Hunter and Riseley edge closer to Tokyo qualifier and Patterson continues steep rise

All that separates our Olympic track and field athletes from the end of the Tokyo qualifying period is 15 days. 15 days for athletes to make their last attempts of meeting the Olympic qualifying standards and 15 days to boost themselves up the world rankings list and impress selectors. While athletes at home continued their campaign at the Oceania Athletics Invitational Series, athletes abroad competed in meets across Europe and the US.

Meeting International de Nice

A golden era dawns in Australian middle distance, with our current crop of talent able to qualify for Tokyo, or hovering around the Olympic qualification standards.

Jeff Riseley (Justin Rinaldi) made his Olympic intentions clear last week in Conegliano, when he clocked 1:45.34 in the 800m – just shy of the automatic qualifier. This week in Nice he backed up the performance with another brilliant run of 1:45.36. Ranked 87 in the world, Riseley will need to meet the qualifying standard to be eligible for selection and will attempt the standard again next week in Poland.

In the 1500m, 23-year-old Jye Edwards (Dick Telford) placed first with a scorching 3:34.74 run highlighting once again that his breakthrough performance at the Australian Track and Field Championships was no fluke. Rorey Hunter (Dick Telford) finished just over two seconds behind him, crossing the line in 3:36.82 for a fifth place finish, while Ryan Gregson (Nic Bideau) clocked 3:44.72.

The men’s 3000m Steeplechase and 5000m events saw near misses of the Olympic qualifier for Australian athletes. Ben Buckingham (Nic Bideau) produced a result of 8:24.57 to place fourth, with James Nipperess (Dick Telford) finishing in 9^th with 8:35.22 and Edward Trippas (Jason Vigilante) clocking 8:40.44.

The Olympic qualifying standard of 13:13.50 was in sight for Morgan McDonald (Joe Bosshard) in Nice, and although he took the win in the event, he missed it by 0.17s. He finished in front of compatriot David McNeill (Nic Bideau) who placed third with a time of 13:14.19. 

Sollentuna Grand Prix 2021

Two Australians lined up at the Sollentuna Grand Prix in an effort to rise up against some of the world’s best or gain the necessary ranking points to keep their Tokyo dreams alive.

Following her successful European season opener during the week, high jumper Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart) continued her impressive comeback from injury with a second place finish, and a season’s best performance of 1.94m.

While Patterson was unable to clear the 1.96m bar that eventually saw Belarus’ Karyna Demidik win, the meet was only her third of the year, highlighting she has much more to give in the next six weeks ahead of the Olympics.

Chris Mitrevski (John Boas) also continued his surge towards Towards with a 7.64m (0.2) leap in the men’s long jump.

TrackTown Qualifier

The TrackTown Qualifier in Eugene, Oregon saw one single Australian line up against a field dominated by Americans. It was our own Charlie Hunter (Ben Thomas) who prevailed in the 800m, with a new personal best of 1:45.23. While he came agonizingly close to the 1:45.20 time needed to automatically qualify for Tokyo, the time was a personal best for Hunter and saw him finish a whole second ahead of Luis Peralta from the Dominican Republic.

Launceston Running Festival

On home shores, a handful of Australia’s distance runners took charge of the Launceston Running Festival in Tasmania.  Though the Melbourne lockdown forced most Tokyo-bound runners to withdraw, the event still saw big results.

Most notably Rio Olympian Milly Clark lit up her hometown to set a new course record with a time of 1:11.09. Although just outside her personal best time, the record was also a Tasmanian all-comer’s record.

Thomas de Canto won the event in 1:02.38, with Riley Cocks in second place with a time of 1:02.54. Ben St Lawrence (1:03.09) placed third, while Paralympic hopeful Matthew Felton completed the course in 1:17.34.

The Launceston 10 event saw two Tokyo-bound marathoners in Ellie Pashley (Julian Spence) and Michael Roeger (Philo Saunders) compete in one of their last road events before the big dance. Roeger ran 29.40, while Pashley finished the 10km in 32:31. Both will now prepare for the Gold Coast half marathon.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted: 14/6/2021
Photo credit: NCAA Track & Field