Catriona Bisset

BIOGRAPHY

Catriona Bisset is the Australian indoor and outdoor record holder over 800m. In July 2023 in London, she clocked 1:57.78, the third time she had lowered the National outdoor 800m record. She has normalised running under two-minutes in the event, achieving the feat on 25 occasions to raise the standard for Australian women.

In February 2022 Catriona headed to Europe where in her opening race she sliced over two seconds from the national Indoor 800m record recording 1:59.46. She continued that great form at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade placing fifth in the 800m final in a time of 2:01.24.  Back in Australia in April she won her third National 800m title.

Competing in her second outdoor World Championships in Eugene, Catriona was in a strong qualifying position in her heat, when she fell 100m from the finish line. In the fall she was spiked, requiring 11 stitches. Following an appeal, she was added to the semi-finals, where she ran strongly, leading for much of the race. However late in the race, she drifted back through the field to place 9th. Two weeks later she was 5th at the Commonwealth Games in a world class field.

In early 2023, after a short European Indoor tour which included a best of 1:59.83, she won her fourth consecutive National title in her fastest domestic time of 1:58.32. In Europe in mid-2023, after a couple of sub-1:59 runs, Catriona lowered her now two-year-old National record clocking 1:57.78 at the London Diamond league. 

In Budapest at the world championships, Catriona progressed to the 800m semi-final, placing 14th overall – her highest at her fourth global meet.

In March 2024 she competed in her ninth Australian team, at the World Indoors championships, where she progressed to the 800m semi-final. In April she placed fourth at the Nationals in the deepest ever Australian 800m race when four athletes dipped under two minutes. She followed this with a strong European campaign clocking a fastest time of 1:58.44 and claiming a win in Madrid.

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Catriona started running in Little Athletics in under 7s in Canberra and for sport in primary and high school, making it to the national championships. She ran recreationally for about four years in her late teens while studying University in Sydney. She had given up competition for years as she suffered through an eating disorder, anxiety and depression in her late teens and early 20s. But she returned: “I took up competitive running at 22 years.” She also moved to Melbourne, continued her studies and commencing training under coach Peter Fortune. During her first summer with Fortune she ran a modest 2:09 for the 800m. During the summer of 2018 she continued to progress bring her PB down to 2:03.48, but was run out in the heats of the Commonwealth Games trials.

She opened her breakthrough 2019 summer with just 2:05 in January, but through February, March and April it tumbled with PBs of 2:03.35, 2:03.03, 2:01.27, 2:00.48 and 1:59.78. She won the national title and in June and July added the Oceania and World University Games titles. In many of these races she had led throughout the race and went undefeated (over 800m) from March until July. She received a call up to race in the London Diamond League and with a pacemaker and a strong field she broke the national 800m record clocking 1:58.78. At 43 years 143 days, it was the oldest Australian women’s record.

Catriona didn’t progress from the heats of the 800m at the 2019 IAAF World Championships. Two years on Catriona has since taken her performances to another level in 2021, once again winning the national title before breaking her national record with a run of 1:58.09 in Poland in June. Catriona ran four consecutive races under 2:00 - leaving her primed for the Olympic debut. In Tokyo she placed fifth in a close heat where the first five finished within a second. She clocked 2:01.65. 

Memorable moment: Sharing a moment with a competitor at the World University Games who I had raced a few months before in Japan for the World Relays. She's Japanese and neither of us spoke the other's language so when we met all we did was say "hello", clasp each other's hands, and smile at each other. I loved how we could be friends simply through the shared experience of athletics…..Sporting ambition: To run every race honestly, without fear of failure, and to support my competitors and teammates…..Study: Master of Architecture and Diploma in Languages (Chinese)…..Interesting facts: Her mother is from Nanjing, China. She is studying Chinese but not yet fluent. She is an advocate for mental health, speaking often about her own struggles as a teenager.

@ 22 June 2024 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au