Montag eyes off maiden global medal, Browning fires up for historic semi final

World rank number three Jemima Montag will gun for her maiden global medal in the 20km Race Walk on Day Two of the 2023 World Athletics Championships, as fan-favourite Rohan Browning eyes a 40-year feat over 100m.

Following in the footsteps of Declan Tingay’s Top-8 finish on Day One of competition, medicine student Montag (VIC, Brent Vallance) will fly the flag in a bid to build on her major championships record, which includes a fourth-place finish at the 2022 World Championships and sixth-place finish at the Olympic Games of 2021.

The Australian record holder at 1:27.27, Montag last year became the fastest Australian female race walker at a World Championships or Olympic Games but will be looking to level up to become just the second female world medallist in the event alongside Australian great Kerry Saxby-Junna (Bronze, 1997).

“I believe I can get a medal on Sunday, but when I focus on that too much and on my competitors and what might happen, I sometimes feel uneasy. When I shift it to execution and what my psychologist calls my “three points of contact” - something that professional climbers use to be safe - I have a lot more confidence,” Montag said.

“For me, I’m going to be thinking of breathing, leaning in physically and pushing off strongly with my back foot. If that gets me a medal, that would be a dream come true, but if that gets me a fierce race where I can be really gritty and brave and can cross the line feeling proud of the season, then I would also be grateful but hopefully we can get both.”

Electing to finish her preparation at home in Melbourne after spending her mid-year break at altitude in Boulder, Colorado, the 25-year-old concedes her preparation has been different but believes she has found the “perfect recipe” for the priorities in her life.

“I had to be a bit creative with my season this year to be at med school as much as possible, so that meant rather than training in St Moritz with the team, I went to Colorado in June in my university break. I made it family based with one really fast training partner from Greece (Antigone Drisbioti) and it was the perfect recipe for me that I wouldn’t have otherwise discovered,” Montag said.

“And without the other walkers in Melbourne, I grabbed runners and put them around me as pacers. We had some awesome staff from the VIS volunteer and some other former elite athletes ran with me or walked with me, so for each of the key sessions we quite literally created a Kipchoge formation locking Melbourne’s wintery wind in front of me. I really felt like we had ‘Team Jem’; all there for the common cause and I found myself for the first time laughing between reps.“

Continuing Australia’s proud history in race walking alongside Montag will be fellow Olympian Rebecca Henderson (VIC, Simon Baker) who will look to improve upon her 20th placing from last year, while World Under 20 fourth-place finisher Olivia Sandery (SA, Jared Tallent) will relish the opportunity to compete amongst the heavyweights of global race walking ahead of the Paris 2024 Games. All three athletes will race with confidence having met the Olympic qualifying standard earlier this year.

Australia’s fastest man Rohan Browning (NSW, Andrew Murphy) is one step closer to becoming the first Australian man in 40-years to feature in a 100m final at the World Athletics Championships after advancing from Day One’s heats in 10.11 (-0.4).

Drawing the likes of reigning world champion Fred Kerley (USA) and Olympic finalist Oblique Seville (JAM) in tonight’s Semi-Final 3, Browning will be forced to channel a career-best performance to advance, racing with the added incentive of becoming the second Australian man in history to shatter 10-seconds – 20-years after Patrick Johnson’s 2003 national record (9.93).

“Tomorrow is a new day. The competition couldn’t be stiffer, but I am hoping to lift and be at that level. When you have guys right on your shoulder running quick it pushes you to run a lot quicker,” Browning said.

“That was my average run for the year, and that is what I needed, I am going to have to lift a bit for the semi and to get to the final and be really competitive, but it was always about being ordinary in the heat and being average and replicating what I know I can do.”

Australia’s middle-distance love affair is poised to roll on in the Women’s 1500m Semi-Finals, with Jessica Hull (NSW, Simon Hull), Linden Hall (VIC, Ned Brophy-Williams) and Abbey Caldwell (VIC, Gavin Burren) all safely navigating the first round on Day One of competition.

The trio will race across two semi-finals featuring 24 of the world’s most decorated metric milers, with Australian record holder full of belief that the Day Four Women’s 1500m Final can feature a sea of green and gold with all three women:

“It’s always a relief to get through the first round and just feel out the track. I’m excited to line up tomorrow with the other Aussie girls and chase a spot in the final,” Hall said.

“It’s really cool that we realistically could have three in the final. I’ll be lining up with confidence from PBs over three distances this season and the experience of having been here before.”

Hull and Caldwell will be up against a trio of the world’s fastest ever metric milers including world record holder Faith Kipyegon (KEN), Olympic champion Siffan Hassan (NED) and 2022 bronze medallist Laura Muir (GBR), while Hall is seeded fourth in her semi-final, facing off against Ethiopian pair Hirut Meshesa and Birke Haylom.

Field event qualification will be led by a two-pronged Australian attack in the Men’s High Jump spearheaded by equal national record holder at 2.36m Brandon Starc (NSW, Alex Stewart), and Joel Baden (VIC, Sandro Bisetto) as the pair look to punch their ticket to the final. Taryn Gollshewsky (QLD, Les Kuorirkoski) will also let loose in the Women’s Discus Throw at her return to the World Championships after making her debut at the London 2017 edition.

The youngest athlete of the Australian Team for the Budapest Championships, 18-year-old Torrie Lewis (QLD, Andrew Iselin) will be looking to extend her international debut by navigating her way through the Women’s 100m Heats. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Bree Masters (QLD, Ryan Hoffman) will also be vying for a lane in the second round, having narrowly missed out at the 2022 Oregon World Championships.

Rounding out the action on the track, 10 barriers stand between sprint hurdlers Jacob McCorry (NSW, Alex Stewart) and Nick Andrews (NSW, Tim O’Neill) and the Men’s 110m Hurdles Semi-Finals, racing as Australia’s third and seventh fastest men respectively in the event’s history.

The 2023 World Athletics Championships is the last outdoor major championships for the Australian Athletics Team ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Championships run until August 27, 2023.

By Lachlan Moorhouse and Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia
Posted:20/08/2023