Congratulations to Kylie Wheeler who is the second inductee into this years Coles Little Athletics Australia Roll of Excellence
Kylie started Little Athletics at the Kingsway Little Athletics Centre in 1987 and continued to participate until 1995.
Showing talent from a young age Kylie held many State titles and records throughout her time in Little Athletics –
| 1988 | Titleholder | U8 – 70 metres / 100 metres |
| 1989 | Titleholder | U9 – 70 metres / 200 metres / Triple Jump |
| 1990 | Titleholder | U10 – 200 metres |
| 1993 | Titleholder | U13 – High Jump |
| 1994 | Titleholder | U14 – 400 metres / High Jump |
| 1995 | Titleholder
Recordholder Equal Recordholder |
U15 – 400 metres / High Jump
U15 – 400 metres U15 – High Jump |
| 1991 | Titleholder | U11 |
| 1995 | Titleholder | U15 |
| · Held record for the U15 400 metres until 1998. |
| · Held equal record for the U15 High Jump until 1999. |
| · Set the record in the U14 / U15 International Meet for the U14 High Jump in 1994 and held the record until 1998. |
| 1993 | Member of the U13 WA State Team competing at the Little Athletics Championships in Melbourne, |
| 1994 | U14/U15 WA International Team in Malaysia, |
| 1995 | U14/U15 WA International Team in Singapore, |
| 1995 | U15 Multi Event Team in Darwin competing at the Little Athletics Championships, |
| 1995 | U15 Girl Athlete of the Meet (Little Athletics WA State Award), |
| 1995 | Nominated for the Doug Hancy Award1 (Little Athletics WA State Sportsmanship Award), |
| 1995 | Nominated for the Athlete of the Year Award (Little Athletics WA State Award), |
| 1995 | Athlete of the Meet Award for the WA State Track & Field Championships. |
| · The Doug Hancy Award is a LAWA trophy for the U15 athlete who most displays the qualities of fraternity, integrity, perseverance, challenge and courage. |
| Kylie Wheeler continued to excel in her athletics career and represented Australia as a dual- Olympian in heptathlon. At Beijing 2008, she finished 10th and in Athens 2004 she finished 18th. She is a four-time national champion in heptathlon (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) and also won a silver medal in the 2002 Commonwealth Games. |
| 2002 | Competed in the Heptathlon and the 4 x 400 metre relay at the Manchester Commonwealth Games |
| 2004 | Competed in the Heptathlon at the Athens Olympic Games |
| 2005 | Competed in the Heptathlon at the Helsinki World Championships |
| 2006 | Competed in the Heptathlon at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games |
| 2007 | Competed in the Heptathlon at the Osaka World Championships |
| 2008 | Competed in the Heptathlon at the Beijing Olympic Games. |
| 2003 | Titleholder | Heptathlon |
| 2004 | Titleholder | Heptathlon |
| 2005 | Titleholder | Heptathlon |
| 2006 | Titleholder | Heptathlon |
| 2007 | Titleholder | Heptathlon |
| 2008 | Titleholder | Heptathlon |
| 2002 | Heptathlon Silver Medal Manchester Commonwealth Games |
| 2002 | 4 x 400 metre relay Gold Medal Manchester Commonwealth Games. Kylie ran in the heat, |
| 2006 | Heptathlon Silver Medal Melbourne Commonwealth Games, |
| 2006 | Joint Captain of the Australian athletics team Melbourne Commonwealth Games, |
| 2008 | Received the Edwin Flack Award which is awarded by Athletics Australia to acknowledge distinguished service to the sport of athletics, |
| 2008 | Broke the Western Australian open record for Combined Events. |
In 1996, at the age of 16, Kylie had already demonstrated her attributes as an all-rounder by clinching a silver medal in an Australian heptathlon championship.
Soon after she switched to train with Lyn Foreman and concentrated on the 400m hurdles. Within two years she was selected for the 1998 World Junior Championships, where she progressed to the semi-final and ran in the 4 x 400m relay.
Kylie didn’t progress to the final of the 400m hurdles at the 2000 National championships, but six months later at the Olympic trials she placed a fighting second in the heptathlon though just short of the qualifying standard.
Sticking with the Combined Event, Kylie was fourth in a competitive 2001 Nationals heptathlon and was selected for the East Asian Games in May - where she placed third with a PB tally of 5702.
At the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Kylie started well in the heptathlon recording three PBs on day one and another two on the second, earning her the silver medal and raising her best by 260 points to 5962. She also ran in the heats of the 4 x 400m relay and went on to win a gold medal.
In 2003 in her major international victory to date, Kylie won the World University Games heptathlon with a new PB of 6031. During the year she set personal bests in all heptathlon events except the 800m.
2004 brought the second of her five national titles to date as well as a major breakthrough in June when in Ratingen Germany she lifted her best to 6296, the highest score by an Australian for six years. Selected for the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, she continued her love affair with Ratingen in June 2005, scoring 6231 points - her second best ever, before finishing 15th in Helsinki.
Come the 2006 Nationals, Kylie was again at her best winning her fourth title ahead of a repeat Commonwealth silver in Melbourne - this time with a new PB of 6298.
After a solid 2007 domestic season and earning selection for a second World Championships, Kylie undertook a successful European preparation tour, placing third and fifth respectively in the World Combined Events Challenge meeting in Arles (France) and Ratingen (Germany).
She took that form to Osaka and competed gallantly, her efforts on the track over 200m and 800m contributing to her 12th place finish and a total score of 6184 points, a season’s best.
Her 2008 domestic season was solid, securing her 6th consecutive national title and a ticket to her second Olympics. In Beijing, Kylie competed over the first two days of athletics competition, performing strongly and finishing 10th overall. She achieved a personal best total score of 6369 points.
In 2019, Kylie’s achievements for the 100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, Long Jump and High Jump still have her in Australia’s All-Time best achievement list. Her point score for the Heptathlon remains the 3rd best time for an Australian Female of all time!
Kylie has worked as a Development Officer and Competition Manager for Athletics Western Australia and has been pivotal in the development of pathways from Little Athletics to seniors and has also served as a member of the Athletes Commission General Committee for Athletics Australia.
Her children now continue in her footsteps participating at their local Little Athletics Centre in Perth, where Kylie continues to dedicate her time to assist with coaching and mentoring of the next generation of athletes.
Kylie is still keenly involved with the sport of athletics and continues to give back through coaching. Kylie regularly coaches at local schools, preparing the students for their interschool athletics carnivals. She continues to deliver Athletics Australia accredited coaching courses throughout WA, and even travelled to Albany earlier this year to present the Level 1 Coaching Course during the Little Athletics WA Country Championships.
Coles Little Athletics Australia acknowledges and pays respect to all traditional custodians of the lands of which we work, run, jump and throw throughout Australia. We pay respect to elders both past, present and emerging.
We are committed to a positive future for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to honor their ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to this country and recognize the role and value of culture.
