PREVIEW: Jumps and Multi Events | Paris Olympic Games

Ready to raise the bar amongst Australia’s athletics contingent are 15 jumpers and combined event athletes. Featuring two Olympic medallists, four global medallists across three world champions, the crown jewels of Australian athletics are in prime condition to shine on the biggest stage of them all.

Overview:

Australia has long had strong and successful field athletes. The likes of Steve Hooker, Tim Forsyth and Dani Stevens ring true as household names. Five of six medals won on the field at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest were by jumpers, and with representation in the High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump as well as the Men’s Triple Jump for the first time since Athens 2004 – the tradition is set to continue in Paris.

World champion and Australian record holder at 4.91m, Nina Kennedy (WA, Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) will be in pole position for gold when she flies in the Women’s Pole Vault.

The Western Australian will face some of the fiercest vaulters the world has ever seen, with five athletes having jumped to 4.80m or higher this year. Her training partner Kurtis Marschall (WA, Paul Burgess and James Fitzpatrick) enters the arena for his third Olympic Games, aiming for his second global medal.

Not to be outdone are five of Australia’s best high jumpers, led by Olympic silver medallist and reigning world indoor champion Nicola Olyslagers (NSW, Matt Horsnell) and 2022 world champion Eleanor Patterson (NSW, Alex Stewart), who made history last year as the first to Australians to share a podium in an individual event at the World Athletics Championships.

Joining them on the bends of the track are reigning national champion Yual Reath (VIC, Paul Cleary) who has soared to heights of 2.30m this year winning multiple World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meets, as well as high jump stalwart Brandon Starc (NSW, Alex Stewart) and Joel Baden (VIC, Sandro Bisetto) who returns for his second Olympic appearance after Rio 2016.

Long jumper Christopher Mitrevski (VIC, Alex Stewart) qualified for Paris with an enormous leap of 8.32m at the Australian Athletics Championships this year, and with a swag of eight-metre jumps this year, a finals berth is well in sight. Fellow debutant Liam Adcock (QLD, Andrew Murphy) will join Mitrevski to bolster Australia’s chances in the event, while two-time Olympian Brooke Buschkuehl (VIC, Russell Stratton) gets ready to fly with the goal of landing her third Olympic final.

It’s been 20 long years since Australia had representation in the triple jump, with Andrew Murphy, now coach to four athletes on the Paris 2024 Olympic Team, the last successful athlete to hop, skip and jump at the pinnacle event. This year, his son Connor Murphy (NSW, Andrew Murphy) follows his father’s footsteps.

While there is much to be excited for amongst Australia’s jumping cohort, four athletes in the Multi-Event disciplines of Decathlon and Heptathlon are set to take their marks for their chance to be crowned the world’s most versatile athlete.

Famously winning Australia’s first medal in the decathlon in Tokyo, bronze medallist Ash Moloney (QLD, Steve Rippon) returns for his second Games at the young age of 24. Although a chronic knee condition has made the past three years challenging, the Queenslander impressed with two 8000+ point decathlons this year, and will pounce for a medal if the opportunity allows.

Flying the flag alongside Moloney will be Commonwealth medallist, American-born Daniel Golubovic (QLD, Paul Pearce) who makes his Olympic debut, while Camryn Newtown-Smith (QLD, Ralph Newton and Gavin Hunter) and Tori West (QLD, Eric Brown & Sam Leslie) become the first Australians to contest the Heptathlon since Beijing 2008.

Australia has won 14 medals in jumps events and two medals in Multi Events at the Olympic Games, including Olyslager’s silver and Moloney’s bronze from Tokyo.

Ones to Watch:

Australian:

Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy is looking to become the first Australian female to win Olympic gold in the Women’s pole vaulter, and the first countrywoman in her discipline to win gold since Steve Hooker in 2008.

Both two-time Olympic finalists, friendly foes Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson will go head to head to win the ultimate crown in the Women’s High Jump.

International:

Up against Nina Kennedy will be Team USA’s Katie Moon who shared the world title with the Australian at last year’s World Athletics Championships, but the pair will need to look out for Team GBR’s Molly Caudery who vaulted to a world lead of 4.92m this year.

Mondo Duplantis has all but taken gold in the Men’s Pole Vault, with his world record of 6.24m creating a sizeable gap between the Swede and the rest of the world.

Ukrainian Yaroslava Mahuchikh has gone from strength to strength since claiming bronze in Tokyo, most recently breaking the world record in the Women’s High Jump with a leap of 2.10m.

Sport Format

All field events will consist of a qualifying round and a final. Athletes who achieve the set qualification standard during the qualifying rounds of each event will advance to the final. If fewer than 12 reach the qualification standard in any event, the 12 athletes with the best performances in the qualifying round will advance to the final.

Competition schedule

Athletics begins on 1 August 2024 with the race walk for men and women at the Trocadero.

Track and field will be held at Stade de France from 2-10 August.

The men’s and women’s marathon will be held on 10 and 11 August, respectively.

By Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia and Australian Olympic Committee
Posted 30/07/2024