Record breakers headline action-packed weekend

At the rate and level at which Australian athletes are currently performing, national records may best be written in pencil rather than ink – with Jessica Hull and Oliver Hoare proving case in point when creating history at the Millrose Games over the weekend. 

Oliver Hoare (Dathan Ritzenhein) toed the line in the Men’s Wanamaker Mile as one of the favourites after a breakout 2021 campaign, living up to the hype when dismantling a world-class field in a new Australian and Oceania record of 3:50.83. 

“I have been wanting to win this prestigious event ever since I came to college in the US. I don’t think an Australian has won it in a very long time so to be able to get an Aussie on that trophy was a cool thing to accomplish,” he said.

The feat sees Hoare become the 11th fastest indoor miler in history, and with the World Athletics Indoor Championships less than two months away, the Australian has established himself as a major contender – with his personal bests from 800m-5000m now all indoor marks. 

Jessica Hull (Pete Julian) made it a pair of national and area indoor mile records when clocking 4:24.06 to surpass Sarah Jamieson’s 2007 Australian record and Kim Smith’s 2008 Oceania record. The run was good enough for fourth place in the Women’s Wanamaker Mile, with the stacked field providing Hull with the opportunity to test herself against the world’s best ahead of a blockbuster 2022. 

“I’ve got a couple of years of experience now and I’ve shown myself I can make championship finals. This year I want to make the jump to being a contender in global finals and towards the front of some of the big meets on the calendar. I’m preparing to take the next step,” she said.

Hull is all but hoarding national records, now holding six of them ranging from 1500m-5000m across both indoor and outdoor performances. 

Earlier at the Millrose Games it was a pair of seventh placings by Australians, with Charlie Hunter (Pete Julian) clocking 1:48.89 in the 800m, and Nick Andrews (Tim O’Neil) crossing the line in 7.81 in the 60m hurdles. 

Back on home soil and it was Nina Kennedy (Paul Burgess) who made a successful return to the runway in Perth, opening her season with a casual 4.70m clearance off 12-steps. The performance sets up the 24-year-old for a big year on the international circuit, with the Australian record holder’s capabilities well known. 

Liz Clay (Sharron Hannan) joined in on the action as she dusted off the cobwebs with a run of 13.14 over the 100m hurdles into a slight headwind, with the Tokyo semi-finalist eager to make an impression with deep runs at various major championships in 2022. 

Hana Basic (John Nicolosi) was pipped on the line by training partner Mia Gross (John Nicolosi) in the heats of the Women’s 100m at the ACT State Championships, as Gross set a new personal best of 11.39 (+1.0) before Basic returned serve to win the final into a stiff headwind. 

Olivia Matzer (Brett Robinson) was the fastest of the juniors on the day with an 11.66 in the heats, along with Tayla Cruttenden (Brayden Clarke) and Aleksanda Stoilova (Daniel Suchy) who clocked 11.75 and 11.84 respectively – with all three girls qualifying for the World Athletics Under 20 Championships. Cruttenden also qualified in the 200m with a time of 24.28, along with Oliva Rose Inkster (Katie Edwards and Mel Gainsford-Taylor) with a surprise performance of 24.19. 

Chris Mitrevski (John Boas) kicked off his season in style with a leap of 7.86m to take out the long jump in Canberra, as he eyes an Australian tracksuit in 2022 after narrowly missing qualification for Tokyo on ranking points. Celeste Mucci (Darren Clarke) opened her season in a similar fashion in the 100m hurdles, with her 13.09 performance a positive sign so early in the season. 

Madison de Rozario (Louise Sauvage) and Sam Carter (Fred Periac) proved too swift for their competitors in the Wheelchair 800m events in Canberra, with de Rozario pushing her way to 1:49.61 and Carter stopping the clock in 1:36.13.

Twin sisters Isabella and Jasmin Guthrie (Angus McEntyre) joined in on the world junior action, clinching two qualifiers of their own when setting substantial personal bests of 58.42 and 53.85 in the 400m hurdles and 400m respectively - with Isabella finishing second behind Olympian Sarah Carli (Melissa Logan) in 57.10. Paige Campbell (Greg Smith) also achieved the world junior standard in the 400m when running 54.89.

