# 1996–97 Australian Athletics Championships

The 1996–97 Australian Athletics Championships was the 75th edition of the national championship in outdoor track and field for Australia. It was held from 27 February–2 March 1997 at the Olympic Park Stadium in Melbourne. It served as a selection meeting for Australia at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics. The men's 10,000 metres event took place separately at the Adelaide Grand Prix on 1 February 1997 while the women's 5000 metres took place at the Melbourne Nike Classic on 20 February 1997. The combined track and field events took place at the Hobart Grand Prix from 14–16 February 1997.

## Medal summary
### Men

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres (Wind: +1.2 m/s) | Steve Brimacombe Queensland | 10.31 | Chris Donaldson New Zealand (NZL) | 10.32 | Gus Nketia New Zealand (NZL) | 10.39 |
| 200 metres (Wind: +0.5 m/s) | Chris Donaldson New Zealand (NZL) | 20.42 | Steve Brimacombe Queensland | 20.44 | Patrick Johnson Australian Capital Territory | 20.54 |
| 400 metres | Brad Jamieson South Australia | 45.94 | Declan Stack Western Australia | 46.20 | Casey Vincent Victoria | 46.31 |
| 800 metres | Elijah Kipruto Maru Kenya (KEN) | 1:47.33 | Justin Rinaldi Victoria | 1:47.78 | Paul Byrne Victoria | 1:47.87 |
| 1500 metres | Paul Bitok Kenya (KEN) | 3:41.56 | Scott Petersen Victoria | 3:43.38 | David Kibet Kenya (KEN) | 3:44.85 |
| 5000 metres | Paul Bitok Kenya (KEN) | 13:31.90 | Julian Paynter Victoria | 13:35.13 | Lee Troop Victoria | 13:36.69 |
| 10,000 metres | Julian Paynter Victoria | 28:35.31 | Lee Troop Victoria | 29:16.03 | Rod de Highden Victoria | 29:27.56 |
| 110 metres hurdles (Wind: -2.5 m/s) | Kyle Vander-Kuyp Victoria | 13.81 | David Cooper Western Australia | 14.23 | Jagan Hames South Australia | 14.27 |
| 400 metres hurdles | Rohan Robinson Victoria | 49.83 | Zid Abou Hamed New South Wales | 50.28 | Matthew Beckenham New South Wales | 51.21 |
| 3000 metres steeplechase | Chris Unthank Victoria | 8:50.12 | Martin Dent New South Wales | 8:59.46 | Tim Readwin Victoria | 9:06.04 |
| 4 × 100 m relay | New South Wales (NSW) Mike Wiener Toluta'u Koula Matt Shirvington Jason Snell | 40.49 | South Australia (SA) Timothy Johnson Steve Hutton James Noblet Brad Jamieson | 40.60 | Victoria (VIC) Justin Lewis David Baxter Paul Pearce Nick Rennie | 41.13 |
| 4 × 400 m relay | New South Wales (NSW) Patrick Dwyer Todd MacDonald Robert Medlicott Lewis Rangott | 3:09.25 | New Zealand (NZL) Callum Taylor Robert Hanna Bjorn Jansen Henry Semiti Rogo | 3:09.65 | Victoria (VIC) Robbie Lynch Christopher Cornish Mark Moresi Casey Vincent | 3:09.72 |
| 5000 metres walk | Nicholas A'Hern New South Wales | 19:24.31 | Scott Nelson New Zealand (NZL) | 20:13.84 | Brent Vallance New South Wales | 20:25.87 |
| High jump | Tim Forsyth Victoria | 2.36 m | Jagan Hames South AustraliaGlen Howard New Zealand (NZL) | 2.18 m | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| Pole vault | James Miller Western Australia | 5.30 m | Paul Gibbons New Zealand (NZL) | 5.20 m | Paul Burgess Western Australia | 5.00 m |
| Long jump | Shane Hair Western Australia | 8.01 m (+2.8 m/s) | Jai Taurima Queensland | 7.88 m (+2.9 m/s) | Jagan Hames South Australia | 7.83 m (+1.3 m/s) |
| Triple jump | Andrew Murphy New South Wales | 17.03 m (+4.1 m/s) | Tim Barnes New South Wales | 15.78 m (+4.2 m/s) | Stacey Taurima Queensland | 15.71 m (+1.0 m/s) |
| Shot put | Clay Cross New South Wales | 18.16 m | Justin Anlezark Queensland | 18.00 m | Chris Gaviglio Queensland | 17.18 m |
| Discus throw | Gerard Duffy Australian Capital Territory | 52.18 m | Ben Jaaniste New South Wales | 52.06 m | Peter Lonsdale Queensland | 51.66 m |
| Hammer throw | Stuart Rendell Australian Capital Territory | 75.90 m | Demetri Dionisopoulos Western Australia | 64.82 m | Pat Hellier New Zealand (NZL) | 63.44 m |
| Javelin throw | Adrian Hatcher Victoria | 80.02 m | Richard Brockett Queensland | 73.82 m | Nick Batty New South Wales | 69.98 m |
| Decathlon | Peter Banks New South Wales | 7915 pts | Matthew McEwen Queensland | 7684 pts | Brendan Tennant Northern Territory | 7593 pts |

