Team Australia’s campaign at the 2026 IBF World Youth Championships in Kuching, Malaysia, has come to a close with an outstanding three-medal haul.
Australia claimed Men’s Team gold, Men’s Singles silver and Women’s Team bronze, capping off a memorable week of competition on the world stage.
Beyond the medal success, the Australians delivered a number of strong performances across Singles, Doubles Team and Mixed Team competition.
Medal Winners
🥇 Men’s Team
Blake Walsh, Jackson Buckingham, Julian Dinham, Nicholas Rajkovic
🥈Men’s Singles
Julian Dinham
🥉 Women’s Team
Bella Westlake, Brianna Walsh, Emily Hart and Samantha Clifton
Men’s Singles
Julian Dinham delivered one of the standout individual performances of the Championships.
After qualifying 13th, Julian topped his Matchplay group with six wins from seven games at an outstanding average of 239.6 to progress to the semi-finals.
He defeated New Zealand’s Ben Pettit 2-0 in the semi-final to secure his place in the gold medal match. Julian then faced Sweden’s Emil Svensson in a thrilling final that went the full three games, with Svensson ultimately prevailing 2-1.
Julian’s silver medal was a tremendous reward for an exceptional Singles campaign.
Women’s Singles
Samantha Clifton progressed to Matchplay in the Women’s Singles event, competing strongly against the world’s leading youth bowlers to finish seventh in Group A.
Doubles
Australia was represented across both the Men’s and Women’s Doubles events, with Julian Dinham and Blake Walsh progressing to Men’s Doubles Matchplay, while Bella Westlake and Brianna Walsh advanced to Women’s Doubles Matchplay.
Both pairings produced competitive Matchplay campaigns and finished just outside the semi-final positions.
Men’s Team
The Australian men produced a remarkable Team event campaign.
Julian Dinham, Blake Walsh, Nicholas Rajkovic and Jackson Buckingham qualified sixth before topping their Matchplay group with six wins from seven matches. The team then swept the United States 2-0 in the semi-final to earn their place in the gold medal match.
The Australians produced another superb performance in the final, defeating Czech Republic 2-0 to claim Men’s Team gold and complete Australia’s haul of one medal in each colour.
Congratulations to Blake, Julian, Nicholas and Jackson on becoming Men’s Team World Youth Champions!
Women’s Team
Bella Westlake, Brianna Walsh, Emily Hart and Samantha Clifton claimed bronze in the Women’s Team event.
After progressing through qualifying, the Australians topped their Matchplay group with five wins from seven matches to reach the semi-finals and finish among the top four nations in the world.
The bronze medal was a tremendous reward for a resilient and united team performance throughout the week.
Mixed Team
Both Australian Mixed Team squads progressed through qualifying and into Matchplay.
Australia Squad 1 – Blake Walsh, Julian Dinham, Samantha Clifton and Brianna Walsh finished third in Group A with four wins and 12 points, narrowly missing a place in the semi-finals.
Australia Squad 2 – Jackson Buckingham, Nicholas Rajkovic, Emily Hart and Bella Westlake finished sixth in Group A with three wins and nine points, producing several strong performances throughout the Matchplay block.
A Campaign to Remember
Across the week, Team Australia showed determination, resilience and genuine team spirit on the world stage.
Congratulations to all eight athletes, Team Manager Janine Buckingham, coach Cam Walsh and everyone who supported the Australian team throughout the Championships.
Thank you to the International Bowling Federation, CEO Mike Seymour, and the Malaysian Bowling Congress for delivering such an incredible tournament.
Thank you to everyone who followed Team Australia from home.
AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE!
