The Victory Lap

Welcome back to another edition of our newsletter! This week, we're bringing you all the excitement from the Diamond League, where Aussies dominated once again. Plus, we've got the launch of our Olympic tipping competition and another round of fantastic content from North South, who keep dropping bangers every week.

We're also excited to announce that we'll start reviewing local running brands. If you have any brands you'd like us to test and provide unbiased reviews for, let us know via Instagram DMs or reply to this email. We love promoting local brands and want to ensure you get the right products in your hands, filling a gap where most reviewers focus mainly on shoes.

Alright, let's dive into the good stuff!

Track Spotlight

London AUS v GB Showdown

I don’t know about you, but the London Diamond League felt like the athletics equivalent of the Ashes. Every event was packed with either Aussie/NZ athletes or those from the Motherland, Great Britain. And guess what? We came up huge! Three Diamond League winners! Four if we claim our NZ brother Hamish Kerr, which I always do. If that isn't a massive sign of what's to come at Paris, then I don't know what is.

Men's Mile:

• Ollie Hoare - 1st 3:49.03

• Stewy McSweyn - 5th 3:49.59

• Cam Meyers - 6th 3:50.16

• Adam Spencer - 14th 3:55.49

The cauliflower king took the win in a race that was absolute carnage. Ten meters into the race, two of the local favourites, Mills and Gourley, went down alongside young gun Laros. In the end, Stewy set the pace, and Ollie took control, hitting the double kick on the finish line to hold off Nordas. Special mention to Laros for going down in the fall and still finishing the mile in sub-3:50 … wild!

Youtube embed timestamped at Start of Mens Mile.

Women's Pole Vault:

• Nina Kennedy - 1st 4.85m

Nina has a fire in her eyes that tells me she won't accept anything less than gold at Paris. It was crazy to see her determination as she went down to the third vault at 4.65m and then went on to dominate the end of the comp and take home the win. Don't bet against Nina!

Youtube embed timestamped at Nina clearing 4.85m.

Women's Javelin:

• Mackenzie Little - 1st 66.27m

Similar to the women's pole vault, this javelin lineup could be the Olympic final, and Mackenzie came out and dropped a PB throw at the beginning to cement the win. As she said in the post-event interview, it's dangerous that Kitaguchi got fourth because she's going to come with some fire in her belly come game day.

Men's 4 × 100m:

• 2nd 38.31

In a race where favourites GB missed the final handoff, our boys got it done with a season-best and close to an Australian record, with Azzopardi powering home on the final leg. Great showing to prove to the doubters that Aussie sprinters aren't just there to fill up the numbers.

Women's 4 × 100m:

• 4th 42.48

Who had a 4×100m area record going down at London? I didn't, but damn, those girls absolutely demolished that area record! Proper excited to see them race in Paris.

Men's High Jump:

• Hamish Kerr (NZ) - 1st 2.30m

• Yual Reath - NM

Hamish Kerr looks unstoppable at the moment, and as a result, I'm claiming him as an honorary Aussie. All jokes aside, have him in your tips; you heard it here first. Yual opted out of jumping to save his knees for the big dance. Fingers crossed he's 100% and can show the world his talent.

Women's 800m:

• Catriona Bisset - 9th 1:58.12

This might be the one event that the Motherland might have us beat, with Team GB taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It was a seriously fast race with the leaderboard scattered with world leads, national records, PBs, and SBs. Catriona still put on a show with a low 1:58. Crazy to think that low 1:58s only gets you 9th at Diamond Leagues these days.

Olympic Athletics Tipping Competition

In collaboration with Zato AC, we're hosting the self-proclaimed biggest online tipping competition for the track and field component of the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Who doesn’t love free tipping competitions with awesome prizes? This is perfect for all you track and field nerds! Our incredible sponsors include On, Garmin, LSKD, True Protein, Crest, and Oat Running. We truly appreciate their support!

For those interested, click here to enter. It's simple: follow the rules and start picking your winners.

Prizes:

1. On Cloudmonster 2 + Garmin Running Watch + LSKD Bundle

2. On Cloudmonster 2 + LSKD Bundle + True Protein Bundle

3. Black Sheep Bundle + True Protein Bundle

4. Oat Running Bundle + Crest Bundle

5. Oat Running Socks + Crest Cap

Join us in the Zato AC Clubhouse on Discord for some banter in the Track and Field Chat channel. We’ll also be doing live watch-alongs for some of the more popular events.

Around the Globe

The Diamond League wasn’t the only event that Aussies were winning far from it to be honest. Honestly starting to think that we just take claim over Europe and call it a Territory the way our athletes are winning everything in site. Let’s just go through some of the highlights and fingers crossed I haven’t missed too many of you.

Germany

Matt Denny - 1st 67.93m Discus

Belgium

Maudie Skyring - 1st 4:07.39 1500m

Carley Thomas - 1st 2:00.63 800m

Jack Anstey - 2nd 3:36.04 1500m

Finland

Sarah Billings - 1st 4:07.28 1500m

Italy

Steph Ratcliffe - 1st 70.67m Hammer Throw

USA

Alanah Yukich - 1st 55.30 400m Hurdles

Gear Up

North South

You might have noticed my fanboying over North South in previous newsletters. I recently had the chance to chat with Dave from North South after they dropped another amazing video at the Gold Coast Marathon, featuring voiceover from our boy Mitch Dyer. That conversation made me more bullish on North South than ever before.

Originally, this section was intended for Australian apparel brands, but North South has become a recognisable name for those who love running content. Their Netflix-style mini-docs of local races are a treat that we shouldn’t take for granted.

Initially, it seemed they appeared out of nowhere, but their journey is rooted in years of hard work behind the scenes, creating branded content and photography for major cycling and running events in Australia. Their latest videos are on the Gold Coast Marathon, and a feature series on Marathon debutant Abigail Nordberg are a must-watch to get you hyped for racing.

Around the Track

Other News

• This past weekend saw some thrilling performances at Run Melbourne. Dave Ridley and Gemmi Maini dominated the Half Marathon, crossing the finish line in spectacular fashion. In the 10K event, Leanne Pompeani and James Hansen emerged victorious, showcasing their incredible speed and endurance.

• Over at the Bundoora Cross Country, Haftu Strintzos and Melissa Duncan clinched top honors, proving their prowess on the challenging and muddy terrain.

End Credits

Let's all take a deep breath and recoup, because next stop is Paris, and things are about to get extra crazy. Get excited! We'll be doing our best to keep you up to date on how our Aussies are tracking during those hectic weeks.

Don't forget to subscribe to this newsletter and follow Straight At It on Instagram. See you next week!