Joel Baden

A leap of 2.29m at a schools meet in October 2014, shot an 18-year-old Joel Baden to national attention. Less than two years later he would make his Olympic debut in Rio.

Growing up near Geelong, Joel Baden’s parents registered him with the local Peninsula Little Athletics Club. By his late teens he was a leading Australian junior high jumper and was selected for his Australian debut at the 2014 World Junior Championships where he placed eighth in the final clearing 2.17m.

A taste of international athletics seemed to spur Joel on and upon return to Melbourne cleared an extortionary height of 2.29m at a schools meet in October 2014 where he won the competition by 34cm. He had qualified for his senior Australian debut at the 2015 World Championships where he cleared 2.26m in the qualifying round.

During the 2016 domestic season he cleared a best of 2.24m and was second at the nationals. In June in Cairns he cleared the Rio Olympic qualifying height of 2.29m earn selection for his Olympic debut where he cleared 2.17m in the qualifying rounds.

Over the next few years he competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2019 and 2022 World Championships. He won the 2017 and 2019 national titles. He improved his PB to 2.30m in 2019, but in 2021 missed Tokyo selection with a best of 2.24m in the Olympic year.

He made a breakthrough in 2023, cleared 2.33m in his season debut moving to number three in Australian history. In March he won the national title with a clearance of 2.32m. He attributed his improvement to improved consistency of heights the year prior and high-quality jumps in training when compared to previous years. At the 2023 World Championships he didn’t progress past the qualifying round.