Davies’ Day Out as Little Lands on Podium | Suzhou Diamond League

World Championships bronze medallist Mackenzie Little has strengthened her claim as an Olympic contender in 2024 at the Suzhou Diamond League when launching her international season with silver, while reigning Australian 5000m champion Rose Davies doubled down to lock in her Paris qualifier.

A registrar at Royal North Shore Hospital, Little (Angus McEntyre) flexed her might on the field with the strongest performance of her short 2024 campaign, sailing the javelin to a new season’s best of 62.12m only to be outdone by only reigning world champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) with 62.97m at the second meeting of the 2024 Diamond League series.

Asserting her presence early with a 61.04m effort to open proceedings, Little remained in the lead until the sixth and final round where her Japanese rival delivered a clutch throw, relegating the Australian to second place at her first competition since claiming the national title.

"I'm happy to come out tonight and perform as I did because I have a sneaking suspicion that most of these girls will be in the Olympic final," Little said.

"I wanted to beat them! To throw 60m straight off the plane is my baseline, I know I can do that. That is Plan A and that is really encouraging."

Fellow Australian Kathryn Mitchell (Uwe Hohn) did not register a mark after retiring from the competition in the second round.

Reigning Australian 5000m champion Rose Davies (Scott Westcott) proved her prowess over the distance is here to stay, roaring to the finish line in China in 14:47.78 to hit the 14:52.00 Olympic qualifying standard for the Paris Games and take 11th place.

Racing under the 15-minute barrier for the second time in her career, the Tokyo Olympian leapfrogs distance veteran Eloise Wellings to become the third fastest Australian over the distance of all time, carving 10 seconds off her personal best set at February’s Maurie Plant Meet - Melbourne.

“There was pace for the qualifier which was great. I was actually on my own for a long way but I could see some of the girls coming back to me over the last few laps which also helped,” Davies said.

“While my result at the Maurie Plant Meet was where I felt like I was at with training last year, tonight is closer to where I want to be for this year but I’m not there yet. Although not selected yet, tonight means that I can focus on best preparing myself to run well at the Olympics rather than chasing that qualifier.”

Three other Australians also toed the line, with national 10,000m record holder Lauren Ryan (Lara Rogers) placing 13th in 14:58.69, Isobel Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) claiming 16th in 15:06.84, while Diamond League debutant Maudie Skyring (Craig Mottram) followed on in 17th place for a lifetime best of 15:12.44.

Adding to the 5000m action, Morgan McDonald (Dathan Ritzenehein) and Jack Rayner (Nic Bideau) raced to a pair of top-10 finishes in seventh and ninth placings respectively, stopping the clock in times of 13:18.65 and 13:19.57 as Selemon Barega (ETH) led three men under the 13-minute barrier in 12:55.68.

Cara Feain-Ryan (Ben Norton) continued her quest for world ranking points and a maiden Olympic berth when posting the second fastest time of her budding career in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase with 9:31.68 for 11th place, improving upon the 9:32.08 she registered last week in Xiamen.

Olympic finalist Brooke Buschkuehl (Russell Stratton) mustered up a best of 6.19m (+0.4) in the Women’s Long Jump on her first attempt, missing out on the top-eight by just one centimetre.

Joel Baden (Sandro Bisetto) contested the Men’s High Jump after finishing fourth in Xiamen last week, but registered no mark after missing all clear attempts at 2.16m.

The Diamond League series continues on May 10 in Doha, Qatar, and Australian audiences can view the meet live and free via the Wanda Diamond League YouTube channel.

By Sascha Ryner and Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 27 April, 2024