OLYMPIC hopeful Yual Reath is set for another high jump showdown with Geelong rival Joel Baden in the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday night.
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Reath is five centimetres off hitting the qualifying standard for the 2024 Paris Games.
The 23-year-old has continued to climb this season, setting a personal best of 2.28 metres in a Ballarat Regional Athletic Centre record at home on February 18. He matched this in a Melbourne meet on March 9.
Reath's personal best was set three weeks after he had jumped 2.26m in another Athletics Victoria Shield League meet at Llanberris in early February.
In Sydney, Reath and fellow 2022 world championship contender Baden are - on paper - have been jumping clear ahead of the competition this summer.
Each has a seasonal best of 2.28m. Baden set his mark in the Victorian Track and Field Championships earlier this month to edge out Reath by 7cm.
Reath had the better on Baden in Canberra in late January with a winning jump of 2.24m on countback.
The Paul Cleary-coached Reath had previously held a best jump of 2.22m, set in 2023.
Cleary, at the time, told The Courier consistency had been the key to Reath's strong start to the year and confidence for bigger jumps to come.
"I see the way he's training, he's doing 2.20m for fun now, putting the bar at that level and trying new things," Cleary said.
Reath's Alma mater Ballarat Christian College has been partnering with Stewart's Bakery this month in a Hot Cross Bun drive to help him chase his Paris dream.
Baden, aged 28, became an Olympian in the 2016 Rio Games but failed to qualify for Tokyo.
Victorian Roman Anastasios is the third ranked Australian high jumper this season, having set a mark of 2.21m in late January. He too will be in the mix in Sydney.
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Ballarat sprinter Cooper Sherman will also be in action for the Sydney Track Classic, having entered the men's 400 metres.
Sydney will be Sherman's last major 400-metre hit-out ahead of April's Australian Athletics Championships.
With a personal best of 45.98 seconds, set this season, Sherman is ranked in the nation's top six runners for the distance.
The 20-year-old is aiming to go faster to boost his chances for selection in the Australian men's 4x400m team for the world relay championships in the Bahamas in May. Australia will take six runners to the championships.
Should Australia finish in the top 16 for the event, the team will automatically qualify for the Paris Olympics.
