Sport
6 February, 2026
Locals win 13 medals at Country Champs
The Les O’Brien Athletics Precinct in Albury recently hosted the Victorian Country Athletics Championships, with many locals leaving a strong impression.
Among those athletes was 15-year-old sprinting phenom Charlie Sullivan, who took home two medals after competing in four events in the space of just over 24 hours.
Fresh off coming second in the Maryborough Gift 120 m under 18 boys event on New Year’s Day, Sullivan was unperturbed racing among an older age group, taking silver in the male under 18 100 m and 200 m. Sullivan also earned a 200 m personal best with a blistering time of 23.10.
In his other events, Sullivan finished fifth in the male open 4x100 m relay representing Wendouree and eighth in the male under 18 400 m.
“I wasn’t expecting to win being against people older than me, I wasn’t expecting to come second either,” Sullivan said.
“It feels good beating older athletes, but I do have a lot of experience running against people older than me, so I wasn’t nervous about it because it was just another run.”
Under the supervision of new coach Neville Down, Sullivan believes the 2025/26 season will build the foundations for bigger and better things.
“This season with the new coach, I’m not expecting a lot, but next season I might start seeing a lot more,” he said.
“Over the season, I have been improving and I’m starting to run even quicker, which is good.”
Sullivan wasn’t the only local rising star to receive extra luggage from their interstate travels, with Kody Wright securing two gold medals.
Wright followed his first-place finish in the male under 20 shot put on Saturday, January 24, by helping Eaglehawk take home gold in the male under 20 4x100 m relay.
Monique and Jake Gavriliadis impressed on the track and field, with Monique winning the female open 100 m hurdles and placing second in the female open shot put with a mammoth throw of 10.48 m.
Jake matched Monique’s accomplishments in the shot put, with his 11.69 m throw taking silver in the male open category before finishing fourth in the male open discus.
Naomi Henderson was also among the medal winners, adding to her expansive trophy cabinet with bronze medals in the female under 20 and open triple jump, as well as the female under 20 4x100 m relay team with Eaglehawk.
From the emerging youngsters to golden oldies, Ashley Curtis continues to defy father time by adding three new championship crowns.
In between his victory in the male 60+ 400 m final, Curtis narrowly bested record holder Mike Bieleny to take gold in the male 60+ 800 m and 1500 m.
“My first coach when I started over a year ago told me about three runners in Australia that were out of my league, that I was never going to compete with, so that was a bit of a red rag to a bull,” Curtis said.
“(Bieleny) was one of them and I was pretty well intimidated. I was hoping he would be out front so I could mark him, but he sat back.
“I just gave it what I had left and I beat him.”
Alongside the on-track glory, the country championship marked a major personal achievement for Curtis, who races with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), which requires him to have an assistance dog whenever he goes outside.
With the guidance of his psychologist and speech therapist, Curtis said he has made incredible progress with his articulation, attributing his involvement in the running community as a vital support network.
“My stutter is pretty well under control as of two weeks ago, so this was my first public interaction with people since. I was really focusing on grounding to have my speech under control,” he said.
“The stutter was one of the main goals and being able to interact with people socially was one of the other goals.
“They say loneliness is the new smoking and being socially isolated for so many years inside a home, I was very aware of that and this has been a great positive.
“Everybody at these events is really friendly, it was a really great event atmosphere.
“You see in Charlie’s races, they may be really fierce competitors when they line up, but when it’s all over, they are very social.”
Despite checking off a long-term goal, competing with CPTSD continues to create challenges for Curtis, especially when trying out new events such as the 400 m.
Fortunately for Curtis, he has people like Sullivan’s mother Carolyn ready to lend a helping hand.
“If it weren’t for Carolyn coming on to the track with me to help set up the starting blocks, I wouldn’t have competed, because my anxiety takes over and everything just goes out the door,” Curtis said.
“It’s only my third time setting up the blocks and I’m not good at it.”
After adding another three golds to his resume, Curtis now turns his attention to the Australian Masters Athletics Championships next month, an event Curtis said has been circled in the calendar for some time.
“I had been injured, I had a month off, I’ve only been back three weeks, so the whole thing is to stay injury-free and build on a bit more form for speed,” he said.
“I’m only going to be able to run fast for so long, I’m trying to make the most of it before I get old and decrepit.”