Podium Prowess as Hull and Hoare Impress
Published Sun 22 May 2022
Podium finishes from Jessica Hull and Oliver Hoare at leg two of the Diamond League headlined an afternoon of mixed results in Birmingham, as an eight-strong contingent of Australians tested their form in the world’s premier annual athletics series.
Australian record holder Jessica Hull (Pete Julian) continued her strong form on the global stage when clinching second place in the 1500m at Birmingham, with only Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir (Great Britain) able to upstage the Australian on the day.
“Each race brings a little more confidence and there has been big progress towards where I need to be as a championship contender later this season. It’s really fun to ride the momentum of one solid race into the next one!” Hull said.
Hull and Muir were rewarded after going with the early pace set by fellow Australian Ellie Sanford, as the race quickly became a head-to-head battle out in front. Muir stamped her authority over the final lap to win in a time of 4:02.81 to Hull’s 4:03.42, while Kenya’s Winny Chebet finished in third place with a time of 4:05.56.
“Racing Laura in front of a British crowd was the perfect insight into the atmosphere we will have at the Commonwealth Games. The crowd were so loud, Birmingham is going to put on a show in August when we come back here!” Hull said.
Georgia Griffith (Nic Bideau) withdrew prior to the race due to illness.
US-based Australian Oliver Hoare (Dathan Ritzenhein) proved why he is the reigning Australian 1500m champion when running 3:35.76 to finish in third place – as Kenya’s Abel Kipsang and Spain’s Mohamed Katir proved to be the only men able to surpass the Australian.
Already selected for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Hoare’s first look at the track in Birmingham was full of promise as he defeated British rival Josh Kerr, who owns a personal best of 3:29.05 and won bronze at last year’s Olympic Games.
It was Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) who lead the race through the bell as he looked to dictate terms off the front, before Hoare advanced with the major contenders in a typically nonchalant fashion – while Ramsden finished in 11th place in a time of 3:39.65.
Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau) finished in 14th place with a time of 3:44.14, as he continues to battle the long term impacts of COVID-19.
Matthew Denny (Ben Thomson) opened his international campaign with a throw of 64.15m in the first round - a mark that would prove his best for the day as the 25-year-old finished in fifth place of the encounter which was won by Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh, who produced a stunning 71.27m performance.
Denny recorded two fouls within his five attempts, but his first-round effort fell less than half a metre shy of his seasons best – a mark that will only grow as he warms into his proceedings on international soil.
Peter Bol (Justin Rinaldi) was unable to emulate the finishing kick that saw him launch from the back of the field to second place in at leg one of the Diamond League in Doha, with the Australian clocking 1:47.59 to finish in ninth place at Birmingham.
Canada’s Marco Arop made an assertive move to record a comprehensive victory in a time of 1:45.41, with Bol struggling to make up ground from his rearward position as the 28-year-old Australian was served his first true challenge of 2022.
Entering off the back of strong 10,000m performances in recent weeks, the Australian Olympic duo of Rose Davies (Scott Westcott) and Izzi Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) were stretched by the hot pace set by Sarah Billings in the Women’s 5000m, recording times of 15:28.47 and 15:29.05 to finish in 10th and 12th placings respectively.
The race saw Dawit Seyaum take the win in 14:47.55 to head an Ethiopian trio on the podium.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 22/5/2022
