AW Magazine

13 October 2023

The October issue of AW places the accent firmly on youth. With a focus on the emerging athletes who have been quick to make their mark on the sport, centre stage goes to our exclusive interview with Cameron Myers, who is a 1500m star in the making. The Australian teenager has spent much of 2023 breaking age group records and is now aiming to secure his place at the Paris Olympics. The breakthrough of a large number of youngsters has been a big feature of this year’s track and field season, which came to a spectacular conclusion at the Diamond League Final in Eugene. Our resident statistician, Steve Smythe, analyses the summer and picks out the big performances. Amy Hunt burst on to the scene when she broke the world U18 best for 200m back in 2019. Since then, the British sprinter has been juggling elite sport with a degree at Cambridge University. She reveals that trying to do it all left her burnt out but has no regrets and, having graduated and made a big move to train and live in Italy, the now 21-year-old believes she has what it takes to become a force to be reckoned with on the global stage. One of the major talking points in athletics continues to be the development of footwear and it came to the fore again as Tigst Assefa destroyed the women’s marathon world record. The AW team looks at whether such a landmark run really was all down to the shoes, plus there’s an in-depth look ahead to the last marathon major of the year, in New York. Two-time British Olympian Andrew Butchart will be making his 26.2-mile debut there and he gives the lowdown on his preparations. Another athlete with the marathon still in mind is Sonia Samuels. She will be tackling Valencia later this year and the 44-year-old explains how rediscovering her love of the sport has given her a second win and led to some very impressive results. In our packed performance section, our team of experts answers your questions, while Lily Partridge takes us inside her training regime, Martyn Rooney explains the intricacies of the 4x400m relay and Paul Freary tests out the best kit for winter.