Katherine Katsanevakis of Australia (© Athletics Australia)
Leading Athlete Profiles
Lauren Boden
Events: 400m Hurdles, Long Jump, Medley relay
PBs: 58.59/6.07m
DOB/Age: 3/Aug/88 – 16 yrs
Residence: Canberra
Unlike many of the other leading athletes in the team Lauren Boden is making her international debut. She compiled an amazing 2004/05 Australian domestic/summer season, capped by winning the senior 400m hurdles title. Coached by Sydney Olympics 400m hurdler, Matt Beckenham, Boden improved her hurdle best last summer from 60.86 to 58.59. Going into the open nationals she was not the fastest the race, but still went on to take the title and become the youngest ever winner of the event. In her secondary event, the long jump, Boden improved last summer from 5.74m to 6.00m and during the last two weeks has leapt over six metres in all three competitions, highlighted by a best of 6.07m.
Chris Noffke
Events: Long Jump
PB: 7.83m/8.00m windy
International record: ’04 World Juniors 4th, ’04 Commonwealth Youth Games 1st.
DOB/Age: 6/Jan/88 – 17yrs
Residence: Brisbane
Twelve months junior Australian long jumper Chris Noffke made a big breakthrough. In late June 2004 he smashed his personal best with a leap of 7.73m, breaking the Australian under-18 record. Three weeks later he placed fourth at the 2004 IAAF World Juniors. These performances marked Noffke as a future star of Australian track and field. In recent years Australia has produced a procession of quality long jumpers. Gold & silver medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, fourth and fifth at the 1999 World championships and second and sixth at the Sydney Olympics.
At junior levels Australia has won medals at the 2002 (Fabrice Lapierre) and 2004 World Juniors (John Thornell) and fifth place getter at the 2000 WJs, Tim Parravicini, leapt 8.18m last summer.
Noffke himself rose from a top junior to top senior last season winning the senior national title with a wind assisted leap of 8.00m. At just 17, he became the youngest ever Australian male open champion.
Revealing his professional approach to his sport Noffke spoke about his hopes for the World Youth Championships. “I’ve done everything possible to prepared well for Marrakesh.” His approach includes training with one of Australia’s leading jumps coaches, Gary Bourne, and alongside Olympic fourth placegetter Bronwyn Thompson.
Dani Samuels
Events: Discus/Shot
PB: 55.94m/15.50m
International record: ’03 World Youth shot qual round, ’04 Commonwealth Youth Games 1st/1st discus/shot.
DOB/Age: 26/May/88 – 17yrs
Residence: Sydney
Dani Samuels was a very young athlete when she contested the 2003 World Youth Championships. She departed Australia with bests of 13.83m and 47.18m in the shot and discus. She competed in the shot, putting just 11.59m and placing 25th amongst the 27 competitors. But the 2005 Dani Samuels model is an entirely different athlete. During the last two years she has developed in many ways, not just with her athletic performances but in her professional approach. She has added over eight metres to her discus as that now takes her focus. Last season, while aged only 16, she was Australia’s leading shot putter and discus thrower and claimed the open discus title – the youngest ever winner in 115 years of history.
Supporting her professional approach is a father and son team – Denis and Hayden Knowles. Denis is the full time coach, while his son, Hayden, a strength coach with leading Australian footy team Parramatta, assists with management and strength conditioning.
Vicky Parnov
Events: Pole Vault
PB: 4.15m
DOB/Age: 24/Oct/90 – 14yrs
Residence: Perth
Born in Moscow, Vicky Parnov, a niece of Sydney Olympic Games medallist Tatiana Grigorieva, moved to Australia in the 90s with her parents. Her dad, Alex, vaulted 5.82m in 1985 and in 2001 coached Dmitri Markov to gold at the World Championships. Over the last few years, Vicky has made rapid progress and at a World Youth Championships departure meet just last week, she leapt a personal best of 4.15m. The leap re-wrote the record books, equalling the Australian under-18 record, raising her own under-16 record and setting a new World 14-years best. At just 14, Parnov is the youngest every athlete Australia has selected for the World Youth Championships.
Katherine Katsanevakis
Events: 800m, Medley Relay
PB: 2:04.72
International record: ’04 World Juniors 800m heat, ’04 Commonwealth Youth Games 800m silver and bronze medley relay.
DOB/Age: 6/Nov/88 – 16yrs
Residence: Melbourne
During the 2004 domestic season, Melbourne’s Katherine Katsanevakis, made a breakthrough slicing four seconds from her 800m personal best and securing selection in the Australian team for the World Junior Championships. She was run out of run out of the heats in Grosetto, but bounced back later that year to take silver at the Commonwealth Youth Games. She continued to make progress during the 2004/05 domestic season and amazingly won the open Australian title in a World Youth leading time of 2:04.72. With significant experience behind her, she and her coach Osei Owusu Afriye, carefully prepared for the World Youth Championships in Marrakesh where she should be in the medal mix.
David Tarbotton, Athletics Australia, for the IAAF
