Winning Mindset | Hull and Hoare Eye Major Success
Published Fri 04 Feb 2022
Australia’s active middle-distance fraternity are closing in on surpassing every national record set by their predecessors, but with a blockbuster year of championship racing imminent – the nation’s latest record holders say it is time for success on the world stage.
In the space of 20 minutes at last week’s Millrose Games in New York, Jessica Hull and Oliver Hoare ran their way into the history books with a pair of Australian and Oceania indoor mile records – clocking times of 4:24.06 and 3:50.83 respectively.
Celebrating his 25th birthday with an emphatic victory in the Men’s Wanamaker Mile at one of America’s most esteemed indoor meets, Hoare was pleased with his third national record - but nothing meant more to the Australian than the win itself.
“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 be able to get an Aussie on that trophy was a cool thing to accomplish as well as taking down an Aussie record in the process,” Hoare said.
Hoare cruised past Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr (GBR) with confidence in the final 200m of the race en route to breaking the tape, with continuing to dismantle world-class fields high on his agenda for 2022.
“I am currently two wins from two races and that’s what is important for me right now. I have the experience of competing against the best in the world and now to get wins in races is where I see success,” Hoare said.
“Hopefully I can learn and translate better performances in finals at championship meets. I’m targeting the 1500m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, World Athletics Champs and Commonwealth Games.”
Hoare’s personal bests ranging from 800m-5000m are now all indoor marks, a form line that may stem from his time in college at the University of Wisconsin, but also one that bodes well for the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade on March 18-20.
Hull notched up her sixth national record on her way to fourth place in the Women’s Wanamaker Mile which was won by the second fastest female indoor miler in history, the USA’s Ellie Purrier St Pierre.
With a strong foundation of longer workouts behind her, Hull described the performance as a “good starting point” for 2022 – noting that race hardness has been paramount to her success in previous years.
“I wasn’t targeting the record specifically going in, I just wanted to get into a fast rhythm and get my legs woken up to the mile again. With the World Championships in Eugene and Commonwealth Games being my big focuses, each decision we make now has those in mind,” Hull said.
Hull will first contest the World Indoor Championships off the back of consecutive Australian indoor records, with the 25-year-old not content with being the fastest Australian woman in history – merely focused on being the best athlete on the start line of global races.
“I’ve got a couple of years of experience now and I’ve shown myself that 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,” Hull said.
The two US-based Australians now hold nine national records between them and with their compatriots eyeing the indoor circuit ahead of the World Athletics Indoor Championships, it appears inevitable that the records will continue to fall – but can our Aussies bring home some silverware?
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 4/02/2022
