The IAAF World Junior Championships are just around the corner, and we have a lot of young quality athletes representing Australia in Barcelona. Let’s hope they can gain from this experience and use it as a stepping stone towards a senior World Championships or Olympic Games in coming years.
But before long, the focus will again be on the IAAF World Youth Championships (WYC), with many young talented athletes wanting to qualify.
I thought it would be interesting to make a more detailed analysis of the first three generations of Australian WYC participants, ie. athletes who participated in 1999, 2001, and 2003. What happened to them? What did they achieve subsequently?
The statistics confirm that very few of these talented teenagers actually make a successful transition through to the senior ranks. The statistics are really quite sobering…
Are we wasting our talents? What do you think?
Analysis first three generations of Australian WYC participants