NSWIS athletes ranked among best in their (track and) field

Four NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holders were acknowledged in the prestigious Track and Field News merit ratings that were released earlier this month. 

Since their inception in 1947, the purpose of the US-based Track and Field News rankings has been to establish relative merit for the entire calendar year. Rankings are based on the following criteria:

(1) honours won

(2) head-to-head results with other athletes, and

(3) sequence of marks. 

Australia finished 2024 with a total of 62 points, with the nation’s female athletes earning a whopping 49 of them. Australia was ranked ahead of China, Germany and France as the seventh best nation amongst the women. 

Paris Olympic 1500m silver medallist, Jessica Hull (pictured above), finished her extraordinary 2024 ranked second after a series of breathtaking performances. It made her the highest ever ranked Australian woman in that event, surpassing Sarah Jamieson, a triple Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medallist, who was once ranked fourth.  

The only Australians who have been ranked higher than Hull for that distance are 1960 Olympic gold medallist Herb Elliott and John Landy, the second man to break the four-minute mile and the bronze medallist at the 1956 Olympic Games.  

Javelin exponent Mackenzie Little (pictured above) ensured Australia celebrated its 12^th consecutive year of an Australian woman being ranked when she finished second. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games finalist finished with an equal all-time best ranking by an Australian. 

High jumper, and Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games silver medallist, Nicola Olyslagers, (pictured above) finished 2024 ranked second. It represented her fourth consecutive ranking, all of which have been in the top four. She equaled the highest ever ranking by an Aussie, matching the benchmark she set in 2023 and fellow NSWIS scholarship athlete Eleanor Patterson in 2022.  

Patterson, (pictured above with Olyslagers), who won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, rounded off NSWIS’s presence in the rankings placed fifth in the high jump. It was her fourth consecutive ranking, all of which have seen Patterson placed in the top five. 

Michael Perry, the NSWIS Senior Coordinator, Athletics described the rankings as a ‘true reflection’ of the performances by the likes of Hull, Little, Olyslagers and Patterson, as well as the other high performing Aussies, Nina Kennedy and Kurtis Marschall (WAIS), Matt Denny (QAS), and Jemima Montag (VIS). 

“These rankings are respected, and they demonstrate how well Australia is performing on the world stage,” he said. “And it is expected they’ll continue to feature prominently in the coming years because of the way they’re performing.” 

Perry, a former national triple jump champion, said our athletes were braced for another demanding 12 months after a pressure-packed Olympic and Paralympic year. 

“This year is a busy one for our athletes with the world indoor championships in China this March, the world relay championships are being held in China in May, the World University Games are being held in Germany this July, and Tokyo is hosting the world championships in September,” he said. 

“Our Para athletes have the world Para Grand Prix season – it’s the 12th season- and starts in three weeks’ time. Following that there’s the world championships that will be held in New Delhi this September-October. 

“As I say it’s going to be a busy time, but it is a great way for all of our athletes to start the Los Angeles 2028 cycle.” 

Daniel Lane, NSWIS.