Qualifiers Galore | Weekend Wrap

Whether athletes were targeting the Olympics, Paralympics or NCAA finals – “qualifying” was the word on everyone’s lips in a busy week of athletics both home and abroad. 

Isobel Batt-Doyle (Nic Bideau) and Rose Davies (Scott Westcott) produced a pair of Olympic qualifiers over 5000m in Nijmegen, with the talented duo delivering in their first ever race on the European circuit. 

Their times of 15:04.10 and 15:08.48 fell under the 15:10.00 Olympic standard, seeing them join Jessica Hull as the only qualifiers in the event to date. 

Batt-Doyle admits that it has been a long wait to achieve the feat, making the moment even sweeter. 

“It was a huge relief! I’ve been waiting for another opportunity and I was confident that I could run the time. To finally do it I was overwhelmed with emotion,” she said. 

“I just stayed calm when the pacer dropped out and told myself that I’d done it before and just tried to keep pressing every lap. It got hard with three laps to go but feeling Rose there with me made the difference to keep pushing for the time.”

Davies shaved almost 22 seconds off her personal best on her way to securing the standard, but the breakthrough was not a surprise for an athlete of her caliber. 

“Going into this race I was feeling confident that I could improve on my previous best time and to run the Olympic standard was just the icing on the cake. I was stoked to see the result,” she said. 

“The last two laps were very tough; I was telling myself just to hold pace because I knew if I did that I was in the clear and I’m proud of myself that I was able to do that.” 

Fellow Australians Jessica Hull (Pete Julian) and Lauren Ryan (self-coached) joined in on the 5000m theme in Portland, with Hull taking the win and Ryan registering one of the best performances of her short career. 

Hull won the race by the narrowest of margins over Canada’s Andrea Seccafien, with the clock reading 14:57.00. The race was only Hull’s second of the season after her recent 4:04.16 over 1500m, making it two Olympic qualifiers in as many starts to begin her Olympic campaign. 

Ryan finished in sixth place in the encounter with a performance of 15:22.48, with the 23-year-old Australian in fine touch despite running much of the journey solo. Ryan has lowered her personal best in the event by almost 27 seconds in the past fortnight. 

Also in Portland was Edward Trippas (Jason Vigilante), who tore his way around the 3000m steeplechase in a time of 8:26.25 to propel himself up to eighth on the Australian all-time list. 

The Bankstown product has improved out of sight in 2021 and is now within reach of the 8:22.00 Olympic standard, and rightfully among Ben Buckingham (Nic Bideau) and James Nipperess (Dick Telford) in Olympic discussions. 

Patrick Tiernan (Mark Rowland) set a new personal best of 3:38.64 in his first 1500m start since 2016 in Portland, whilst fellow Australian Samuel Blake (self-coached) also set a personal best of 3:38.45 in Germany. 

At the ACT Winter Series some of Australia’s Paralympic hopefuls were on display. 

Angie Ballard (Fred Periac) continued her solid season in the T53 class when clocking 57.76 over 400m to notch up another B qualifying time

Ari Gesini (Sebastian Kuzminski) registered a jump of 5.70m (+0.7) as he looks to build towards his best form which would place him within reach of the Paralympic A qualifier. 

Oceania long jump T64 record holder Sarah Walsh (Matt Beckenham) met the B qualifying standard in the event, jumping 5.32m; a promising result as she aims for selection to her second Paralympic team. 

Reigning T54 800m world champion Madison de Rozario (Louise Sauvage) managed 3:39.28 over 1500m, having already been selected in the Australian Paralympic Team.  

A host of Australians in the NCAA system have punched their ticket to the NCAA finals to be held at Hayward Field in Eugene from June 9-12. 

Among the qualifiers was Queenslander Ky Robinson, who surpassed Glenn Stojanovic’s long-standing national Under 20 record when running 8:40.45 in the 3000m steeplechase. 

The Stanford University student has produced an excellent season to date over the barriers, along with a swift 13:51.53 5000m performance earlier in May. 

Oregon’s Charlie Hunter coasted through the 800m regionals in 1:47.65 to ensure he will be in action come the finals on home soil, whilst Wake Forrest’s Zac Facioni continued his strong season over 5000m on his way to Eugene. Meanwhile, Villanova's Haftu Strintzos recorded a new personal best of 28:52.71 to punch his ticket. 

Among the top women to qualify were George Mason’s Annabelle Eastman who clocked 9:54.68 in the 3000m steeplechase to move her way up to 15th on the Australian all-time rankings, whilst Florida State University’s Maudie Skyring made light work of her 1500m encounter. New Mexcio's Amelia Mazza-Downie also progressed to the finals of the 5000m. 

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 31/5/2021