Soaring Stock | Patterson Leads the Way with Win

11 Australians, three wins, and a further three podium finishes – that was the equation for the Stockholm Diamond League on a successful night in Sweden.

World indoor silver medallist Eleanor Patterson (Alex Stewart) lead the way for the Australian contingent at Stockholm with a classy 1.96m clearance to win the high jump, defeating a host of European contenders including world indoor champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine).

Patterson remained composed through a clutch third-attempt clearance at 1.93m, before piling the pressure on her competitors when going up and over 1.96m on her second attempt – a bar that proved insurmountable for the rest of the field.

“It wasn’t my best preparation for today with a bit of a niggle picked up in the warm up at a previous Diamond League event so I have started my season late but come away with the win on my season opener which is great,” Patterson said.

The victory is Patterson’s first in the Diamond League yet comes as little surprise given the 26-year-old’s sparkling form earlier in 2022, leaving injury troubles in her wake to make an emphatic statement ahead of the World Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games.

“I really wanted a competition under my belt and what better place than Stockholm – I love it here. I fly to America now and I can fly there with confidence now after this evening. After Oregon I have the Commonwealth Games which I love as that was my first international competition,” Patterson said.

Australian record holder Catriona Bisset (Ned Brophy-Williams) punched in her best run of the season as she returned to the Diamond League podium, tearing around the 800m in 1:58.54 to finish in third place as the race was won by Mary Morra (Kenya) in 1:57.68.

“I definitely executed my race plan a lot better tonight. It was cool to have Linden [Hall] and Eleanor [Patterson] doing really well, that put me in a good mood before my race,” Bisset said.

The time is the third fastest of Bisset’s career and demonstrates that the 28-year-old is in shape to bring her campaign to a crescendo in both Eugene and Birmingham, where she is eager to find even more improvement.

“I really feel like I’m building into the major season since my last three races have been seasons bests. I’m feeling better and better each race,” Bisset said.

It has been a long wait for Australian athletics fans, but a 7:31.93 performance over 3000m to finish in fourth place is enough to say that Stewart McSweyn (Nic Bideau) is back with a time that only he himself has run faster than in Australian history.

The front-running Australian was bold in assuming his natural position on the pacemaker’s back despite concerns with his health related to COVID-19 throughout the year, quelling the doubts that he may not be ready for international success in 2022 with a strong performance that will leave him hardened for this month’s World Athletics Championships.

“I was just happy to feel good again! It was probably a bit windy to lead all of the last three laps, but I wanted a proper test before Eugene and I think that will help. I will gain a lot from this run,” McSweyn said.

Fellow Australian Jack Rayner (Nic Bideau) finished in ninth place with a time of 7:47.62.

Fan-favourite Rohan Browning (Andrew Murphy) clocked 10.38 (-0.5) to be the seventh man past the post in the 100m, as Akani Simbine (South Africa) made light work of the field in 10.02. Browning was outpaced from the gun before mustering a respectable finish.

A tough day in the circle for Matthew Denny (Ben Thomson) witnessed the Allora product finish in eighth place with a distance of 62.49m in the opening round, recording three fouls in the five rounds as Kristjan Ceh (Slovenia) took out the event with 70.02m.

The pre-program reaped a series of strong results to set the tone for a successful night in Stockholm, with Linden Hall (Ned Brophy-Williams) delivering a strong run of 4:02.65 to defeat the field, while Georgia Griffith (Nic Bideau) returned after a bout of COVID-19 to finish third in 4:04.75.

Liz Clay (Sharon Hannan) also hit the winners list with a 13.03 (+0.8) performance in the 100m Hurdles, making the most of the opportunity having narrowly missed out on a lane for the star-studded affair in the main program.

In the 800m B race, Jye Perrott (Ben Liddy) continued his strong form when reaping a third place finish in 1:47.03, while Matthew Ramsden (Nic Bideau) clocked 3:37.05 for fourth in the 1500m and is on an upward trajectory having recovered from illness.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 1/7/2022