Berg strikes gold at national athletics championships

The 22-year-old from South Bendigo Athletics Club dominated the final to enhance her status as Australia's premier female shot putter.

She produced her winning throw of 15.15m in the second round and it took until the sixth and final round for any of her rivals to get within one metre of her mark.

Eventually, South Australian Marley Raikiwasa recorded a distance of 14.27m to grab second place ahead of Victoria's Xylavene Beale (14.03m).

Berg's mark of 15.15m was well clear of her gold medal-winning efforts in 2019 (14.24m) and 2022 (13.87m).

"It's great to come out with the win,'' Berg said.

"I've had a huge season, so it was great to finish it with a great result at nationals."

After producing a personal best of 15.57m a few weeks prior to the nationals, Berg had hoped to reach somewhere near that mark.

"It was a tough competition and a really good field,'' she said.

"It probably wasn't my best competition, but I did my best and I came away with a win.

"Something around 15.5m would have been nice, or all six throws over 15m, but to get 15.15m wasn't too bad."

After a hectic schedule over summer, Berg and her coach Peter Barrett will now look at how to tackle the remainder of 2023.

"We're not 100 per cent sure which way we're going to go yet,'' Berg said.

"We could look at the Oceania (championships) or Europe or just have an off-season.

"We'll see how I'm feeling and what my body tells me."

With the Paris Olympics in 2024 probably coming too soon for Berg, her long-term goal is the 2026 Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria.

"It would be nice to represent Australia at a home Games,'' she said.

"That's what we're setting our sights on."

A nursing student at La Trobe University in Bendigo, Berg had international experience last year when she toured the United Kingdom with an Australian under-23 team.

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