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Victory Lap
Smashing World Records
Kristopher Humphries
July 15, 2024
You already know what is going down in this week's newsletter, but we're gonna go through it all anyway. We've got an Australian breaking a track World Record, medals galore in Monaco, and the Olympic Track and Field Team has been announced.
What a week it has been! But there's no time for a breather yet, with London next week sure to throw down. Mitch and Jacob are clearly living the dream, hitting up Paris, Monaco, and London in three weeks—all in the name of work. I'm not jealous, I swear!
Let's jump into it because I know what you're wanting to read about.
Track Spotlight
World Records are meant to be broken
Jess Hull is running in the form of her life at the moment. After becoming the 5th fastest 1500m runner of all time, she dropped the hammer and broke the 2000m World Record by 1.84 seconds. World Records usually get broken by fractions of a second, so it’s fair to say Hull demolished the previous record.
Perfect timing to be peaking and running lifetime bests. Check out the stream below (timestamped at the race start) and give ATHstats Instagram a peek if you’re into the history of Australian world record holders because he knows his stuff.
Monaco Medals
Jess Hull wasn’t the only athlete competing at the Monaco Diamond League from Aus/NZ, and to be honest, we put on an absolute show. Medals galore with Nina Kennedy taking the win in the Pole Vault, Mackenzie Little snagging silver in the Javelin, and let's take Hamish Kerr as our own with his win in the High Jump.
AUS/NZ athletics is seriously in its stride now, and I am no longer surprised to see consistent medals at major events like the Diamond Leagues and soon the Olympics. Honestly kicking myself for sleeping in and not watching it live and getting amongst the energy on all the socials.
Women's 2000m
Jess Hull: 1st, 5:19.70 WR
Georgia Griffiths: 5th, 5:28.82
Not to be outshone, Georgia Griffiths' run would have been an area record if Jess wasn't in the race.
Men's 1500m
Ollie Hoare: 7th, 3:31.07
Brave effort by Ollie, sitting with the front group for most of the race and still holding onto an incredible time. Mind-blowing that 3:31s gets you 7th at Diamond Leagues these days. Also, how about Jakob with the 3:26:73? You better believe he is back in form.
Men's High Jump
Hamish Kerr (NZ): 1st, 2.33m =PB
Yual Reath: 5th, 2.25m
We can claim Kiwis as Aussies, right? But seriously, Hamish Kerr is not only the indoor champion but looking like a serious medal threat for the Olympics after Monaco. Also, Yual Reath looked like a seasoned veteran out there on his debut. If you aren’t already, keep Yual on your radar.
Women's Javelin
McKenzie Little: 2nd, 64.74m SB
Less than half a meter off taking home a diamond against very strong competition in Japanese thrower Haruka Kitaguchi.
Women's Pole Vault
Nina Kennedy: 1st, 4.88m SB
Nina is going from strength to strength with every event. She was World Champion last year and now only 0.02m off her PB here. Serious medal contender.
Women's 5000m
Lauren Ryan: 13th, 15:22.03
Gutsy effort in a lineup full of extremely fast East Africans.
Selection Update
The wait is over and the Australian team heading to Paris has been selected! Look out for a more detailed document on this and a guide to give to your friends when they inevitably start asking as the Olympics Starts. Get ready for a big list of names but I believe that for all the hard work and dedication that all of these athletes put in that they all deserve a mention.
