Cowie Selected for World Juniors in Canada
Western Australian Institute of Sport shot put athlete Matthew Cowie has earned selection for the 2010 IAAF world junior championships in Moncton, Canada, in July.
Cowie has enjoyed a solid 2009-10 season, setting a string of personal bests and will be the only West Australian in the 38 strong squad as it currently stands.
In July the team of 21 boys and 17 girls will take part in a two-day warm-up meet with teams from Canada and New Zealand before travelling to Moncton to take on the best emerging talent from around the world across seven days of hard-fought track and field action.
Open to all athletes born 1991 to 1994, the world junior championships have acted as the launch pad for the careers of current world champions including Usain Bolt (100m/200m, JAM), LaShawn Merritt (400m, USA), Kerron Clement (400m hurdles, USA) and Valerie Vili (shot put, NZL).
Australia has a proud history of success at the world junior championships, with 11 gold medals taken home by our rising stars of the sport in the meet’s 25-year history. Two of the nation’s former world junior title-holders, Jana Pittman-Rawlinson (400m/400m hurdles, 2000) and Dani Samuels (discus throw, 2006), have gone on to become world champions, Pittman Rawlinson claiming the 400m hurdles crown in 2007 and Samuels taking out the discus throw in 2009.
19 year-old Matt Cowie is excited about the event and believes it will make him a better athlete going forward.
“I’m really looking forward to world juniors,” he said. “I’m not going in with any unrealistic expectations, but I would definitely be looking to make the final.”
“I’m sure it will help me. The opportunity to compete against the best in the world in my age group can only improve me,” Cowie said.
The 13th IAAF world junior championships will be held from July 19-25, 2010.