World champions and global medallists headline 'Super-Bol' Sunday in Adelaide

The biggest names of Australian athletics are set to put on a show on the ‘Super-Bol Sunday’ of the Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide, as world champions Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson go head-to-head, and fans eagerly anticipate the hottest race of the summer with a four-way bout for the Women’s 800m title.

With the depth unparalleled in the history of the Championships, four Olympic qualified athletes with tussle over two laps as teenage sensation Claudia Hollingsworth (VIC, Craig Mottram), Australian record holder Catriona Bisset (VIC, Ned Brophy-Williams), Olympic sprinter Bendere Oboya (VIC, Craig Mottram) and Commonwealth medallist Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) leave it all out on the track in an attempt to claim one of only three places on the team travelling to Paris.

Bisset presents as the favourite on paper, but is at risk of ending her four-win streak at the Championships, with Hollingsworth emerging as a major player boasting an unbeaten record from five races this season.

Forced to choose between racing for the title in both events, Caldwell will be ferocious in her approach to cement herself on the team for Paris, and with a change of pace, coach and event, former 400m specialist Oboya has broken the two-minute barrier for the first time to make herself eligible for Paris.

“I love it. The 800m is the best event now, everyone wants to be us,” Bisset laughed.

“This is my fifth national final, and I’m feeling really fit and fast. Most of all, I’m having a good time this year, and you run your best when you’re feeling good so that’s my goal, to have fun.”

All eyes will be on the men’s race, with Peter Bol (WA, Justin Rinaldi) continuing his comeback to the Australian circuit. Though the Tokyo hero has won three Australian titles with ease, a new wave of talent as emerged with Australian Under 20 record holder Peyton Craig (QLD, Brendan Mallyon) and 20-year-old Luke Boyes (NSW, Ben St. Lawrence) both cracking the 1:45 mark for the first time this year.

The rich success of Australian high jump will be on display, as world champions Nicola Olyslagers (NSW, Matt Horsnell) and Eleanor Patterson (NSW, Alex Stewart) combine to lift the Women’s High Jump to new heights down under. The high-flying duo have not gone head-to-head on home soil since 2020, raising the stakes of competition.

Olyslagers has had a world-class season to date, with a best leap of 2.03m to equal her Australian record, and though Patterson has not yet reached heights of 2.00m, her ability to lift on the big stage will make for a competition worthy of an Olympic final.

The title of Australia’s fastest man belongs to 18-year-old Sebastian Sultana (NSW, Greg Smith) but the question remains to be seen if he is the fastest around the bend. Clocking 10.27 to cause an upset when toppling the likes of 10.01-second man Rohan Browning, Sultana will also need to take on Maurie Plant Meet - Melbourne winner Calab Law (QLD, Andrew Iselin).

While Australian 100m record holder Torrie Lewis (QLD, Andrew Iselin) sat out of the 100m, she will be dialed in on her pet event, the Women’s 200m, which she hopes to race at the Paris Olympics.

Back in his home state for the first time in six-years, World Championships medallist Kurtis Marschall (WA, Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) will contest his first outdoor final of the year, looking to emulate his 5.95m best, with the sights set on joining the elusive six-metre club alongside his coach, three-time Olympian Paul Burgess. Either way, the 26-year-old will have his sights set on breaking the championship record of 5.70m.

All season long, hurdles queens Liz Clay (QLD, Sharon Hannan & David Reid) and Michelle Jenneke (NSW, Bronwyn Thompson) have been neck-and-neck, but Olympic semi-finalist Clay has edged out Australia’s fastest hurdler on each match up by the narrowest of margins. Returning to form after a career-threatening injury in 2022, Clay will have her eyes firmly focussed on the Olympic qualifying standard of 12.77 - a feat she has achieved prior to injury, while Jenneke will aim for back-to-back titles having notched multiple qualifiers for Paris.

In the longer form of the event, Sarah Carli (NSW, Melissa Smith) will go for a hat-trick of national titles, eyeing the Olympic qualifier of 54.85 - a feat in sight after opening her season with a strong 55.37 performance in Canberra.

World-class performances in the qualifying rounds of the Men’s Long Jump will also have the field fans excited following Darcy Roper’s (QLD, Luke Donatini) 8.14m one-and-done jump as he takes on three-time Olympian Henry Frayne (QLD), Chris Mitrevski (VIC, Alex Stewart) and Liam Adcock (QLD, Andrew Lulham), with the title wide open for the taking. Australian record holder Brooke Buschkuel (VIC, Russell Stratton) will go head-to-head with Samantha Dale (NSW, Andrew Murphy) in the women’s event, as the battle to become Australia’s premier long jumper continues.

The big guns of Australian middle distance running will be back on show after the 1500m yesterday in the Men’s and Women’s 5000m finals as champion Jessica Hull (NSW, Simon Hull) leads a stacked field. Stewart McSweyn (TAS, Nic Bideau) will go head-to-head with Olympians Morgan McDonald (NSW, Dathan Ritzenhein), Jack Rayner (VIC, Nic Bideau), Matthew Ramsden (VIC, Nic Bideau) and Ky Robinson (VIC, Ricardo Santos) toe the line, while Hull takes on Australian 10,000m record holder Lauren Ryan (VIC, Lara Rogers) and the in-form Rose Davies (NSW, Scott Westcott) and Isobel Batt-Doyle (SA, Nic Bideau).

The final night of the Australian Open and Under 20 Championships begins at 9am, with eight-hours of live coverage on 7plus from 9.50am ACDT.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 14/4/2024