Podiums Flow Post-Tokyo | Weekend Review

Just weeks after becoming Olympic finalists, Stewart McSweyn and Linden Hall have been crowned second place getters at the Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, USA, while an Australian contingent continued their momentum in Europe.

The Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field marked the commencement of the second half of the Diamond League season, and it was there that Aussie talent prevailed.

In the meet’s signature event, the Bowerman Mile, all eyes were on Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot, who took out gold and silver in the fastest 1500m final in Olympic history.

But it was not the rematch spectators were looking for as an aggressive McSweyn (Nic Bideau) took charge his first race since making his Olympic debut. Clocking 3:48.40 for a second place finish, McSweyn came painfully close to his 3:48.37 national record set in Oslo in July but it was his tactics that had crowds roaring as he lead from the front with 250m to go.

While Ingebrigsten crossed the line first, with a new meet record of 3:47.24 to take over from McSweyn as the world leader for the mile, fan favourite Cheruiyot was well beaten by the Australian, finishing the race in third with a time of 3:51.17.

Also taking on the Bowerman mile were Olympic finalist Ollie Hoare (Dathan Ritzenhein) and compatriot Matt Ramsden (Nic Bideau) who impressed, with Hoare placing fifth with a new personal best of 3:51.63, while Perth-local Ramsden clocked a new season’s best of 3:53.87.

Only a few weeks ago, track and field fans saw Jessica Hull (Pete Julian) reclaim her national record from Linden Hall, who earlier this year became the first Australian in history to break the four-minute barrier in the 1500m. With a stacked field in Eugene, including the Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon and Great Britain’s silver medallist Laura Muir, this was another opportunity for the two fastest ever Australian 1500m athletes to battle it out.

While Hull’s record remained intact, Hall clocked her third fastest time of 3:59.63 finishing just behind Kenyan Kipyegon who set a new meet record of 3:53.23.

“I was getting a little impatient waiting around for this race, but I knew I needed the downtime since Tokyo to recover both emotionally and physically from the Olympics. But after the success of the Olympics, I was really excited to line up knowing I could be involved in the front part of the race and being really competitive,” Hall said.

“The pace requested was pretty hot, so the race plan was simple – try and hang on! It was probably a little messier than expected but overall happy with the outcome. It’s my third fastest time ever and my highest diamond league race finish ever, so lots of positives to take away.”

Hull finished just outside of the top 10, with a 4:05.33 finish ahead of Muir.

Over in Europe, a mix of Australians fresh off the back of the Olympics lined up for the CITIUS Meeting in Bern, Germany.

Rohan Browning (Andrew Murphy) made a strong return to competition after his Olympic campaign, clocking 10.12 (+0.2) over 100m to finish in second place at the CITIUS meeting in Bern. The 23-year-old has made a habit of times in the low 10-second range and his personal best of 10.01 from Tokyo leaves him agonisingly close to becoming only the second Australian to shatter the elusive barrier.  

Fellow Olympic semi-finalist Liz Clay (Sharon Hannan) also blew out the cobwebs after a short hiatus, climbing onto the podium in Bern with a 12.94 performance in the 100m hurdles to finish in third place. Clay ran a personal best of 12.71 at the Olympic Games despite multiple recalls of the start sapping her energy, making another personal best before the season’s end not only possible, but likely.

Olympic bronze medallist and reigning world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber (Mike Barber) recorded a throw of 58.11m in the javelin, finishing in seventh place against slick opposition. Barber’s best throw came in the fifth round, as she looks to continue her rich vein of form in the remaining Diamond League meets. Kathryn Mitchell (Uwe Hohn) did not start the event.

Meanwhile in Leuven, Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) dusted off the poles for the Pole Vault Gala – a specialist pole vault meet held in the streets of Leuven. Marschall managed to make his way over 5.61m despite the challenging conditions which at one point saw proceedings halted due to heavy rain.

By Sascha Ryner and Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted:  22/8/2021