MIDWEEK REVIEW | AUSSIES CONTINUE TO SHINE

MIDWEEK REVIEW | AUSSIES CONTINUE TO SHINE

The busy European schedule rolled on this week and our Australians continued to fill it with strong performances against world-class athletes.

Peter Bol, Joseph Deng, Ryan Gregson, Nicola McDermott, Stewart McSweyn and Matthew Ramsden all featured in Zagreb, whilst Genevieve Gregson appeared in London.

Tonight’s Rome Diamond League which includes four Australians brings the rapid European track season to a close, but is not the end of the Australian action overseas.

Zagreb Men’s 1500m:

Under the guidance of Coach Nic Bideau, the Melbourne Track Club trio of Ryan Gregson, Stewart McSweyn and Matthew Ramsden have defied the odds in 2020 and emerged on the European circuit in sublime form - a credit to their rigorous preparation.

In a year where excuses are available in abundance, the hard-nosed group has been relentless.

In Zagreb the Australians were convincing again, headlined by McSweyn dominating the field to take the win in 3:32.17.

The King Island product was all over the heels of the pacemaker through 800m and looked ready to explode with the field starting to queue up behind the pace which was slower than anticipated.

McSweyn soon brought out the fireworks, dropping a 55-second split for the third lap to pour on the pressure and tear away from the field to gain an unassailable lead.

Ramsden was left in charge of trying to haul the chase pack back to his countryman.

Whilst the group including Ramsden and Gregson failed to reel in McSweyn, their pursuit was rewarded in the form of a personal best for Ramsden (3:34.83) and a season’s best for Gregson (3:35.22) to finish in 3rd and 5th placings respectively.

McSweyn is enjoying a purple patch at the moment and puts his success down to his consistency.

“Training and racing has been really consistent this year and I have been able to gain momentum from each race so far this season,” he said.

“It’s awesome having other Aussies and training partners in the races, we work so hard together in training so to be able to run well in big races is great.”

Ramsden’s tenacious mindset was on display despite running a personal best, indicative of the standards he sets for himself and his desire to follow in the footsteps of McSweyn.

“I expected to go quicker,” he said.

“Stew [McSweyn] is a great benchmark for where I’m hoping to be in a year or so.

“He is a big motivation to not settle for anything less than excellence.”

All three Australians will feature in the Rome Diamond League tonight over 3000m, which McSweyn sees as a nice opportunity to string together multiple wins.

“I’m not putting a time on it, I just want to make sure I compete for the win,” he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYXEr5gr4os

Zagreb Men’s 800m:

Peter Bol and Joseph Deng featured in an 800m field of the highest order in Zagreb, with all 12 starters boasting personal bests of 1:44 or faster.

It’s been a frustrating season for the duo with 800m races in Europe in high demand, often resulting in large fields and messy racing.

This encounter was no different.

At the crossing the field quickly converged on Bol who started in lane one, as he patiently latched onto the back of the high-velocity train.

Deng raced aggressively from lane seven as he appeared to attempt to establish a prominent position in the front half of the field, but had to settle in the second half after being held up after 200m.

Through halfway the pair were forced towards the rear of the field and had to time their challenge to perfection if they were to navigate their way around the compact field.

After 600m it was Deng who attempted to do just that, propelling himself around the bend and looking promising as he tried to pass the wall of runners, whilst Bol bided his time on the rail.

Deng’s bold move was to no avail though, as the Great Britain trifecta of Rowden, Giles and Wightman increased their advantage and the Australian was running on near empty.

Bol weaved his way through from near the rear to pip Deng late in the race, with the Australians running 1:45.94 and 1:46.11 respectively to finish in 9th and 10th place.

The race summed up a luckless season to date for Justin Rinaldi’s men, who have had limited opportunities to display their true best over 800m.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYfp5S5SFhg

Zagreb Women’s High Jump:

Nicola McDermott continued to show that she is right among the world’s best when it comes to the women’s high jump.

Fresh off a 1.98m personal best and Diamond League win this campaign, the world championships representative finished in queal 2nd place in Zagreb after clearing 1.90m.

Whilst she may not have soared to the heights we have seen of late, the performance was still convincing with McDemott clearing 1.84m, 1.87m and 1.90m without fail.

Despite this 1.93m proved to be an insurmountable challenge on the night, as Ukraine’s Yulita Levchenko took out the competition with a clearance of 1.93m.

McDermott will be back in action at the Rome Diamond League tonight as she looks to build on her competitive streak and potentially continue her consistent season.

Eleanor Patterson’s 1.99m Australian record is now only 1cm higher than McDermott’s personal best and will no doubt be an added incentive.

London Women’s 1500m:

It took Genevieve Gregson only a matter of days to bounce back from a rough encounter over the 3000m Steeplechase where she held it together for the majority of the race before fading over the last two laps to run 9:44.01.

The experienced campaigner opted for a change of scenery in the form of a 1500m at Battersea Park, London.

Linking up with the Belgrave Harriers, Gregson ran a personal best of 4:09.40 to finish in 2nd place, breaking the 4:10 barrier for the first time in her career.

Establishing herself as one of Australia’s best female middle distance runners over an extended period, the two-time Olympic finalists’ persistence over various events ranging from 1500m-10,000m in 2020 is to be admired.

“I was really motivated coming into this race because my season hasn’t been that amazing,” she said.

“To come back and get this opportunity to run fast with these girls is exactly what I needed for my confidence.

“I’m not really a 1500m runner but I love it so much, so to bring that time down below 4:10 is super exciting.”

You can’t keep a champion down for long.

Full results for the meeting in Zagreb CLICK HERE

By: Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 17 September 2020