Two longstanding Ginninderra hurdles records fall as Bree Madigan-Wong writes her own chapter in the club’s history.
31 October 2026 | Canberra
There’s something special about breaking a club record.
But breaking two longstanding hurdles records, previously held by athletes who helped shape the club’s history? That’s something worth celebrating.
And that’s exactly what FAST Running athlete Bree Madigan-Wong achieved on Saturday, 31 October.
One record had stood for nearly two decades. The other belonged to a member of our own FAST family.
Not a bad day’s work!
First stop: Charnwood Oval
Bree’s record-breaking day began on the grass at Charnwood Oval, home of Ginninderra Athletics.
Competing in the girls’ 80m hurdles, Bree clocked 13.23 seconds, improving the longstanding Ginninderra club record of 13.24 seconds previously held by Ashley Jackson.
Just one-hundredth of a second.
But in athletics, one-hundredth is enough.
What makes Bree’s performance particularly impressive is that she achieved it on grass, on her very first attempt at the record at Charnwood.
No synthetic track. No series of previous attempts to gradually work towards the mark.
Just Bree, eight hurdles and an opportunity to see what she could do.
And she delivered.
A record with a history
Ashley Jackson’s name has been part of Ginninderra’s hurdles history for almost 20 years.
Ashley was an accomplished young hurdler who represented the ACT at the Australian Little Athletics Championships in Perth on 22 April 2007.
Competing in the U13 girls’ 80m hurdles, she finished fifth in the national final, recording a hand-timed 12.9 seconds.
Her achievements were recognised in Ginninderra’s club records, including the U14 80m hurdles mark established during the 2007–08 period.
For nearly two decades, Ashley’s record provided a benchmark for the young hurdlers who followed.
Until Bree came along.
Records are an important part of athletics. They connect today’s athletes with those who competed before them, sometimes long before the current generation was even born.
And when a record stands for that long, breaking it becomes something more than simply running a faster time.
It’s becoming part of the club’s history.
Then came Woden
Bree’s day wasn’t finished.
At the Capital Athletics Summer Series competition at Woden, she lined up for the girls’ 200m hurdles.
This time, the challenge was different.
Where the 80m hurdles rewards acceleration, rhythm and precision over a short distance, the 200m hurdles demands that athletes maintain their running mechanics and hurdle rhythm over a much longer effort.
Bree handled the challenge beautifully.
She won her race in 32.13 seconds, competing over the 76.2cm hurdles.
And in doing so, she broke another Ginninderra club record.
This one had a particularly familiar name attached to it.
Maja Dodt.
From Maja to Bree: a FAST connection
Maja’s previous Ginninderra Athletics ACT 11–13 girls’ 200m hurdles record stood at 33.19 seconds.
Bree’s 32.13 improved that mark by 1.06 seconds.
For FAST Running, there’s something rather lovely about that.
Maja was part of an earlier generation of FAST athletes, and her performance became part of Ginninderra’s history.
Now Bree, representing the next generation, has taken that record forward.
It’s a reminder that our athletes aren’t simply competing against the clock or the athletes alongside them.
They’re also building on the achievements of those who came before.
And sometimes those athletes happen to belong to the same FAST family.
We suspect Maja won’t mind seeing her record passed on to another FAST athlete!
More than a hurdler
Bree also competed in the 100m at Woden, recording 13.30 seconds in still conditions.
That performance rounded out a busy day across three events, each with different technical and physical demands.
At FAST, we encourage our developing athletes to explore different events and build a broad foundation of running skills.
Acceleration, maximum velocity, coordination, rhythm and the ability to maintain technique under fatigue all contribute to hurdling performance.
But they’re also valuable skills across athletics more broadly.
That’s why we don’t see sprinting and hurdling as entirely separate activities.
The running skills support the hurdling. The hurdling challenges coordination and rhythm. And together, they help athletes become more complete runners.
Bree’s performances are an encouraging example of that development.
The next generation is making its mark
Two club records in one day.
One previously held by Ashley Jackson, whose achievements date back to the 2007–08 season.
The other held by Maja Dodt, part of FAST’s own athletics history from 2013-14 season.
And now both have Bree Madigan-Wong’s name attached to them.
For Bree, these are achievements to enjoy and be proud of.
For Ginninderra Athletics, they’re another chapter in a long history of developing young athletes.
And for FAST Running, they’re a reminder of something we believe strongly.
How fast you are today is not where you finish.
Athletes develop at different rates. They discover new events, learn new skills and sometimes surprise themselves with what they can achieve.
Our job is to help them keep moving forward.
Congratulations, Bree, on two wonderful achievements.
And recognition, too, for Ashley and Maja, whose performances provided the benchmarks that Bree has now surpassed.
The records may change, but the achievements that came before them remain part of the story.
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