season for his age.
For an athlete developing across the long-sprint spectrum, those three races provide useful information at the beginning of the summer. The 200m in particular gives further evidence of the speed sitting underneath his 400m development.
More FAST athletes in action
Aqlan Taufik opened his Summer Series with 12.09 into −1.7 for 100m, while Ewan McElhinney recorded 12.04 into −1.4.
Bree Madigan Wong had to negotiate the same difficult −2.6 headwind as Isabelle in the 100m, running 14.27, having earlier competed in the 80m hurdles and producing a legal 4.41m (+0.3) in the long jump.
Brooklyn Montana opened his hurdle season with 16.74 in the 110m hurdles, while Thivain Hasvi Ariyadasa combined the 100m and 800m with a 3.78m long jump.
Ellie B ran 1:04.26 for 400m, while Leo McKinley recorded 1:11.01 for 400m and 2:41.03 for 800m.
FAST Accelerate athletes Izabella Jukic and Aria Jukic were also in action, both contesting the 200m and long jump as their competition experience continues to grow.
Different athletes were at very different points in their preparation, which is exactly what we expect in October.
October isn’t the finish line
It is tempting to look at an athletics result and immediately classify it as good or bad according to the number beside the athlete’s name.
Coaching requires a little more patience.
Conditions matter. Training load matters. Where the athlete is within their program matters. Their health, recent competition history and event objectives matter.
That doesn’t mean we explain away poor performances or inflate good ones.
It means we look for evidence.
On Saturday, there was plenty.
Sam ran a 200m PB into a −2.0 headwind and moved higher in FAST history. Daniel ran a tenth faster than at the ACT Schools Championships despite encountering a substantially stronger headwind. Mitchell continued his 200m progression and moved through another position in the FAST Top Ten. Ryan improved by almost two tenths from his Schools Championship 100m in similar conditions. Isabelle backed up her position among our fastest 11–13-year-old 200m athletes with a near-identical performance in neutral wind.
And Clare took more than 75 seconds from her previous steeplechase performance.
Those are meaningful pieces of information.
They don’t tell us what any of these athletes will run later this summer.
They tell us that, for a number of them, the direction of travel is encouraging.
Summer has started
The headwind may not have received the invitation, but Summer Series No. 1 gave FAST athletes exactly what October competition should provide: an opportunity to race, collect information and find out what the work being done at Cook, Aranda, Woden and GG’s is producing.
Some performances will go into the record books.
Others become the starting point for what happens next.
Both have value.
The competition season is underway, and the FAST Top Ten is already moving again.
Progress is progress — whether it comes by a minute, a tenth or a hundredth of a second.
Real data. Better understanding. Better coaching.
Event 1022 Mixed 10-99 100 Metre Sprint AACT Pool 1
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Name Year Team Finals Points
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Section 1 Wind: -1.7
1 Nwaobi, Daniel M09 Ginninderra-AUS 11.15
3 Blood, Sam M09 Ginninderra-AUS 11.44
5 Taufik, Aqlan M08 Gungahlin At-AUS 12.09
6 Aleksandrowicz, Mitchell M11 Gungahlin At-AUS 12.12
Section 2 Wind: -1.4
1 McElhinney, Ewan M10 Ginninderra-AUS 12.04
2 Ainsworth, Lewin M11 Gungahlin At-AUS 12.16
4 Bhaskar, Ryan M11 Woden Athlet-AUS 12.62
Section 3 Wind: -2.6
3 Jeffs, Isabelle W13 Ginninderra-AUS 13.83
5 Madigan Wong, Bree W13 Ginninderra-AUS 14.27
Section 4 Wind: -0.4
2 Ariyadasa, Thivain Hasvi M14 Ginninderra-AUS 14.85
Event 1020 Mixed 10-99 200 Metre Sprint AACT Pool 1
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Name Year Team Finals Points
=======================================================================
Section 1 Wind: -2.0
1 Blood, Sam M09 Ginninderra-AUS 22.72
2 Ainsworth, Lewin M11 Gungahlin At-AUS 24.06
3 Aleksandrowicz, Mitchell M11 Gungahlin At-AUS 24.56
Section 2 Wind: -0.1
2 Jeffs, Isabelle W13 Ginninderra-AUS 27.65
Section 3 Wind: -0.8
1 Nwaobi, Daniel M09 Ginninderra-AUS 23.51
Section 4 Wind: 1.3
3 Jukic, Izabella W15 Woden Athlet-AUS 33.99
4 Jukic, Aria W15 Woden Athlet-AUS 34.29
vent 1029 Mixed 10-99 400 Metre Sprint AACT Pool 1
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Name Year Team Finals Points
=======================================================================
Section 1
1 Ainsworth, Lewin M11 Gungahlin At-AUS 55.46
3 McKinley, Leo M16 Ginninderra-AUS 1:11.01
Section 2
4 Barrett, Ellie W90 North Canber-AUS 1:04.26
Event 1021 Mixed 10-99 800 Metre Run AACT Pool 1
=======================================================================
Name Year Team Finals Points
=======================================================================
Section 1
7 McKinley, Leo M16 Ginninderra-AUS 2:41.03
Section 2
5 Ariyadasa, Thivain Hasvi M14 Ginninderra-AUS 3:08.12
Event 1004 Men 16-17 110 Metre Hurdles 91.4cm Under 18
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Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
============================================================================
Finals
1 Montana, Brooklyn 09 Ginninderra-AUS 16.74 0.2
Event 1004 Girls 10-13 80 Metre Hurdles 76.2cm Under 14
============================================================================
Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
============================================================================
Finals
1 Madigan Wong, Bree 13 Ginninderra-AUS 16.74 0.2
Event 1030 Girls 11-13 2000 Metre Steeplechase 76.2cm AA Spec 3
===============================================================
Name Year Team Finals
===============================================================
Finals
2 Rice, Clare 13 Corroboree A-AUS 9:11.77
Event 2017 Girls 10-13 Long Jump < 5.00 Metre AACT Pool 2
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Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
============================================================================
Finals
2 Madigan Wong, Bree 13 Ginninderra-AUS 4.41m 0.3
4.41m(0.3) 4.23m(0.2) FOUL(-0.1) FOUL(1.6)
3 Rice, Clare 13 Corroboree A-AUS 4.31m 2.2
FOUL(0.9) 4.28m(1.2) FOUL(0.8) 4.31m(2.2)
5 Dunn, Abigail 16 Belconnen Li-AUS 3.74m 0.7
3.74m(0.7) 3.16m(-0.3) 3.39m(3.4)
7 Jukic, Izabella 15 Woden Athlet-AUS 3.55m -0.3
3.54m(0.5) 3.55m(-0.3) 3.40m(1.8) 3.49m(1.3)
8 Jukic, Aria 15 Woden Athlet-AUS 3.51m 0.8
3.51m(0.8) 3.45m(0.3) 3.30m(-0.3) 3.24m(3.3)
Event 2017 Boys 10-13 Long Jump < 5.00 Metre AACT Pool 2
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Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
============================================================================
2 Ariyadasa, Thivain Hasvi 14 Ginninderra-AUS 3.78m 0.9
3.52m(0.7) 3.78m(0.9) 3.61m(1.4) 3.62m(0.9)
Event 2004 Men 14-15 Long Jump >= 5 Metres AACT Pool 1
============================================================================
Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
============================================================================
1 Bhaskar, Ryan 11 Woden Athlet-AUS 5.47m 1.0
FOUL(2.7) FOUL(2.2) 5.47m(1.0) FOUL(1.3) 5.32m(0.7)
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