Doha Delight as Podium Finishes Flow | Australian Athletes Impress at Doha Diamond League
Published Sat 11 May 2024
The heavy hitters of Australian athletics were in full force for the Doha Diamond League as reigning pole vault world champion Nina Kennedy led the way for four Australians to land on the podium, including Jessica Hull, Eleanor Patterson and Matthew Denny at the third stop of the world’s premier athletics series.
Nina Kennedy (Paul Burgess & James Fitzpatrick) was at her animated best in her first international competition of 2024, locking horns with World Indoor champion Molly Caudery (GBR) in an early-season pole vault showdown.
Both Kennedy and Caudery soared over 4.73m on their first attempts to separate themselves from the field before the bar of 4.83m proved too high for the rising duo who passed at 4.78m, with the Australian forced to settle for second place after an early miss at 4.53m.
Working through blustery conditions, Kennedy was pleased with her return to the overseas action:
“I think my mindset has changed since winning the world title. This is my first competition back with the best girls in the world. I’m a little bit rusty but if anything has changed, it’s just that I have higher expectations of myself now,” Kennedy said.
“Molly is an amazing jumper. We both cleared 4.73m on our first attempts so that fills me with confidence.”
While the Men’s Discus in Doha was a non-scoring event for the overall Diamond League series, it mattered little for Matthew Denny (Dale Stevenson) who roared to the second best performance of his career with a 69.02m throw in the opening round.
Relegated to second place behind 2022 world champion Kristjan Ceh (SLO) who pulled together a 70.48m effort in the fourth round to track down the Australian, Denny staked his claim as a global contender in 2024 when backing up his national record of 69.35m at the Chemist Warehouse Australian Athletics Championships.
“It’s a good start, I wouldn’t say I’m super stoked with it because it was tough with the conditions and with the slippery circle. I was a little bit surprised by the 69m, so it’s a solid start but we know there is a lot more in the tank,” Denny said.
A turbulent Women’s 1500m saw Jessica Hull (Simon Hull) thrive in a physical contest reminiscent a championship race, holding her own despite multiple challenges to clock 4:00.84 and finish in second place behind Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu in 4:00.42.
Finding clear air in the final 200m of the race after being checked for running room early in the bell lap, the Australian produced a strong finishing kick to run herself into contention for the win, ultimately running out of track as Hailu held on after an aggressive start.
“It was so physical out there! About 150m in I was reminded that this isn’t quite like racing in Australia. I think we slowed down a lot in the middle and when it bunches like that it gets pretty rough with everyone trying to fight for the same position,” Hull said.
“With 500m to go I had quite a tussle with Welteji but I was able to use my experience to regain composure. It would’ve been pretty easy at that point to get frustrated but I was able to find some space and get back into my own running. I’m excited to get to Prefontaine in two weeks and hopefully run a bit faster!”
Fellow Australians Georgia Griffith (Nic Bideau) and Abbey Caldwell (Gavin Burren) finished in 11th and 14th placings respectively.
Continuing the theme of top-three finishes in Doha, 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart) looked at home amongst the world’s best high jumpers to claim third place with a 1.91m clearance on her third and final attempt at the height, as the competition was won by Angelina Topic (SRB) with 1.94m – reflecting the challenging conditions.
The Diamond League series will continue on May 19 in Marrakech, Morocco with Australian viewers able to watch the meet live and free via the Diamond League YouTube channel.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 11/5/2024
