Australian Athletics Championships: Kurtis Marschall begins push for LA as he looks to break elusive mark

Aussie sprint sensations Gout Gout and Lachie Kennedy have their eyes on the 10-second 100-metre mark. But a Perth boy — pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall — has his own magic number in mind at this weekend’s Australian Athletics Championships. Olympic sixth-place finisher Marschall is out to clear six metres for the first time at this competition, a mark he believes is the new standard for podiums at world events. Only 28 people in history are in the 6m club, and coming off a somewhat disappointing World Indoor Championships in Nanjing China where he took 5th with a vault of 5.80, Marschall is hoping home comforts can help him join that group. “I didn’t have the Australian coffee, so that’s probably why I didn’t get it there,” he joked of his time in China. Steve Hooker was the last Australian to clear 6m when he took gold in Beijing, and Marschall believes much of the challenge lies between the ears rather than physical ability. “I think it’s almost like if the barrier was something different and not like a whole number, it would be less elusive,” he told The West Australian. “I’ve jumped 5.95 clean a couple of times in 2023, I’ve jumped 5.90 twice this year already, and I’ve had like 30 attempts at 6 metres over the last couple of years. “I think it’s just that whole ‘6 metres, whoah’ built up in my brain, and I think this time around and for this weekend, I’m just going to treat it like any other bar. Hopefully this time it stays up.” The last Australian Championships were disastrous for Marschall, with an ankle injury almost scuppering his hopes of competing in Paris. It continued a theme of interrupted lead-ins ahead of the Olympics, but the 27-year-old said he is hungrier than ever as he targets LA 2028. “It’s been quite unfortunate for me in the lead up to Tokyo, it was the COVID games; it was always going to be kind of a flop. For me, I thrive on international competition, and I wasn’t able to do much,” Marschall said. “Then almost exactly one year ago I did my ankle at the Australian champs, meaning I couldn’t get that competition either. “I wasn’t in tip-top shape and then the Olympics was alright and I was proud of my performance but I think all eyes are on LA, I definitely take learnings from those two experiences.” Marschall said he’s confident in his plans and believes it’s all about refining the final touches. “Not doing anything rash or crazy and changing the plan too much ... I know it seems like I haven’t performed at the Olympics but I’m not going to change anything,” he said. “I think it’s about those little one percenters, and I think the next one is going to be good.” Australian Athletics is experiencing a renaissance on the back of a strong Paris games, and Marschall believes the success is born out of plans put in place more than a decade ago. “I think you look at the great performances in Paris last year the likes of myself, Nicola Olyslagers, Matt Denny, Eleanor Patterson, are all kind of in the same age group born in the late 90s,” he said. “During that time, Athletics Australia put on these high-performance development camps for U17 and U19s, and we all went to Canberra and learned about what it took to be a professional athlete. “We’ve got this great comradaerie from developing in that environment, and finally, we’re reaping the benefits of that, and hopefully, we can carry that through over the next few years and to Brisbane 2032.” With the likes of stars like Gout and Kennedy coming through, Marschall admits it’s hard not to get excited. “I don’t think we’ve seen generational talents like that in a long time and to have the two go head to head a couple week’s ago, it sold out the stadium and hopefully come Sunday competition is red hot,” he said. “The conditions are way better in Perth. It’s one of the fastest tracks in Australia, and having the depth their following on from the Olympics just bring more eyes to the sport, and everyone should get around it.”