PREVIEW | World Athletics Indoor Championships

A 15-strong team of Australians will take to the world stage for the World Athletics Indoor Championships beginning in Belgrade tonight, headlined by Eleanor Patterson and Ash Moloney.

Read our preview of all the action below.

Women’s High Jump:

Two-time Olympian Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart) has been in scintillating form to begin her 2022 campaign, harvesting an Australian indoor record of 1.99m and a World Indoor Tour title to date – currently sitting atop the world rankings for the year.

The 25-year-old is undefeated from three top-level international competitions, recording jumps of 1.99m, 1.97m and 1.96m to find herself knocking on the door of the elusive 2.00m barrier. While the script writers would have Patterson clearing 2.00m en route to a maiden World Athletics Indoor Championships gold medal, her focus will be fixed on bringing home the silverware for her country.

Patterson has a 3cm buffer on the next best women in the field in 2022, headlined by Olympic bronze medallist Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine) – the 20-year-old who owns an indoor personal best of 2.06m but is yet to jump higher than 1.96m this year.

A host of chances are tightly packed in the 1.96m range, but Patterson will enter the event as a deserving favourite and one of Australia’s strongest medal hopes.

Men’s Heptathlon:

Olympic bronze medallist Ash Moloney (Eric Brown) will swap the decathlon for the heptathlon in Belgrade, with the indoor limitations forming a condensed program of the 60m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 60m hurdles on day one, followed by the pole vault and 1000m on day two.

It’s hard to say whether the format impacts Moloney’s chances, with his best event of the 400m not on the program, but also the absence of the javelin and discus in which he is not traditionally a dominant force. The 22-year-old will be eager to cash in when it comes to both the high jump and long jump, along with the 60m and 60m hurdles, to create a buffer leading into day two – much like he did in Tokyo.

Grant Scantling (USA) leads the field on paper after setting a personal best of 6382 points this year, while reigning Olympic champion Damian Warner (Canada) will be a major player in the event.

Can Moloney make it back-to-back medals at major championships?

Women’s 800m:

Catriona Bisset (Ned Brophy-Williams) made an immediate impact on the indoor athletics scene when setting a new Australian indoor record of 1:59.46 on debut, finishing in second place behind Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson (Great Britain).

Bisset proceeded to clinch two consecutive wins on the indoor circuit in swift times, including taking the scalp of reigning outdoor 800m world champion Halimah Nakaayi (Uganda). Heading into this encounter with the fourth fastest seed time, Bisset’s best chance may be in the honest race that the final is likely to bring about – but she must first navigate the heats.

Don’t expect Bisset to leave things to chance in her heat, she is good enough to progress to the final and will be doing everything in her power to earn her lane and bid for a medal.

Women’s 1500m:

A sixth-place finish in the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics tells you everything you need to know about Linden Hall (Ned Brophy-Williams), she is world-class when fit and firing.

After an interrupted preparation, Hall emerged on the indoor circuit with a pair of 4:07 runs last month as the 30-year-old attempts to run herself into top shape. The times have Hall ranked 13^th heading into this encounter, but one would be naïve to suggest that the 3:59.01-woman is not capable of performing to a far greater level than that.

The field is headlined by indoor 1500m world record holder Gudaf Tsegay (Ethiopia) who is not afraid to set the pace, while Elinor Purrier St Pierre (USA) has proven to be a force over the 1500m and mile.

Men’s 1500m:

Oliver Hoare (Dathan Ritzenhein) has established himself as an indoor specialist. The US-based Australian has run faster indoors than outdoors over all distances ranging from 800m-5000m and holds three Australian indoor records – the 1500m (3:32.35), mile (3:50.83) and 5000m (13:09.96).

Earlier this year, Hoare delivered a commanding victory over Olympic bronze medallist and European record holder Josh Kerr (Great Britain), surging to the line at the coveted Millrose Games in a time of 3:50.83. The 25-year-old has since clocked 3:36.54 outdoors over 1500m, but rest assured he will feature prominently in this open affair.

Fellow Australian Jack Anstey (Stephen Haas) will make his debut in the green and gold after the withdrawal of Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau) due to illness, with Anstey the next man in line for selection. The 24-year-old’s personal best of 3:38.65 qualified him for the championships, where he will gain invaluable international experience.

Olympic gold medallist and indoor world record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) is the undisputed favourite, but the medal race is wide open after him.

Men’s Pole Vault:

Kurtis Marschall (Paul Burgess) is set to fly the flag for Australia in the pole vault at Belgrade, with the 24-year-old full of confidence after a series of consistent jumps overseas.

Marschall will be buoyed by podium finishes at his three most recent competitions, including a season’s best of 5.76m the last time he took to the runway. Holding a personal best of 5.87m indoors from 2019, there is no denying that Marschall is good enough to mix it with the best on the world stage, with a blockbuster 2022 calendar serving him the opportunity to do just that.

