TUESDAY TANTRUM with Gerard Walsh

MANY who started in athletics in Warwick are now doing well elsewhere, Tim Johnstone is the prime example.

It is all part of the outstanding athletics history of the Warwick, Allora and Killarney areas.

I remember when Tim was at Warwick High and competed at the nationals, winning a Daily News/Warwick Credit Union Junior Sports Star of the Month award.

At the weekend, he competed in the North Queensland Track and Field Championships and won gold in 400m, shot put and the throws pentathlon in his age group. He won silver in javelin and the 60m with a time of 8.15 seconds.

Johnstone set new personal bests in the hammer throw and the 60m and set two new records in the throws pentathlon in Townsville.

Athletics is a sport where the Southern Downs has punched above its weight down the years.

Don Wright, who is back living in town, won two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games and made the 110m hurdles semi-finals at the LA Olympics while Matthew Denny from Allora threw at Rio in 2016 and is a likely selection for the Commonwealth Games next year.

Allora athlete Greg Holmes was a great athlete before concentrating on rugby union and making it as a professional footballer, and in more recent times Zac Caterson has been winning medals at national level in some of the same events as Holmes and Denny.

Killarney had a national champion 15 odd years ago when Stephanie Hancock won the Australian titles in javelin before concentrating on a rugby league career which has taken her to the Australian captaincy.

It was great fun on Sunday to walk about at Warwick Little Athletics activities at Hamilton Oval to take a few photos.

Fifty-odd children were there to have fun in throws, jumps and runs.

They also hurdle and walk but those events weren't happening when I was there.

It only took 90 minutes from start to finish and most of the children went in five events.

I even bought two sausages on bread and a drink for under $5 which was great for a hungry reporter on a Sunday afternoon.