Celeste Mucci

After coming close to Olympic selection for Tokyo, Celeste Mucci, a former Australian heptathlon representative has really made her mark in the 100m hurdles over the last few years.

As a 10-year-old Celeste Mucci followed her older brother into Little Athletics. She was also involved in soccer and swimming.

“Soon after the age of 13, it became all about athletics,” Celeste recalled.

She was also spotted by her now coach Darren Clark in year six at a primary school carnival.

“She was not winning but looked to be a very talented athlete,” Clark said. “At the first training session she was quiet and didn’t say much, but I thought afterwards this kid has got something.”

By age 15 she was starting to compile some impressive marks with the heptathlon her focus. At 17, she competed at the 2016 World juniors and was soon after competitive with the best seniors in the country.

In December 2017 she broke the national junior heptathlon record which had stood for 27 years, with a tally of 5870 points. In 2018, now aged 18, she won the Commonwealth Games trials and placed fourth at the Games on the Gold Coast with another PB/national junior record score of 5915.

“I remember a stressful couple of months leading into it but was very worth it in the end as I will never forget those couple of days out on the track during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.”

In July 2018 she competed at her second World Juniors/U20 Championships. Domestically in 2019 she added the 100m and 100m hurdles to her program, with impressive results. She won the 100m hurdles and heptathlon national titles - the first athlete to claim this double in 25 years. In May she competed in the Gotzis Heptathlon where she set another hurdles PB time of 13.02 – now the equal fifth fastest in Australian history. In July at the World University Games, she had problems in the 100m hurdles heats, but helped the 4x100m relay team to silver.

“2019 felt like it went on forever with World Relays, Gotzis, Oceania, World University Games and World Championships in Doha. It was all a really good experience for me as I had never been away from home for that long.”

The next couple of years, largely during COVID, were a challenge for Celeste as she moved away from the heptathlon and to the 100m hurdles and sprints.

“The last couple of seasons have been a bit rough on the body and mind. The majority of the struggles were due to my knees having worn out cartilage in each kneecap which led to me having surgery in mid to late 2020. The arthroscopy cleaned out any rough cartilage left over in my knees.

"The rushed pre-season and coming-off injury turned into a troubled season and resulted in us missing out on the Olympics.”

Missing Tokyo and the first team she was aiming for did have a positive side for Celeste.

“The bittersweet moment of not making the team meant I had a full few months to get ready for 2022. Coach Darren Clark and I reviewed a lot of our work and determined what the key focuses were for the next season. We also relaxed and enjoyed each session as we had plenty of time to develop each aspect of training.”

Celeste certainly benefited from this preparation with her best season yet in 2022. In June she was named in the Commonwealth Games team in the hurdles and on the 4x100m relay. Then in July selected in the 100m hurdles for her first senior global meet the world championships.

After progressing through her heat and into the semi-final at the 2023 World Championships in Eugene, Celeste was on target for a PB, but unfortunately she hit a hurdle late in the race.

She remained on her feet and finished the race, but was disqualified. Her response two weeks later at the Commonwealth Games was terrific, equalling her PB of 12.96 in the very next race – her heat. In the final she placed seventh.

“In 2022 I had started to feel like myself again in the sport. Highlights of this year were having a very consistent season and improving what we had worked on in the pre-season and also enjoying the journey a little more.”

Her 2023 season had been at a new level. Both domestically and internationally she clocked her six fastest times of her career, taking 0.12 seconds from her PB. She was second at nationals and in August was named in her 7th national team and third consecutive world championships team – Budapest 2023. Her great form continued into the world championships clocking 12.90 in her heat, then 12.97 in the semi-final.

Celeste was looking sharp in early 2024, but then was thrown a curve ball – when on January 27, competing in the hurdles at the ACT Championships, she damaged her hamstring requiring surgery.

Over the next two months she rehabilitated from the injury/surgery and ran tentatively at the Australian championships, just competing in the heats running 13.45. After a few races in Europe in May, she was second at the Oceania Championships then a series of sub-13 seconds runs in Canada and Europe with a best of 12.90 seconds.