The Victory Lap

Well, the window for our athletes to prove their spots has finally closed, and now it's up to the selectors to make the tough decisions about who to send to Paris. This week feels like the calm before the storm.

The nervous wait begins! Massive props to all the athletes who have dedicated their lives and thrown everything into meeting the Olympic standard or securing a quota spot. It's been a joy to follow as a Track and Field fan these past few weeks.

This week, we're going to review the US Olympic trials and compare them to the Australian selection process, highlight the tightest selection pools, and include our regular segments showcasing an Australian brand, Mitch’s hot takes, and other news around the track.

Let’s get it!

Track Spotlight

Results Recap

US v AUS Olympic Selection Process

While Mitch has been on the ground in Eugene for Citius Mag, I've been watching the US Olympic Trials from my office. This has sparked some interesting discussions about the selection processes in the US and Australia. Let me know what you think in the comments on Instagram.

First up, I noticed two key points for and against an Olympic trials process. The first being the women’s 800m finals. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, check it out below:

200m in, Athing Mu, the heavy favorite to not only win the Olympic Trials but also the Olympic Gold in the 800m, is out of contention and won’t be going to Paris because of the Trials system. As a result, it’s possible that the US may not be sending their strongest team.

On the flip side, I watched basically the entirety of another country's selection trials and enjoyed every second. Why? Because I am a Track and Field enthusiast... maybe that’s it, but it could also be that every final was do-or-die for the athletes, and you knew the results mattered. One nice thing is you know there won’t be any selection controversy like we have already had or are likely about to have.

So, what do you think? Should we move to a US Olympic trials standard, keep going with the current selection process, or a hybrid version?

Stacked Selection Pools

I’ve spent this week constantly refreshing the Road to Paris website to track any major changes. Some of our athletes are basically locked in, having met the Olympic selection criteria, but for others, it’s going to be a tense few weeks. Let’s showcase those events that are going to cause our selectors to pull their hair out.

Womens 800m

• Catriona Bisset - Entry Standard

• Claudia Hollingsworth - Entry Standard (Selected)

• Abbey Caldwell - Entry Standard (Selected)

• Bendere Oboya - Entry Standard

• Hayley Kitching - World rankings Quota

Womens 1500m

• Jessica Hull - Entry Standard (Selected)

• Linden Hall - Entry Standard

• Georgia Griffiths - Entry Standard

• Sarah Billings - Entry Standard

• Abbey Caldwell - Entry Standard

Womens 5000m

• Rose Davies - Entry Standard

• Jessica Hull - Entry Standard

• Isobel Batt-Doyle - Entry Standard

• Jenny Blundell - World rankings Quota

• Lauren Ryan - World rankings Quota

• Holly Campbell - World rankings Quota

• Maudie Skyring - World rankings Quota

• Natalie Rule - World rankings Quota

Mens 800m

• Joseph Deng - Entry Standard

• Peyton Craig - Entry Standard

• Peter Bol - Entry Standard (Selected)

• Luke Boyes - World rankings Quota

Mens 1500m

• Oliver Hoare - Entry Standard

• Stewart McSweyn - Entry Standard

• Adam Spencer - Entry Standard

• Cameron Myers - Entry Standard

Mens HJ

• Yual Reath - World rankings Quota

• Brandon Starc - World rankings Quota

• Joel Baden - World rankings Quota

• Roman Anastasios - World rankings Quota

For those that love a spreadsheet check out athsstats breakdown of all of the Australian Track and Field Entry standard and Quota Spots positions.

Some of these are more clear-cut than others. For example, an entry standard is likely to be selected over a world rankings quota.

What really stood out to me is that Australian women’s middle-distance running is strong and alive at the moment. Just look at the number of potential qualifiers between the 800m - 5000m.

The 800m is slightly controversial because we now have four women who met the entry standard, and two were already selected back at Nationals. The 1500m has five! Yes, five women who have hit the entry standard. And the 5000m has three women with the entry standard, but Jess Hull has noted that she will likely not run the 5000, so that leaves the third spot open for five women who hit the World Rankings Quota. Can you believe we have eight women who met the criteria to run the Olympics in the 5000m? That’s mental.

Enough about the selection process. Good luck to our athletes on the line and to our selectors making the hard decisions

Gear Up

Tarkine

Creating an apparel company is one thing, but starting a shoe company that produces quality products is a whole different ball game. While this newsletter mainly focuses on track and field, with a dash of marathon insights, there's a lot of exciting overlap with the trail running scene.

This week, in collaboration with Zato AC, we're shining the spotlight on an Australian company: Tarkine. Based out of Fremantle, Perth, Tarkine is Australia's only running shoe company dedicated exclusively to trail running.

Tarkine's founders were frustrated with billion-dollar industries producing products without considering the environment—a crucial element of trail running. They decided to take matters into their own hands, creating a trail running shoe line that prioritizes both performance and sustainability.

It's worth checking out Tarkine's innovative approach and supporting a homegrown brand making waves in the trail running world. Cool to see Aussie brands leading the charge in both innovation and environmental responsibility!

Around the Track

Other News

• Mitchs’ hot takes will be back next week. US Olympic trials cooked him working all through the day so he is taking a couple days rest while heading back to Europe. Keep an eye on the Instagram because I am sure there will be a few hot takes in the Straight At It stories

• Last week we had the Marathon announcement for the Gold Coast Marathon and this week we have the Half Marathon field announcement (mens / womens) which is stacked including a feature from Women Marathon Olympic squad member Jess Stenson using it as a tune up race

• Could Polo shirts for running be the move? Mangos boys and North South seem to think so as they prep for Gold Coast Marathon.

End Credits

I’ve written quite a bit, so I'll keep this short! Well done to all our athletes on the road to Paris for providing incredible entertainment. Good luck to the selectors with their difficult task. The countdown to Paris begins—let's get hyped!