### Women

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 metres (Wind: -0.7 m/s) | Melinda Gainsford New South Wales | 11.25 | Lauren Hewitt Victoria | 11.43 | Nova Peris-Kneebone Northern Territory | 11.51 |
| 200 metres (Wind: +5.0 m/s) | Melinda Gainsford New South Wales | 22.34 | Cathy Freeman Victoria | 22.50 | Lauren Hewitt Victoria | 22.66 |
| 400 metres | Cathy Freeman Victoria | 52.09 | Susan Andrews Tasmania | 53.11 | Kirilee Buonaccorsi Tasmania | 54.58 |
| 800 metres | Saleena Roberts Queensland | 2:04.10 | Melanie Collins Australian Capital Territory | 2:04.25 | Sandra Dawson Queensland | 2:05.10 |
| 1500 metres | Mandy Westbrook Tasmania | 4:17.30 | Benita Willis Queensland | 4:17.79 | Susan Michelsson Victoria | 4:20.93 |
| 5000 metres | Kate Anderson Victoria | 15:14.42 | Kylie Risk Tasmania | 15:31.93 | Natalie Harvey Victoria | 15:53.35 |
| 10,000 metres | Kylie Risk Tasmania | 32:42.72 | Maryann Murray Victoria | 33:34.06 | Suzanne Malaxos Western Australia | 33:52.83 |
| 100 metres hurdles (Wind: +2.8 m/s) | Jane Flemming New South Wales | 13.58 | Janiene Ashbridge New Zealand (NZL) | 13.63 | Kim Birrell Victoria | 13.80 |
| 400 metres hurdles | Evette Cordy Victoria | 57.64 | Lauren Poetschka Western Australia | 57.97 | Leisa Proctor Queensland | 58.92 |
| 4 × 100 m relay | New South Wales (NSW) Nicole Buchanan Rachael Massey Rebecca Vormister Vicky Piggin | 45.56 | New Zealand (NZL) Janiene Ashbridge Shelley Stoddart Jane Arnott Chantal Brunner | 46.14 | Western Australia (WA) Ruth Beckham Jodi Lambert Kylie Reed Sharon Sutherland | 46.62 |
| 4 × 400 m relay | New South Wales (NSW) Shanie Coutts Rebecca Vormister Rosemary Hayward Amber Menzies | 3:41.37 | Queensland (QLD) Leisa Proctor Saleena Roberts Alice Barrett Sandra Dawson | 3:46.29 | Victoria (VIC) Anna Deery Georgina Connell Jennifer Marshall Evette Cordy | 3:49.39 |
| 5000 metres walk | Jane Saville New South Wales | 21:32.26 | Natalie Saville New South Wales | 21:34.23 | Jill Maybir-Barrett Queensland | 22:49.86 |
| High jump | Alison Inverarity Western Australia | 1.84 m | Lisa Bruty Victoria | 1.81 m | Sherryl Morrow Victoria | 1.81 m |
| Pole vault | Emma George Victoria | 4.30 m | Tracey Shepherd Western Australia | 3.80 m | Melina Hamilton New Zealand (NZL) | 3.80 m |
| Long jump | Chantal Brunner New Zealand (NZL) | 6.68 m (+1.0 m/s) | Vicky Piggin New South Wales | 6.28 m (+1.4 m/s) | Kylie Reed Western Australia | 6.23 m (+0.3 m/s) |
| Triple jump | Tania Dixon New Zealand (NZL) | 13.50 m (+1.4 m/s) | Nicole Mladenis Western Australia | 13.16 m (+4.5 m/s) | Carmen Miller Tasmania | 12.98 m (+4.3 m/s) |
| Shot put | Beatrice Faumuina New Zealand (NZL) | 15.68 m | Georgette Reed Canada (CAN) | 15.54 m | Helen Toussis Queensland | 15.38 m |
| Discus throw | Beatrice Faumuina New Zealand (NZL) | 68.28 m | Lisa-Marie Vizaniari Queensland | 65.86 m | Alison Lever Queensland | 53.40 m |
| Hammer throw | Deborah Sosimenko New South Wales | 65.68 m | Brenda MacNaughton New South Wales | 59.36 m | Karyne Perkins New South Wales | 57.96 m |
| Javelin throw | Joanna Stone Queensland | 63.78 m | Bina Ramesh France (FRA) | 54.06 m | Kate Farrow South Australia | 53.16 m |
| Heptathlon | Clare Thompson Queensland | 5534 pts | Sherryl Morrow Victoria | 5229 pts | Theresa Martin Queensland | 5044 pts |