Competing in Bankso, Bulgaria this year from 1-5 August, WUOC 2024 saw 12 Australian athletes fight hard in all events.
Our Australian team had a great mixture of athletes competing in their first ever WUOC and others who had recently competed in JWOC 2024, WOC 2024 or previous years’ WUOC races. Some athletes were even experienced enough to be running their third WUOC!
OFFICIAL AUSTRALIAN TEAM
MEN: David Stocks, Angus Haines, Leith Soden, Ewan Shingler, Alastair George, Callum White
WOMEN: Emily Sorensen, Justine Hobson, Julia Gannon, Nea Shingler, Caitlin Young, Mikayla Cooper
Team Leaders: Mary Fleming and Brodie Nankervis
Throughout the week, our Aussies competed in an individual sprint, sprint relay, middle distance and relay. Here are the results for each event:
Individual Sprint – 1 August
| Place | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 29. | Angus Haines | 15:10 |
| 31. | Caitlin Young | 13:55 |
| 39. | Emily Sorensen | 14:10 |
| 44. | Ewan Shingler | 15:30 |
| 50. | Alastair George | 15:38 |
| 55. | Leith Soden | 15:51 |
| 59. | Justine Hobson | 14:53 |
| 60. | Mikayla Cooper | 14:54 |
| 71. | Callum White | 16:31 |
| 89. | David Stocks | 17:28 |
| 99. | Julia Gannon | 18:57 |
| MP | Nea Shingler |
Sprint Relay – 2 August
A massive congratulations to the Australia 1 team for finishing in 9th place out of 42 teams! This great run demonstrates Australia is competitive in international sprint format events.
Execution of route choice seemed to be critical as well as maintaining high speed. Both Australian teams performed with great credit.
Alastair George, Mikayla Cooper, Angus Haines & Nea Shingler
| 9th place | Australia 1 Team | Total Time: 53:48 | +2:50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 | Nea Shingler | 13:17 | (10) |
| Leg 2 | Angus Haines | 13:23 | (15) |
| Leg 3 | Ewan Shingler | 13:22 | (14) |
| Leg 4 | Caitlin Young | 13:46 | (11) |
| NC | Australia 2 Team | Total Time: 56:59 | +6:01 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 | Mikayla Cooper | 14:36 | (27) |
| Leg 2 | Alastair George | 13:30 | (21) |
| Leg 3 | Leith Soden | 13:50 | (23) |
| Leg 4 | Emily Sorensen | 15:03 | (25) |
Middle Distance – 4 August
Ewan Shingler, Angus Haines, Caitlin Young & Callum White
| Place | Name | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 20. | Nea Shingler | 36:38 |
| 32. | Ewan Shingler | 34:52 |
| 42. | Leith Soden | 35:51 |
| 47. | Julia Gannon | 41:03 |
| 55. | Alastair George | 37:17 |
| 59. | Justine Hobson | 42:57 |
| 61. | Angus Haines | 37:31 |
| 74. | David Stocks | 39:28 |
| 81. | Mikayla Cooper | 50:45 |
| 88. | Emily Sorensen | 55:34 |
| 107. | Callum White | 53:43 |
| DNF | Caitlin Young |
Relay – 5 August
Australia 1 Women’s Team: Nea Shingler, Julia Gannon & Caitlin Young
| 9th Place | Australia 1 Women’s Team | 1:42:23 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 | Caitlin Young | 30:37 | (11) |
| Leg 2 | Nea Shingler | 33:56 | (9) |
| Leg 3 | Julia Gannon | 37:50 | (15) |
| 14th Place | Australia 2 Men’s Team | 1:42:17 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 | Angus Haines | 29:53 | (19) |
| Leg 2 | David Stocks | 34:36 | (25) |
| Leg 3 | Callum White | 37:48 | (25) |
Emily Sorensen finishing leg 3 for Australia 2 Women’s Team
| NC | Australia 2 Women’s Team | 1:55:02 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 | Mikayla Cooper | 35:42 | (22) |
| Leg 2 | Justine Hobson | 33:52 | (8) |
| Leg 3 | Emily Sorensen | 45:28 | (22) |
| NC | Australia 1 Men’s Team | MP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leg 1 | Ewan Shingler | MP | |
| Leg 2 | Leith Soden | 32:55 | (20) |
| Leg 3 | Alastair George | 31:06 | (13) |
We’re proud of how all athletes performed throughout the week in their races. We had some standout results, especially Australia 1 finishing the sprint relay in 9th place!
We hope to send another great Aussie team to WUOC 2025 with as much depth as we had this year!
Photos by Ivana Pedeva and Mary Fleming.
