A FIELD which would rival any to contest the national cross-country titles lined up for Saturday’s racing at St Anne’s Winery in Ravenswood. Athletes from near and far lined up to contest leg three in the On-backed XCR series run by Athletics Victoria. Racing was 8km, 4km or 3km distances on the picturesque course at the foot of Big Hill. Athletics Bendigo Region’s teams dominated across several categories.
Bendigo athlete Andy Buchanan smashed his personal best time in Sunday's running of the Hamburg Marathon and now holds the equal 9th fastest Marathon time by an Australian ever. Buchanan clocked an incredible time of 2 hours 10.20 minutes.
GOLD and a residential record to Eaglehawk's Angus McKindlay in the Open Mens 400m Hurdles capped Bendigo Region's run at Athletics Victoria's latest state field and track championships, which also included a gold medal for Shot put star Emma Berg and Harrison Boyd in the Under-20 3000m. Jayden Padgham took the silver behind Boyd whilst Tullie Rowe opened the weekend with a sublime run to silver in the Open Women's 1500m.
Andy Buchanan is all set for World Cross-Country Championships, thanks to his upbringing in a city surrounded by bushland, where he has had plenty of hills and tracks to train on.
Congratulations to Bendigo's own, Andy Buchanan, who has been named in the Australian World Athletics Cross Country Team today. The World Athletics Cross Country Championships will be held in Bathurst, NSW from February 17-19, 2023.