McSweyn Shines Bright in Doha | Diamond League Review
Published Sat 29 May 2021
Athletes were greeted with temperatures of 40°C in Doha for the second leg of the Wanda Diamond League, which presented another invaluable opportunity for Australian athletes to mix it with the world’s best ahead of Tokyo.
Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau) is making a habit of strong performances in Doha, backing up last year’s national record with yet another swift time at the 2021 Doha Diamond League.
McSweyn stopped the clock in 3:31.57 to record the third fastest time in his career, drawing first blood on many of his rivals ahead of Tokyo when finishing in second place behind reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot.
The 25-year-old has developed a reputation of racing aggressively on the international circuit and this encounter proved no different, with McSweyn not afraid to pass through 800m with the pacemakers as the clock trickled over 1:50.
The performance sees McSweyn now occupy three of the four fastest 1500m times by an Australian in history, with the other held by Ryan Gregson. The King Island product has broken the 3:32 barrier for three consecutive years, and his time of 3:31.57 is the second fastest in the world this year.
Fellow Australians Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) and Ryan Gregson (Nic Bideau) finished in 12th and 13th placings respectively, in times of 3:40.89 and 3:42.93.
Brandon Starc (Alex Stewart) kicked off his international campaign with a leap of 2.27m in the Men’s High Jump, finishing in fourth place.
The performance was just short of his 2.29m season’s best, but Starc is relishing his return to the world stage and is optimistic that his best is yet to come.
“It was great to be back out there jumping overseas and against some top-quality jumpers. I thrive off competition which is a huge reason why we’ve decided to come and to mix it with these guys only a couple of days off the plane is a bit of a confidence booster,” he said.
“It was a competition I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from, but I can take away a few positives towards my next couple of competitions.”
Starc will jump again at the FBK Games in Henglo next week before moving onto the Florence Diamond League.
Genevieve Gregson (Nic Bideau) finished 12th in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase when running a season’s best of 9:35.27.
The race was only Gregson’s third over the barriers in 2021, with the Australian record holder demonstrating her strength over a range of distances before returning to her pet event.
Gregson will now prepare to race the 10,000m at next week’s FBK Games in Henglo along with Isobel Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) and Rose Davies (Scott Wescott).
The next leg of the Wanda Diamond League will be held in Florence on June 10.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 29/5/2021