Connor Diffey (Matt Lynch) refused to be denied by a headwind in the Men’s 200m as he clocked 20.88 (-0.5), whilst Cameron Searle (Brad Carter) registered a huge 400m personal best of 46.09. Junior Joshua Atkinson (Graham Garnett) showed his versatility when running 46.60 to qualify for the World Athletics U20 Championships – complimenting his 800m prowess. 

In the Men’s U20 110m Hurdles, Mitchell Lightfoot (Andy Burton) stopped the clock in 13.51 to hand Victorian Tayleb Willis (Peter Benifer) his first loss in four years – with the two world-class juniors setting up a rivalry for the ages. In the Women’s 100m Hurdles it was all Delta Amidzovski who secured a world junior qualifier of 13.93. 

It’s easy to forget that Tokyo Olympian Ellie Beer (Brett Robinson) is still a junior, but 24.39 and 53.66 200m/400m double in Canberra qualifies her for both events at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships – should she not continue her run on senior national teams. 

Rising Victorian Ryan Tarrant (Adam Larcom) clocked a 200m world junior qualifier of his own when running 21.34 over 200m to join the likes of Aiden Murphy and Cooper Sherman and bolster the junior sprinting ranks. Meanwhile, Erin Shaw (Jack McArdle) picked up where she left off when clearing 1.83m in the high jump to take care of the world junior standard as she eyes big things in Cali, Columbia. 

The middle-distance athletes chimed in with some world junior qualifiers of their own, with Hayden Todd (Faye Todd) stopping the clock in 1:50.40 over 800m and Cameron Myers tearing his way around the metric mile in 3:48.05 – whilst Montana Monk (Scott Westcott) 2:06.52 over 800m places her contention for the Championships. 

The world junior qualifying action didn’t stop there, with prodigious junior Aiden Murphy (Peter Fitzgerald) charging down the straight in a new Open state record of 10.35 (+1.5), backing up the run with a 46.83 performance over 400m. Queensland’s Calab Law (Andrew Iselin) and Jai Gordon (Jackie Gallagher) also clocked a pair of world junior qualifiers in the 100m, with 10.54 and 10.55 respectively. 

Victoria’s Archie Noakes (Charlotte Wilson) continued to show his range and versatility with a run of 8:57.97 in the 3000m Steeplechase, now holding world junior qualifiers in three events (1500m – 3:49.77, 3000m – 8:10.05 and 3000m SC – 8:57.97). 

Back on US soil and the NCAA action is heating up, headlined by a series of scorching runs by Australians over 3000m at various indoor meets.  

Jackson Sharp (Wisconsin) led the charge with a blistering 7:51.65, whilst Villanova duo Josh Phillips (Villanova) and Haftu Strintzos (Villanova) managed times of 7:59.44 and 8:00.77. Steeplechaser Ky Robinson (Stanford) looks to be in top form despite the absence of the barriers, crossing the finish line of his encounter in 7:56.80. 

For the women, Ruby Smee (San Francisco) built on her strong cross country form to run 9:06.24, whilst Lauren Ryan (Florida State) backed up from a 4:36.76 mile the previous day to win in a solo performance of 9:07.19. The mile was taken out by Maudie Skyring (Florida State) in 4:36.75 after being paced by Ryan. 

Tokyo Olympian Ed Trippas (Princeton) continued to flirt with the elusive sub 4-minute mile barrier, running 4:01.00 to set a new personal best, whilst Jesse Hunt (North Carolina) 4:01.28 and Adam Spencer (Wisconsin) 4:04.14 also registered strong runs over the mile. 

Imogen Barrett (Florida) is climbing the NCAA 800m rankings and her run of 2:04.46 over the weekend will only build confidence in this early stage of the season, whilst Carley Thomas (Washington) returned to form with a 2:05.40 performance. Angus Beer (Missouri) stopped the clock in 1:50.40 over 800m – the fastest time of his career across both indoor and outdoor performances. 

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 31/01/2022