Mucci, Cashin named in Aust team

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Williamstown Athletics’ Celeste Mucci and Western Athletics’ will head to Budapest to compete at the World Athletics Championships later this month.

The pair were named in the Australian team of 67 to compete at the championships from August 19-27.

Cashin will compete in the 3000 metres steeplechase and will be hoping to go better than last year’s championships where she finished in eighth in her heat, with a personal best time.

All seven runners who finished before her made it through to the final.

Mucci will compete in the 100 metre hurdles and has been named in the 4 x 100 metre relay squad.

Mucci made the semi finals of the hurdles as last year’s event but was disqualified. The Australians didn’t have a team in the relay last year.

Athletics Australia high performance general manager Andrew Faichney said he is looking forward to seeing the team build on the momentum seen by the country’s top athletes over the last two years.

“Last year, we celebrated our most successful performance on the world stage in more than a decade when we left the Oregon World Athletics Championships with a medal haul of three, including two gold and one bronze medal,” he said.

“Our team is arguably one of our strongest of all time, with five medallists from the most recent Olympics and World Championships in this contingent, and the depth and breadth of this team has only grown over the last 12 months.

“I have every reason to believe we will be able to build upon our success in Budapest, which will have a resounding impact as we look ahead to the Olympic Games in less than one year’s time.”

The Australian team will now converge in Montpellier, France at the Athletics Australia staging camp until the championships begin.

Tara Murray