Tara Murray
Williamstown Athletics star Celeste Mucci is headed to her second Commonwealth Games after being named in the athletics team.
Mucci, who finished fourth in the heptathlon at the 2018 games, will compete in the 100 metre hurdles and 4 x 100 metre relay at Birmingham.
Mucci told Star Weekly earlier this year that she had made the decision to focus on the hurdles in 2019.
While a knee injury halted her impact, she is back mixing it with the best in the world.
She said she was aiming for a medal at the Commonwealth Games.
“I’m focusing on the hurdles for now,” she said. “In 2019 we made a real focus and decided to see how far we can go with hurdles before I look at possibly transitioning back to heptathlon down the track.
“The heptathlon added a lot of stress. Hurdles was my favourite event and I wanted to give it a good crack and do what I have fun with.”
Mucci was one of 53 athletes added to the track and field team late last month, with a total of 85 competitors named in the overall athletics team.
Commonwealth Games Australia team Chef de Mission Petria Thomas said it’s an exciting group of athletes heading to Birmingham.
“[The] selections are a wonderful mixture of defending gold medal champions, experienced campaigners, and the next generation who are ready to establish themselves on the world stage,” she said.
“Australia has enjoyed a tremendous legacy in athletics at the Commonwealth Games, and I know the team members selected today are ready to add their names to that storied history.”
Athletics Australia chief executive Peter Bromley said they had named an incredibly strong team.
