Romey and Connor put in some great performances at the 2026 Australian Athletics Junior National Track and Field Championships in Queensland from 15–20 April, showing real talent and determination throughout the competition.

Connor Brady

U18 Decathlon - 2nd place 

Connor put together another excellent Decathlon performance in completing the 10 event disciplines over a gruelling and very closely fought two days of competition.

Among his fellow Decathlon competitors, in building his overall points total, Connor placed 1st the 100m, 400m, Shot Put and Discus events. 2nd in the 110m Hurdles, and 3rd in the Long Jump.

In winning the 400m event he also earned a new personal best time of 51.02s.

While his points total at the champs of 6966 was slightly under his Athletics NZ National U18 Decathlon Champs title winning and personal best performance of 7074 in March 2026, Connor retains his World Athletics #1 ranking in the U18 Decathlon event. His personal best total is only 148 points away from the Athletics NZ All-Time U18 Decathlon national record set back in 2007. 

As a demonstration of Connor’s significant performance improvement over the last 12 months, his U18 Decathlon winning performance at this year’s champs of 6966 was 274 points higher than his 2025 Australian Athletics Junior Champs U17 Decathlon winning performance of 6692 points. 

These multi-event performances sit alongside the numerous individual national and provincial age grade championship medals Connor has earned over the last two seasons. 

We wish Connor all the best for the upcoming Oceania Champs in Darwin, Australia, 18-23 May 2026, where he has been selected to represent NZ in the U18 grade in the Shot Put, Discus, 100m Hurdles and Javelin events. 

Romey Jewell

U16 400m - 11th overall

U16 200m - 16th overall 

Romey Jewell attended her first Australian National Track and Field Champs seeking international competition experience after having her own breakout NZ summer season over the 200m and 400m. 

In the 400m. Romey finished a very credible 11th place in her favoured 400m, just missing out on qualifying for the final. In the 200m, the heat progressions format was very tough, with the 29 entrants reduced through one round of heats only to determine the 9 finalists where she finished 16th.

At 15 years old she ends her NZ summer with a current Athletics New Zealand National Ranking in the Youth/U18 grade of #8 in the 400m.  

Huge congratulations to Romey and Connor for representing NZ with pride and distinction at this year’s Australian Australia Junior National Track and Field Champs and for breakout summer performances. Go Taka! 

Article added: Thursday 23 April 2026