Brittain and Lovell spearhead Australian Para-athletics team for Oceania Athletics Championships

Arnhem Land sprinter Briseis Brittain and Paralympic medallist Mali Lovell – a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder will headline a 28-strong Australian team for the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, as the nation continues its Para-athletics rise from May 18-23.

The contingent features a blend of youth and experience from four-time Paralympian Rosemary Little (NSW, F32) to a host of teenagers including Brittain (NT, T38), who will relish the home championships as a showcase of her culture and an opportunity to perform in front of family and friends.

Brittain will also celebrate her 18^th birthday during the championships, where she will compete in the Women’s 100m Ambulant on the opening day of competition.

“I’m really excited! I told my family to come and watch me and they are really excited. I told my friends too, there will probably be a lot of people,” Brittain said.

“It’s going to be hot. People will come to Darwin and see what it feels like, but I have been here for so long that I’m used to the conditions.”

Paralympic medallist Mali Lovell (NSW, T36) will add the sprinting action in both the Women’s 100m and 200m Ambulant events, emerging as one of Australia’s most consistent performers with five global medals to her name since 2023.

The 21-year-old is looking forward to the challenge that awaits at Darwin’s Arafura Stadium.

“I’m incredibly excited to be heading to Darwin to compete at the Oceania Championships! I’m looking forward to testing myself against the strong fields that will be there and building on my success from the domestic season,” Lovell said.

“My goal is to deliver a performance that I will be proud of and pushing towards another PB.

“It’s always an honour to represent Australia and I’m looking forward to coming away from Oceania’s stronger, with more experience under my belt, and ready for next year’s World Para Championships.”

One of Australia’s most exciting Para-athletics prospects in Ullrich Muller (QLD, T38) is also ready to rumble in the Men’s 100m Ambulant race, after a breakthrough international debut at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships where he announced his arrival on the world stage.

In the field, Warlpiri talent Telaya Blacksmith (NSWIS, T20) will contest the Women’s Long Jump Ambulant event, while Paralympic teammate Ella Hose (VIC, F37) is poised to continue her progression in the Women’s Shot Put Ambulant.

Both Layla Sharp (NSW, T38) and Sienna Newton (NSW, T38) are gunning for Commonwealth Games selection in the long jump and arrive in the Northern Territory in career-best form, with Sharp leaping to a series of Australian records to extend the current marker to 4.86m.

The team of 28 features 15 athletes who competed at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, and a handful more who will be in the mix for the 2027 World Para Athletics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships will be held in Darwin, Australia from May 18-23 at Arafura Stadium.

Australian Para-athletics team for the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships

Telaya Blacksmith (NSWIS, Jacinta Doyle) – 400m T20, Long Jump T20

Briseis Brittain (NT, Roger Chin) – 100m T38

Tamsin Colley (NSW, Matt Rawlings) – 200m T36

Makayla Elcoate (QLD, Richard Franklin) – 100m T44

Summer Giddings (NSW, Michael Hemmings Jones) – 100m T35, 200m T35

Lucy Gilmour (NSW, Rowan Vergano) – 100m T44

Zac Harding (NSW, Mark Penman) – 100m T36

Ella Hose (VIC, John Eden) – Shot Put F37

Rosemary Little (NSW, Breanne Clement) – Shot Put F32

Jackson Love (NSW, Andrew Iselin) – 200m T35

Mali Lovell (NSWIS, Katie Edwards & Melinda Gainsford-Taylor) – 100m T36, 200m T36

Alexander McKillop (TAS, Rosemary Coleman) – 100m T36

Alex Mijailovic (NSW, Rob Marks) – 100m T62

Natalie Millerd (ACT, Iryna Dvoskina) – 200m T47

Ullrich Muller (QLD, Stacey Taurima) – 100m T38

Jack Netting (SA, Lynn Larsen) – 100m T35, 200m T35

Sienna Newton (NSW, Kylie Newton) – Long Jump T38

Lee O’Halloran (ACT, Hamish MacDonald) – Shot Put F36

Abbie Peet (NSW, Jay Stone) – 200m T36

Keira Post (SA, Shane Danaher) – 100m T37, 200m T37

Olivia Riley (WA, Chris Kent) – 100m T72

Cooper Robb-Jackson (NSW, Greg Smith) – 400m T38

Layla Sharp (NSW, Greg Smith) – Long Jump T38

James Tirado (NSW, Andrew Murphy) – 100m T13

Mitchell Warrilow (WA, Lenny Hughes) – 400m T38

Sybella Warton (NSW, Katie Edwards) – 100m T37

Shannon Winchester (TAS, Vas Krishnan) – 100m T38

Notes:

Samuel Allen (QLD, Stacey Taurima – 100m T37 & 200m T37) was previously announced but has since withdrawn.

Chad Perris (ACT, Matt Beckenham – 100m T13) and Kim Neuenkirchen (NSW, Glen Lebau – 100m T72) were previously selected but had withdrawn prior to the announcement.

Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics