WEEKEND PREVIEW | A RETURN TO DOHA

WEEKEND PREVIEW | A RETURN TO DOHA

A year on from hosting the World Athletics Championships, Doha will play host to some of the world’s best athletes again tonight.

The meet is the last leg of the 2020 Wanda Diamond League in which Australians have featured prominently.

Jessica Hull, Genevieve Gregson, Stewart McSweyn, Ryan Gregson, Matthew Ramsden, Peter Bol and Joseph Deng will all be part of the action.

Women’s 3000m (3:18am):

Both fans and competitors alike were craving the elite level action that 2020 was set to bring, but not many would have suspected it would come in the form of a 3000m race in Doha.

With the highly anticipated Tokyo Olympics postponed, this race might just be the closest thing to a major championships final in 2020, despite being over a non-Games distance.

The race will feature two Australians including Jessica Hull and Genevieve Gregson.

To put things into perspective - Benita Willis’ fine 3000m Australian national record set in 2003 stands at 8:38.06; yet this field features nine women who have run under that time, eight of which have run 8:31 or faster.

World Athletics has noted that “all 16 women in the field own a medal from a global or continental championship, or hold a world or continental record.”

The race even features five medalists from four disciplines at last year’s Doha Championships.

World Athletics recognises Jessica Hull’s personal best over 3000m as 9:08.85 which could make for a tough night for the Australian.

But having recently claimed Australian national records by running 4:00.42 for 1500m in Berlin and 14:43.80 for 5000m in Monaco in the last six weeks, Hull certainly belongs in this field.

Coupled with this outstanding form is the unofficial 8:41 time trial she has to her name from earlier this year, suggesting the Australian could rewrite her third national record of the season if things go to plan.

But the strategy for Hull in this affair extends far beyond the clock.

The 23-year-old has made it clear that her intention on the international circuit is to compete with the best athletes in the world - and she will not get many greater opportunities than tonight in Doha.

Hull will be accompanied on the start line by fellow Australian Genevieve Gregson, who clocked a new personal best over 1500m last week in a time of 4:09.40.

Gregson has been critical of her own season but gets a solid chance here to hit back over 3000m - with her personal best currently standing at 8:49.38 from 2018.

The two-time Olympic finalist has also run 15:24.33 for 5000m this campaign - and looked strong for the first 2000m of a 3000m steeplechase encounter.

Whilst that steeplechase did not reap the desired rewards for Gregson, it may have been what she needed to turn things around.

There will be no barriers in sight in Doha - where Gregson gets the opportunity to latch onto the classy field and stay with them for as long as possible.

A strong showing from the Australian might just be what she needs to shift the momentum of her season as a whole.

Men’s 1500m (2:21am AEST):

Fresh off claiming the 3000m national record last week, McSweyn arrives in Doha to compete in the 1500m with his compatriots Ryan Gregson and Matthew Ramsden.

The trio form part of a 15-man field, with two pacemakers.

With the majority of personal bests in the field hovering around the 3:35 mark, McSweyn looms as the form runner of the field and will no doubt be looking to do what he has done all season - compete.

The 25-year-old lowered his 1500m best to 3:31.48 in Stockholm last month and recently shaved over six-seconds off his 3000m best when running 7:28.02 in Rome - well and truly proving that he is an emerging force on the world stage.

Whilst all eyes may be on McSweyn as he looks to record the third win of his international season, his two countrymen will not be far away.

Gregson has been as consistent as they come over 1500m in 2020, clocking 3:35 three times along with a 3:52 mile.

The 1500m national record holder finds himself in a suitable field after a solid week’s rest in which he will be looking to feature at the pointy end of.

Ramsden has dominated some quality races in the form of taking wins over the mile in Italy and a 2000m race in Poland - along with a quality second placing behind McSweyn in Gothenburg over 5000m.

Perhaps the next step for the West Australian is piecing it together on the Diamond League stage - which he has looked more than capable of doing.

Ramsden recorded a new personal best over 1500m in Zagreb where he ran 3:34.83.

He may suspect he can go faster.

The 23-year-old possesses a dogged mindset and has declared that he will not settle for anything short of excellence.

His season to date has indicated that another personal best over 1500m in Doha is a potential outcome.

Ramsden has had over a week off from racing and should come out fresh and firing.

Men’s 800m (3:07am AEST):

Peter Bol and Joseph Deng will toe the line here - with a slight twist.

Deng has acquired pacemaking duties for the field which features reigning 1500m world champion, Timothy Cheruiyot.

Bol will be looking to buck the trend of his international campaign to date in which he has experienced varying results.

Whilst this field still possesses top-end talent in the form of the USA’s Bryce Hoppell, as a whole it figures as weaker than Bol’s previous encounters on paper.

This may give Bol the confidence to utilise Deng’s pacemaking and race more aggressively, in the only one place where no traffic is guaranteed - the front.

Regardless of tactics, Bol will be looking to emulate his form in Monaco where he clocked 1:44.96 for the 800m journey - which despite being his season opener is his season’s best so far.

Since then the 2016 Olympian has endured a luckless month when racing in chaotic fields, and it might just be time to take matters into his own hands and eliminate the luck factor.
 

Men’s 1500m B (1:43am AEST):

Joseph Deng will look to turn his season around in the 1500m ‘B’ race here in Doha.

Deng has raced three times in his favoured 800m this season - with the best of his results being a 1:45.86 which was good enough for third in Poland last month.

Coach Justin Rinaldi has made the call to free up his athlete in a small of nine here - with a mystery factor surrounding most of their abilities.

Nonetheless, Deng has an opportunity to stretch the legs over 1500m and regain some much needed confidence.

You can catch all the action here from 2am AEST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_972CTMvr8U

By: Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 25 September 2020