Women
100m - Ella Connolly - Bree Masters
200m - Torrie Lewis - Mia Gross
400m - Ellie Beer
800m - Catriona Bisset - Claudia Hollingsworth - Abbey Caldwell
1500m - Jessica Hull - Linden Hall - Georgia Griffith
5000m - Rose Davies - Isobel Batt-Doyle - Lauren Ryan
10000m - Lauren Ryan
100m Hurdles - Michelle Jenneke - Liz Clay - Celeste Mucci
400m Hurdles - Sarah Carli - Alanah Yukich
3000m Steeplechase - Luiza Gega
High Jump - Nicola Olyslagers - Eleanor Patterson
Pole Vault - Nina Kennedy
Long Jump - Brooke Buschkuehl
Discus - Taryn Gollshewsky
Hammer Throw - Stephanie Ratcliffe
Javelin - Mackenzie Little - Kathryn Mitchell - Kelsey-Lee Barber
Marathon - Sinead Diver - Genevieve Gregson - Jess Stenson
20km Race Walk - Jemima Montag - Rebecca Henderson - Olivia Sandery
Heptathlon - Camryn Newton-Smith - Tori West
Men
100m - Rohan Browning
200m - Calab Law
400m - Reece Holder
800m - Joseph Deng - Peyton Craig - Peter Bol
1500m - Oliver Hoare - Stewart McSweyn - Adam Spencer
5000m - Stewart McSweyn - Morgan McDonald
110m Hurdles - Tayleb Willis
3000m Steeplechase - Matthew Clarke - Ben Buckingham
High Jump - Yual Reath - Brandon Starc - Joel Baden
Pole Vault - Kurtis Marschall
Long Jump - Christopher Mitrevski - Liam Adcock
Triple Jump - Connor Murphy
Discus - Matthew Denny
Javelin - Cameron Mcentyre
Marathon - Brett Robinson - Patrick Tiernan - Liam Adams
20km Race Walk - Declan Tingay - Rhydian Cowley - Kyle Swan
Decathlon - Ashley Moloney - Daniel Golubovic
Gear Up
Track and Field Photographer
In collaboration with Zato AC, we’re highlighting some incredible AUS / NZ photographers who turn our favorite pastime into captured moments.
Head photographer for Straight At It. One of my favorite photos is his shot of Nina Kennedy clearing a huge height. The light, timing, and pop of the Puma kit are just perfect.
As his name suggests, Ben captures light in the most magical moments. Bad day to be a sunset when Ben’s around!
Jacob introduced me to Teunjoseph, whose photography captures motion in moments of time, making you want to ditch the watch and just run fast and free.
We truly appreciate these guys for capturing our sport and providing photos for this newsletter. Also, shoutouts to Beyond_the_road_, Declan Carruthers, Michael Dawson, and many more.
Around the Track
Mitch’s Hot Takes
I haven't been able to get this sentence out of my mind since Monaco. Now granted, this was only a matter of days ago, but it really stuck with me.
What would little you think?
This past 7 days have belonged to one woman and one woman only, Jessica Hull. It's been surreal, to be honest. In the past two years, I genuinely would be hard-pressed to think of 10 or more races where I haven't been the interviewer of Jess.
When we first bumped into each other, it was friendly. The next few times, it became like two people talking in a cafe. And now, it's like speaking to a mate in a pub. It was so unbelievable to watch her shatter this world record and stand face to face, give her one big hug and say, "Holy shit, do you realize what you've just done?" And for her response:
"I haven't even had time to process the last one."
It was so refreshing, though, in the midst of the biggest week in her career, to reflect during a world record attempt on what her younger self would be thinking. I mean, Jess admitted it herself in Paris and in Monaco. She has such a high-functioning analytical mind in races, but for this, it was different.
A flashback to a night on the couch 14 years ago, watching the prince of middle distance, Ryan Gregson, shatter the Australian record was like a core memory unlocked, even for myself. To think of the days, hours, and years spent working and hoping to be in this position, and to now find herself in it and just think, "Shit, I used to dream of this."
I don't know; I found that surreal. It made me walk away and even think for myself, "What would little me think of all of this right now?"
So look, not to get fully philosophical and emotional for a Monday night, but it's been so refreshing to think about that, and I'd genuinely encourage you to do it too.
Because let me tell you, it doesn't take a world record in Monaco to realize the little you would love every bit of the real you now.
What a 7 days it's been, only 2 more weeks to the games.
Other News
As Always the Diamond Leagues are not the only track and field meets and Aussies are flying the flag all around the world
What a week and apologies if any were missed.
End Credits
If you told me at the start of the year that an Australian Track and Field athlete would be a World Record holder, I would have told you to keep dreaming. But honestly, after this season, nothing surprises me anymore. The depth and strength of athletes down under is just incredible and genuinely exciting to witness and document in these newsletters.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter for weekly updates on all things Aus Track and Field.