Eight NSWIS athletes selected for Australia’s World Indoor Championships team

A powerful blend of world champions, Olympic medallists and rising stars will represent Australia at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China from March 21-23, as Australian Athletics unveils a 20-strong line up brimming with potential.

Eight NSWIS scholarship holders: Nicola Olyslagers (high jump), pictured with Eleanor Patterson (high jump), Jessica Hull (3000m), Liam Adcock (long jump), Olli Hoare (1500m), Ella Connolly (60m & 4x400m Relay), Josh Azzopardi (60m) and Jemma Pollard (4x400m Relay) were selected in the 20 member Australian team.

Reigning champion and dual Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers (NSWIS) will return to the indoor stage to defend her high jump crown and will be joined by Paris bronze medallist and 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson (NSWIS), as the formidable duo reunite for another international high jump campaign.

Defending a world title presents a new challenge for Olyslagers, as she sets her sights on a rematch with Olympic champion and world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR).

“It is exciting for me because it is new territory to be competing to defend a world title. Being in sport for many years, there are less ‘firsts’ so I am excited to discover how I respond to this and learn new things to work on so I can perform better,” Olyslagers said.

Olyslagers has also made a bold decision to open her 2025 campaign in China, leaning into the faith that has become a hallmark of her career.

“I made a decision to open at World Indoors from my history of the first jump of the season being high, yet it requires faith to do something new on the world stage and I want to be in a position where I am pushed to dig deep and put that faith into action,” she said.

“I have been really inspired by Yaroslava changing her run up before Paris to break the world record. My team decided that in order to compete being competitive and jump higher, I had to do the same, so I have been spending more time building strength to withstand the new speed and power in my run up.

“I know I am going well when (coach) Matt (Horsnell) starts dancing in training when he seems my times and velocities!”

A fresh wave of sprinters are also set to make their mark, as Torrie Lewis (QLD) and Lachlan Kennedy (QLD) make their World Athletics Indoor Championships debuts, while Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull (NSWIS) will chase a third major championships medal in the 3000m as she looks to cement her status as a global middle-distance powerhouse.

Lewis and Kennedy have already rewritten the record books over 60m this season to mark the resurgence of Australian sprinting, with Kennedy’s world-leading 6.43 (+1.6) run igniting much debate online after American critics dismissed the time due to the presence of a tailwind during the race in Canberra.

“I have had a lot of fun reading the comments but I try to stay out of it. People love to talk and I know that the 60m is new in Australia and people aren’t really used to it, but we have had the talent here for ages,” Kennedy said.

“I think I’m going to go even better to go indoors than I did outdoors. The field is wide open this time and I feel like I can win a medal.”

The team also boasts Kurtis Marschall (WA) who is inching closer to becoming just the fourth Australian to clear the elusive 6.00m barrier in the pole vault, while Liam Adcock (QLD) will look to leap indoors for the first time, with the long jumper booking his spot with a stunning 8.33m landing at the Perth Track Classic. Australia will also contest in two events at the World Athletics Indoor Championships for the first time since 1999, with Olympian Camryn Newton-Smith (QLD) announced for the invite-only pentathlon, while a combination of Olympic representatives and World Under 20 medallists will pass the baton in the 4x400m relay.

Australian Athletics General Manager – High Performance, Andrew Faichney said: “The World Athletics Indoor Championships have long been a fruitful stage for Australian athletics, and without a 200m banked short track in the country as yet, it’s incredibly exciting to see just how competitive we are internationally regardless of the type of track,” Faichney said. “We have some fantastic athletes on this team, with no less than five global medallists and we are looking forward to seeing what this team can do, particularly as we inch closer to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.”

The World Athletics Indoor Championships 2025 will be broadcast on SBS On Demand, and SBS Viceland.

More details about the broadcast can be found HERE..

Australian Team for the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China: Women (13) 60m: Torrie Lewis (QLD), Ella Connolly (NSWIS) 800m: Sarah Billings (VIC), Abbey Caldwell (VIC) 1500m: Georgia Griffith (VIC) 3000m: Linden Hall (VIC), Jessica Hull (NSWIS) High Jump: Nicola Olyslagers (NSWIS), Eleanor Patterson (NSWIS) Pentathlon: Camryn Newton-Smith (QLD) 4x400m Relay: Ellie Beer (QLD), Jemma Pollard (NSWIS), Ella Connolly (NSWIS), Torrie Lewis (QLD) and Bella Pasquali (VIC) Men (7) 60m: Lachlan Kennedy (QLD), Joshua Azzopardi (NSWIS) 400m: Cooper Sherman (VIC) 1500m: Oliver Hoare (NSWIS) 3000m: Ky Robinson (QLD) Pole Vault: Kurtis Marschall (WA) Long Jump: Liam Adcock (QLD)

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