The next generation of track and field stars will be on display at Sydney's Olympic Park starting tomorrow at the three-day NSW Combined High Schools Sports Association (NSWCHSSA) athletics championship.
Hard on the heels of the Paris Olympics and Paralympics and with the Brisbane Games eight years away, the cream of the state's young athletes will be keen to show off their wares.
Eleven NSW public school sport associations across the state will be represented, with more than 2500 athletes competing at the event.
Two events of interest, which are generally not held at zone and association levels, are the 2,000m steeple chase and the pentathlon (Boys: 100m, 1500m, long jump, shotput and javelin. Girls: 200m, 800m, high jump, long jump and shotput).
"After such an exhilarating Olympics and Paralympics, it will be great to see the spotlight turn to our top young athletes in the state," said Leader School Sport Unit, Peter Banks.
"We've seen time and again that competitions like this provide a launching pad for athletes to go on and represent their country at the highest levels."
NSW public schools have had a rich history of producing stars of the track and field.
James Turner (Forster Public School/ Great Lakes College, Tuncurry Campus) was one of the standouts for Australia at the Paris Paralympics, claiming 100m/400m metre gold while Jess Hull (Albion Park High School) lit up the track with her Olympic silver medal-winning 1500m run.
Other athletes of recent note include world champion discus thrower Dani Stevens (Westfields Sports High School); long jumper Fabrice Lapierre (Westfields Sports High School); and high jumper Brandon Starc (Hills Sports High School) who both won Commonwealth Games gold medals.
The NSWCHSSA championship will be held from Wednesday to Friday across more than 180 events, including students competing in multi-class disciplines.
