Home Away from Home | Hull's Hayward Hopes

Hayward Field has long been steeped in athletics folklore; a venue so rich in history that those who have stood in its presence swear that it is magic. The concept of ‘Hayward Magic’ may be foreign to many Australians, but Jessica Hull can attest to its transcendence.

As a 17-year-old, Hull experienced it for the first time. Competing at the World Junior Championships in 2014, the Australian surfed a wave of energy that stalked her every move around the track. The laps trickled down but the swell only grew, culminating in a frenzied whitewash that propelled her to seventh place in the 3000m final.

Hull had discovered a track and field mecca, like a church for those who preach athletics, and with a signature on the dotted line in 2015 – she had found a home in the esteemed University of Oregon.

That home will open its doors for the 2022 World Athletics Championships beginning on July 15 where Hull will run the 1500m/5000m double, and while the Portland resident now has an Olympic final and seven national records under her belt, she approaches with the same youthful excitement that witnessed her etch her name into Hayward history when winning the 2018 NCAA 1500m title.

“Since Tokyo last year, I have only had eyes for the 1500m final at Eugene. Everything else has been built around that, I’m all in,” Hull says.

“The Olympic final left a weird taste in my mouth. It took a bit of perspective and reflection to realise that six months earlier my goal was to get into that final, and I left unsatisfied with 11^th. I never want to leave a championship feeling that way again.”

You don’t have to know Hull personally to deduce that she is a good human and model citizen, the beaming smile and bubbling energy gives it away, but under the surface lays an innate competitive instinct – an unwavering urge to be the very best.

“I do a good job of keeping it fun and light because I genuinely just love being on the track. That’s where I feel like I belong and it’s the most raw and pure version of me,” Hull says.

“Knowing deep down what I am capable of and fighting for that, I might do it with a smile but if you watch my races, I am pretty aggressive and not afraid to go with things that might be over my head.”

It’s a trait that has seen the smiling assassin develop from a promising collegiate athlete to a seasoned professional, working with Union Athletics Club under the guidance of Pete Julian and Sonia O’Sullivan, and alongside some of the sport’s biggest names including 800m world champion Donavan Brazier.

“It’s a contagious environment when you look to your left and right in training and see what your teammates have achieved. For me it was special to get my seventh national record, but Koko [Klosterhalfen] has 10 German records!”

“They are so humble and they are just people who are so supportive of what our own goals are. This sport can be very individual but going to the start line to represent something more than yourself is so powerful, whether that’s your college, team, or country.”

As for Hull’s mission to win medals on the global scene, advice doesn’t come much greater than that of O’Sullivan’s, with the Irish Olympic legend well-versed in tangible success.  

“Sonia is an awesome resource; she will gladly tell us many tales of her times! She has done every meet as an athlete, ambassador, and now coach - she just has so much knowledge,” Hull says.

“She was one of those athletes who set her mind to things and went and did them. To be able to recognise that in us when we set goals and get excited by something, she then helps make those dreams a reality.”

Counting down the days until her name is announced by the renowned ‘Voice of Hayward’ to the roars of the TrackTown crowd, the Australian is set to experience a ‘home’ crowd long before her compatriots ahead of the 2026 Victorian Commonwealth Games and 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.  

“There’s not too many places where an athlete can stand on the track and have everyone know what it means to be there and what they are aiming for,” Hull says.

“The reception is unmatched unless you are someone like Usain Bolt! I was in the stadium when Devon Allen won the Olympic trials in 2016 and it felt like they were about to call a public holiday.”

Using her spare time to plan her wedding down under in December, Hull jokes about a potential future in the tourism industry, having carefully mapped out activities and sites for her international teammates – with Wollongong inevitably high the list.

“I can’t guarantee that they will be competing, but they will be floating around. A few of us are eyeing off relay spots at the World Cross Country in Bathurst for our respective countries,” Hull says.

Despite hatching plans to dabble in the 800m during 2023 to “complete the treble” of sub-two minute (800m), sub-four minute (1500m) and sub-15 minute (5000m) performances – for now it’s all about the 2022 World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games:

“I want to make a bit of a difference in those finals, rather than just being there. If I can influence the races, then I think I will be proud.”

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 8/7/2022