Salisbury Athletes on the World Stage
Bridgestone Athletics Centre have celebrated some incredibly proud moments recently, with a number of athletes representing Australia on international stages in the world games over the winter period.
Local superstars Angus Hincksman, ‘Tommy Turbo’ Mattinson, and Lillee Wakefield competed in a number of events, and brought home some very impressive wins.
Track and field athlete Angus Hincksman is no stranger to breaking records, he set a new Open World Record and World U20 Record in Sydney for the 800m and was the youngest competitor of the Australian Track and Field team for the World Para Championships in Paris in July. He took home bronze in the 1500m T38 classification in Paris for the World Para Championships of 2023, and this year has become a Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder.
Angus said of the competition, ‘It was a pretty cool experience being able to represent my country on such a big stage and bring some light to the para space when it comes to athletics.’
Tommy Mattinson, affectionately known as ‘Tommy Turbo’, competed at the World Ability Sport Frame Running Championships in Copenhagen, winning gold in not one, but FOUR races. Tommy acquired first place in the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m U16 races. Tommy is the state champion for 100m frame running and he is also the state champion for seated throws.
Tommy lives every day by his motto:
‘Dream. Believe. Achieve.’
Representing Australia in the June 2023 Virtus Global Games, Lillee Wakefield not only broke the South Australian and national record for her hammer throw, she also came home a bronze medallist, and a finalist in Discus.
‘This was my first time competing outside of Australia, I loved the atmosphere and to get a personal best and break the record was really great. I’m going to keep working hard to qualify for the next one,’ said Lillee.
Athletics coach from Northern Districts Athletics Club, Simon Moran, said, ‘It’s great having a world class facility in Salisbury which helps develop athletes from little athletes through to Internationals. The fact that the facility is disability friendly is great as it opens athletics to a wide community.
Well done to Angus, Tommy and Lillee.’
City of Salisbury are thrilled that these athletes have a centre in our council area where they can carry out their training on their journey towards achieving their goals. We congratulate Angus, Tommy, and Lillee on their incredible achievements, and can’t wait to see what they do next.
