Seven track and field champions added to the Australian team for Worlds

Seven more Australian track and field champions have been selected to the Australian team heading to the Oregon 2022 World Athletics Championships, after winning national titles on the penultimate day of the 2022 Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney.

In addition to the Oregon team selection, Tokyo Olympians Jessica Hull (5000m), Liz Clay (100m Hurdles), Kurtis Marschall (Pole Vault), Nicola McDermott (High Jump), Cedric Dubler (Decathlon), Peter Bol (800m) and Catriona Bisset (800m) have also met the criteria for automatic nomination for the Australian team travelling to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Cedric Dubler entered day two of the Decathlon in a powerful position to defeat his competitors, and will now leave Sydney with a ticket to the World Athletics Championships and a new personal best of 8,393 points.

The multi-event athlete took command as he won two of the remaining five events today in the 110m hurdles (14.18) and the pole vault (5.00m), to widen the gap between silver medallist Alec Diamond from NSW, who finished with 8,002 points.

“This has been a long two days of competition and as I always say, an emotional rollercoaster. Every competition we do is unique, and I really didn’t know what I was going to do in that 1500m because I came in with an empty tank,” Dubler said.

“I’m so incredibly happy that I was able to lift and get that result and get that automatic selection to the World Championships team and nomination for Birmingham too.

“Next steps for me is to work out how I’m going to do two decathlons less than two weeks apart but I know I want to win medals, maybe at both.”

Liz Clay (NSW) made it back-to-back national titles with a scorching 12.72 second run in the 100m Hurdles, tearing away from the field to clinch the crown and set up a strong foundation ahead of the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.

The Olympic semi-finalist exploded out of the blocks and never looked back, as her immaculate form over the hurdles saw her put a performance on the board that is reflective of her true fitness levels – a timely reminder of what Clay is capable of as she eyes deep runs at major championships.    

“That was awesome, so much fun. I have been waiting for a race like that and I got it today. We all knew I could do it and that I can go faster, but it was just nice to confirm to everyone that I can do it – and I can do it on any day,” Clay said.

“I’m going to run 12.5, I know it.”

Olympic silver medallist Nicola McDermott (NSW) soared over 1.94m to dismantle a youthful field in the Women’s High Jump, all but booking her ticket to the World Athletics Championships and securing automatic nomination for the Commonwealth Games – setting up a big year on the world stage in 2022.

After recently recovering from COVID-19, the 25-year-old was happy with the performance given the circumstances, relishing the opportunity to compete on home soil for the first time since her Tokyo heroics.

“Unfortunately I’ve still been sick throughout the preparation, so I went for a big progression from 1.94m to 1.98m because I knew that if we only had a few jumps – we wanted to make them as high as physically possible,” McDermott said.

“I just feel every day that that Olympic silver medal title comes with the responsibility to inspire. It helps me get through training because I know there is a whole fan base out here, to jump out here tonight was just the best.”

Peter Bol and Catriona Bisset are both three-time national champions; both locking in their place on the Australian teams set for major championships this year.

Bol continued his strong form he became well known for in Tokyo, running 1:48.78 ahead of fellow Tokyo teammate Charlie Hunter (1:49.31) and New Zealand’s Brad Mathas (1:49.52). While the victory was no surprise, he was thrilled to race in front of roaring Australian crowd.

Bisset is Australia’s fastest ever female over 800m both indoors and outdoors and confirmed this again tonight as the only athlete in the field to clock a time under two minutes. Bisset crossed the line in 1:59.82, but it wasn’t without a push from 16-year-old distance prodigy, Claudia Hollingsworth who ran 2:02.98 to clinch silver. Tess Kirsopp-Cole won bronze in 2:03.39.

It was a redemption mission for Kurtis Marschall (WA) in the Pole Vault, putting the memories of 2021’s no height in the national final behind him as a 5.60m clearance saw him return to the top of the Australian pole vault ranks.

Marschall overcame a shaky start when requiring all three attempts after entering at 5.40m, eventually finding his groove to be the only man clear at 5.60m. With a 5.82m personal best in his back pocket within the qualifying period, Marschall will be off to Oregon for the World Athletics Championships and will be automatically nominated for the Commonwealth Games.

US-based Australian Jessica Hull made the trip home worthwhile with an emphatic victory over 5000m, putting the field to the sword over the final lap to win in 15:06.13 – with the Oregon University alumni set to return to Hayward Field for the World Athletics Championships.

Hull’s tactical prowess and class combined to prove too slick for the quality field, with Australia’s top middle-distance women unable to live with the decisive move that was made by Hull with 500m remaining – saluting on home soil much to the delight of the crowd.

Fellow Australian and silver medallist Rose Davies (NSW) also hit the 15:10.00 standard with her run of 15:07.49.   

Matthew Ramsden (WA) backed up last night’s 1500m silver with gold in the Men’s 5000m national bout, breaking through to win the Australian title in a time of 13:40.69.

Not since Fabrice Lapierre has anyone jumped further than 8.20m at an Australian Track and Field Championships, but today, Chris Mitrevski jumped an enormous 8.26m (+3.3) to claim his third national title and his first since 2018.

The win came with mixed emotions for the 25-year-old, with his next best jumps in legal wind conditions (8.21 and 8.20) both agonisingly close to the automatic qualifying mark of 8.22m. Mitrevski landed all six jumps over eight metres – the best series of his career – and his 8.21m jump sees him leapfrog to 9^th on the Australian all-time list.

“That 8.22 is clearly there. I’ve just got to go back and try a little bit harder and that’s what I did. When I jumped the windy 8.26, I didn’t even touch the board so I knew it was there. There’s still plenty of time in the qualifying period so hopefully we’ll do it soon,” Mitrevski said.

Samantha Dale took home a comfortable win in the women’s long jump, registering a windy 6.64m leap on her final attempt. The 20-year-old proves she has transitioned well into senior competition as she looks to make her Australian team debut later this year.

400m Hurdler Sarah Carli proved she is back racing at full-strength, defeating trans-Tasman foe Portia Bing. The two have gone head-to-head five times over two years, with Bing winning most of the races, but tonight it was the Australian that prevailed finishing her lap over the sticks in 56.70, with Bing following behind in 57.13.

Ella Connolly is the queen of the sprints, completing the national 100m-200m sprint double as the first Australian across the line in the sprint around the bend, behind New Zealand’s Georgia Hulls (23.17). Connolly recorded 23.37, placed second in 23.48.

In the men’s event in was South Australian teenager Aidan Murphy who won the men’s 200m in 20.53, while Jake Doran (20.77) added a silver to his medal collection, the day after claiming his first national title. Australian Under 20 200m champion Calab Law finished in third (20.90).

By Sascha Ryner and Lachlan Moorhouse,
Posted: 2/3/2022