Douglas heptathlete crowned the champion of the state
Elite Athletics
Douglas Shire's Unity Beitzel is officially the best female heptathlete in the state.
Beitzel returned a great result this month at the Queensland Shield Series Combined Events Championship, claiming third place overall, but finishing as the number one Queensland competitor, making her the 2026 state champion heptathlete.
She secured personal-best records across the seven events, with her ranking putting her in the top 400 worldwide and bringing her one step closer to her Olympic ambitions.
The event was held on January 10 and 11, with Beitzel scoring 5116 points, just under her overall PB of 5127 achieved in Townsville in September.
She told Newsport that her highlight of this competition was achieving PBs in hurdles and the 800m, where she achieved her goal of breaking the 2min 20sec mark.
While she had an overall good result, she said it was not excellent, with some struggles at the beginning of the field events.
“Things weren’t going too great,” she said.
“But I pulled out of the hole and did things when I needed it to count.”
Coach Greg Hamilton: “We’d rather she nail it from the start but she composed herself really well and kept the score up there.”
Unity’s global ranking has recently moved from the mid 700s to 398, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics now a real possibility.
“If she can break the top 30 or 40 she could be in the position to compete in the Olympics,” Hamilton said.
“There are high-status competitions all across the world that will increase her world ranking.
“If she can continue to improve she will be eligible.”
Beitzel’'s focus is now on the Senior Women's Nationals in April in Sydney.
Last year she placed seventh, but her performance at the recent state series would have put her fourth or fifth.
She is training five days a week honing skills across the seven disciplines.
In the lead-up to Nationals she also hopes to compete in individual events to further improve, including at the Queensland State Athletics Championships in March.
Hamilton also spoke on the importance of supporting athletes from our area and the hardships they often faced.
“It can be incredibly difficult as we have to travel everywhere over long distances.
“We have five national-level athletes in our area and the biggest challenge is definitely travelling to the appropriate competition opportunities,” Hamilton said.