Reigning Olympic champion Armand Duplantis (Sweden) set a new indoor world record of 6.19m at this venue earlier this month and will be the man to beat, with Christopher Nilson (USA) also clearing the six-metre mark with a jump of 6.05m.

Women’s 3000m:

Fresh off breaking the Australian indoor 3000m record earlier this year, Jessica Hull (Pete Julian) has opted to run the 3000m instead of the 1500m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, where she will be joined by fellow Australian Lauren Ryan (Bob Braman).

Hull holds national indoor records in the 1500m (4:04.14), mile (4:24.06) and 3000m (8:39.37), with her 3000m time ranking her in fifth place heading into this race – a straight final on the world stage. The US-based Australian returned to training after a scorching hot start to the year was enough to suggest that proceedings were going well, expected to improve once again as she eyes global medals in 2022.

Ryan set a shiny new personal best of 8:47.88 at Boston University to qualify for these championships, proceeding to finish in fourth place of the 3000m at the NCAA Indoor Championships last week. Earning her first senior Australian tracksuit, Ryan will not be afraid to race aggressively and prove that she belongs at this level – further pushing her case for this year’s World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum and Ejgayehu Taye headline the field with times of 8:23.24 and 8:26.77 respectively.

Men’s 3000m:

If there is one man who is ready to breakthrough in 2022, it’s Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau).

The smooth-moving man from the west was one of the only Australian athletes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics yet miss out on selection, but when many sent their commiserations – Ramsden merely got back to work.

The 24-year-old’s 3000m personal best of 7:35.65 in Gateshead during 2021 showed a glimpse of just talented his is, qualifying him for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade where he will be determined to put in a strong showing to ignite his 2022 campaign.

Berihu Aregawi (Ethiopia) headlines a trio of Ethiopians who lead the field in seed times with his best of 7:26.20, just shy of Daniel Komen’s (Kenya) indoor world record mark of 7:24.90.

Men’s 800m:

Charlie Hunter (Pete Julian) burst onto the scene when qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games in the 800m after a year of rapid progression in 2021, making it two consecutive Australian teams when selected for the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

While Hunter has a time of 1:48.29 to his name this year, his time of 1:45.59 in 2021 saw him shatter the Australian indoor record and etch his names into the history book – demonstrating just how damaging he can be. Traditionally an 800m runner, a recent coaching change has seen Hunter dabble in the mile – but the Australian is back to his origins in this encounter.

Mariano Garcia (Spain) leads the charge in 2022 with a time of 1:45.12.

Women’s 60m Hurdles:

Fresh off winning the 100m hurdles at the Sydney Track Classic, Liz Clay (Sharon Hannan and David Reid) stated her intentions for the World Athletics Indoor Championships – to make the final.

The fast-starting Clay will be suited to the 60m format and looks to be in sharp form early in 2022, eager to build on the momentum of a top-10 finish at last year’s Tokyo Olympic Games. The 26-year-old is yet to make her indoor debut but will relish the international competition, proving in 2021 that she can rise when surrounded by the world’s best athletes.

The Jamaican duo of Danielle Williams and Brittany Anderson spearhead the field with times of 7.75 and 7.82 respectively, with Clay one of three athletes in the field of 46 that does not have a 60m hurdles time to their name.

Men’s 60m Hurdles:

Chris Douglas (Joey Woods) and Nic Andrews (Tim O’Neill) are both set to make their senior Australian debuts, rewarded for years of commitment to their sprinting and hurdling craft.

Douglas shattered the Australian 60m hurdles record when tearing over the barriers to set a new national record of 7.61 seconds, running in the 7.6-range for all five of his races to date this season. At 25-years-old, Douglas finally earns his first senior Australian tracksuit after narrowly missing out on qualifying for Tokyo in the 400m hurdles.

Andrews relocated to Arizona to seek specialist sprints coaching, making his indoor debut in the 60m hurdles earlier this year before rolling out times of 7.72 and 7.71. The 25-year-old has proven to be a model of consistency over the barriers indoors, a trait that bodes well heading into the heats at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Showman Grant Holloway (USA) will be leading the way with his 7.29 world record.

Men’s 400m:

Less than four years after taking up 400m running, Tom Willems (John Riese and Peter Van Miltenburg) finds himself on the world stage.

The University of Colorado student clocked a dazzling personal best of 46.43 over 400m indoors in late February to qualify for the World Athletics Indoor Championships, with the breakthrough campaign placing the 21-year-old on the map. Coached by Australian Olympian Peter van Miltenburg, Willems is in safe hands as he looks to become a regular in senior Australian outfits.

Willems’ time has him ranked in the middle of the field of 29, less than one second behind number one seed Liemarvin Bonevacia (Netherlands) in what is one of the more open races of the championships on paper.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 18/03/2022