The Victory Lap

We're back with Week 2, and I couldn't be more pumped! Thanks to everyone who's signed up for our weekly Aussie track and field updates. The support has been incredible!

This week was packed with action, including a midweek gold label meet—unusual but fantastic for our athletes aiming for Olympic selection. Let's dive into the highlights!

Track Spotlight

The Range of Izzi

Can anyone top Izzi Batt-Doyle's range right now? Maybe only Sifan Hassan. Izzi not only has an Olympic qualifier time for the marathon, but she also crushed the 5k in Belgium with a time of 14:49:75. That's not just an Olympic qualifier but also the 4th fastest Australian women's 5k time ever. She's practically booked her spot on the 5k team for Paris!

Check out this interview with Izzi by the Spiked Up girls a couple of weeks ago:

Midweek Gold

Drafting this newsletter throughout the week seemed like a great idea until this week hit. Midweek World Gold Events had us scrambling to keep up! Here are some highlights:

• Linden Hall: 3:58 in the 1500m, peaking at the right time, finishing second behind Hailu Freweyni, with Sarah Billings close behind at 4:00:45.

• Stephanie Ratcliffe: Seasonal best of 70.69m in the hammer throw, boosting her ranking points.

• Catriona Bisset: Took down Hollingsworth with a 2:00:61 at Paavo Nurmi, showing her fitness for a tight 800m squad.

• Bendere Oboya: Won the 600m at Bilbao in 1:24:53, setting a national record and the 18th fastest time ever.

• Josh Azzopardi: Dropped the hammer with a PB in the 100m at 10.15.

• Eleanor Patterson: Leaped into second in the high jump with 1.94m.

• Nina Kennedy: Opened her season with a win at Paavo, clearing 4.8m in the pole vault.

Kudos to ATHstats for keeping us updated with these fantastic performances and the Olympic qualification process.

On Track Nights Vienna

Honestly, we need more events like On Track Nights. I'm gutted I couldn't make it to Zatopek:10 this year because every time I see coverage of these events, they look incredible. Events like this, in my opinion, are what draw attention to track and keep spectators engaged.

Vienna had their version of it over the weekend with, you guessed it, a bunch of Aussies competing.

Peyton Craig: Ran the 800m in 1:44.12, clinching the win and likely booking his ticket to Paris. Always love the passion of Peyton.

Bendere Oboya: Not to be outshone, Bendere Oboya stormed home with a time of 1:58.56, making the selectors very nervous with an Olympic qualifier. What a time to drop a lifetime best!

I keep saying it, but the Australian Athletics Selectors have the toughest job of 2024, and it’s not even close. I know I sound like a broken record, but there are only so many words for this newsletter and too many incredible athletes. While On Track Nights was going down, many Aussies were claiming lifetime bests over in Switzerland. Check out the results for that here.

Grand Slam Track 

Get ready for some dad humour—GST will always make me think of Goods and Services Tax. But seriously, the announcement of Grand Slam Track is a huge shakeup to the track calendar. They're aiming to mimic the 4 majors of tennis and golf with events that ensure all top athletes compete four times a year. Here's the structure:

• Short Sprints: 100m and 200m

• Short Hurdles: 110m / 110m Hurdles and 100m Flat

• Long Sprints: 200m and 400m

• Long Hurdles: 400m Hurdles and 400m Flat

• Short Distance: 800m and 1500m

• Long Distance: 3000m and 5000m

There’s some controversy over the exclusion of field events and the long-distance athletes having to compete in both the 3000m and 5000m on the same weekend, but the prize money is a game-changer:

• 1st: $100k

• 2nd: $50k

• 3rd: $30k

• 4th: $25k

• 5th: $20k

• 6th: $15k

• 7th: $12.5k

• 8th: $10k

Check out the full press conference hosted by Citius Mag and the Coffee Club interviewing Kyle Merber from GST and let us know your thoughts on this new structure!

Gear Up

Oat Running

The most underrated piece of apparel for runners? Socks. The first time I tried running-specific socks instead of cotton ones, it was a game-changer. No more blisters, just comfort.

Our featured Aussie company this week is Oat Running, in collaboration with Zato AC. They get how crucial good socks are. Their focus on high-quality materials makes them a staple in my wardrobe.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Jase and Jess, the brains behind Oat Running. Based in the picturesque Fleurieu Peninsula of South Australia, their motto is “for runners by runners.” It’s always great to hear this dedication from any running brand. Expansion is on the horizon, so keep an eye out for exciting new developments.

I’ve got a soft spot for anything from South Australia, thanks to family ties. Plus, the running scene there is incredible—something I must admit, I’m a bit envious of.

If you haven’t already, check out Oat Running.

Around the Track

Mitch’s Hot Takes

I mean, yeah, good luck finding a headline this week.

We are back with week two of the newsletter, and I tell you what, there surely couldn't have been many Aussie athletes not competing across the globe this week.

I said it last week, and it's been reaffirmed right now: this close to the end of the selection period (which ends June 30) is absolute mayhem. From memory, there were about ten countries contested this week as a stack of Aussies pushed their quota spots and even some Olympic Qualifying standards.

I want to start with the 400m hurdles, though. Alanah Yukich, wow. This is a storyline that I sincerely hope Adidas AU is following because seemingly from nowhere, Yukich has announced herself as the one to watch. She’s moved not only into the top 10 all-time for Aussies, but she has also accumulated four races in four countries in two weeks, etching herself into a quota spot with six days remaining. Outrageous.

Moreover, it does make you think: is this method of qualifying that AA has opted to adopt, the discretionary one, somewhat the right way?

For someone like Yukich, she wouldn't have been able to qualify if it were a top 3 at the nationals vibe because she ran the flat 400m. Something to think about.

I might be most qualified to speak on it now as I sit here watching a sneak preview of the Sprint Documentary in Eugene at the US Trials. A vastly different experience, but I’ll go deeper into that when they are over.

Peyton Craig, another one. So Peyton goes to me after France, "Man, if I can put this together, this is going to be dangerous," and dangerous it was.

1:44.19 is absolutely obscene at 19. We have never seen a teenager in Australian history reach those heights. Deng was close, but this is faster. The cool thing about it too is that Peyton has really only dialed in on this in 2024… so what could we expect?

Anyway, what I am trying to say is this past week has been absolutely wild, and I can tell you that the international eyeballs on Aussie talent are there. Fielding questions in European Mixed Zones and even here at the US Olympic Trials has only reaffirmed to me that people are watching… and we are coming.

Other News

The Gold Coast Marathon Elite Fields were announced here and here! No super elite runners, but the men's field is 12 deep with sub-2:10 runners, including a large Japanese contingent. Top Australian runners include:

• Thomas Do Canto: 2:11:51

• Reece Edwards: 2:13:23

• Liam Boudin: Debut

• Milly Clark: 2:26:59

• Sarah Klein: 2:30:10

• Tara Palm: 2:32:25

Also check out this incredible hype animation for Gold Coast Marathon made by North South Running. Really looking forward to the documentary they put out for it.

End Credits

This week has given me newfound respect for sports media. There's always something happening, even when it seems like a slow week. With less than a week for our athletes to prove themselves before Olympic Squad Selection, things won’t slow down anytime soon.

Catch you next week for more track and field action!