The Victory Lap

So, I thought last fortnights newsletter was packed, but I couldn’t have anticipated the level of success (even though I hoped for it) that the Australian team had in the athletics portion of this Olympics. You bet I’m not going to leave out these successes and highlights (apologies if I did). Also, apologies for getting this out so late after the Olympics finished—no excuses other than the usual super busy one.

First up, I want to share something for all the subscribers who open and click on this newsletter week in and week out to show my appreciation. I’ve partnered with Pace Athletic, and they’ve provided a 10% discount code SAI_24 (excludes Sale Items, Watches, and New Releases for 2 weeks) for all Straight At It and Zato Athletic Club followers. I’m making no money from this; I just wanted to add value for subscribers and support a company I believe in.

Anyway, enough of that—this week, we’ve got Nina taking home gold, Denny and Hull stepping onto the podium, marathon heroics in what can only be described as the Marathon from Hell, our future Track and Field team looking very promising, and a review of the Pace Athletic x Saucony Endorphin Speed 4.

Get your reading glasses out because this one’s a biggie!

Track Spotlight

Nina Nina Nina

What more can be said other than Nina Kennedy is an Olympic Champion! After sharing the gold with Katie Moon at Worlds last year, Nina Kennedy is now the outright winner of an Olympic Gold Medal. The best part? This was the least surprising thing for me at the Olympics. All year, Nina has looked like she was on a mission to take home nothing less than gold. Lap it up, Queen Nina, because the pole vaulting world is at your fingertips.

Oh, and I almost forgot—she cleared an incredible 4.90m in the process.

Denny Does It

On the very same night (could this be Australia’s most successful athletics night ever?), Matt Denny broke the podium curse and took home bronze with a throw of 69.31m. In his interview with Mitch, he mentioned a mentality shift—from fearing not getting on the podium to fully backing himself to win.

With this new mindset, Matt Denny’s competitors must be shaking in their boots, and we field fans are excited.

1500m for the Ages

After Jess Hull’s 3:50 run in Paris earlier this year, where she ran the fifth fastest time ever in the women’s 1500m, she was considered a favorite to medal at the Olympics. I can only imagine the weight of expectation to turn this into reality. Well, Jess did it—becoming the first-ever Australian woman to medal in an Olympic 1500m and the first to make it to the finals of the 1500m in back-to-back Olympics. In a rapid race that saw Faith Kipyegon cross the line in 3:51.29 and break an Olympic Record, Jess was not far behind with 3:52.56.

Watching her race, she couldn’t have looked more confident and in control, matching every move and holding a great position throughout. Then, when it got serious, she dropped the hammer and held her ground while Bell and Welteji faltered. To see so many PBs and NRs scattered behind Jess just shows how much everyone had to run out of their skins to keep up.

This raises the question: with Jess recently moving to coaching back home under her dad, what’s his secret? And will we see him open his doors to other athletes in the future? Because whatever he’s doing, it works.

Marathon from Hell

The Paris Marathon course and weather conditions looked like something straight out of a horror film. With 400m+ of elevation and sweltering conditions, this race wasn’t going to be a world record attempt but a test of survival—who could conquer the hills and hold on to the end?

Australia sent what could be considered one of its strongest teams in decades—and also the most controversial. This marathon proved to be so exciting, and I can attest that when Jess Stenson and Gen Gregson decided to front-run up that nasty hill, the Zato AC Discord server was losing it. I’ll admit, I started getting all sorts of crazy podium ideas in my head. Either way, all of the finishing athletes put in a huge shift and delivered performances that I can confidently say made the whole country proud. Hats off!

• Pat Tiernan: 24th, 2:10:34 – A huge effort by Pat, and honestly, on a flat course, the battle for the Australian Record could get pretty heated over the next few years.

• Andy Buchanan: 45th, 2:12:58 – Incredible effort for a last-minute call-up, and watching him gradually mow down the field through the second half was incredible.

• Liam Adams: 49th, 2:13:33 SB – Season’s best for Liam, and as always with him, the effort was super gutsy.

• Jess Stenson: 13th, 2:26:45 – For someone considered a controversial pick by selectors, Jess proved her spot by not only front-running the group but hanging on tough and finishing less than a minute out of a top 10 finish.

• Gen Gregson: 24th, 2:29:56 – Gen truly proved herself as a championship runner with this performance. Previously known for fast flat marathons, taking the initiative with Jess on the hills shows a bright future in the marathon for her.

• Sinead Diver: DNF – Unfortunately, she dropped out at 1.2km due to bilateral quad cramping and plantar issues in the lead-up.

Future Looks Very Bright

If you thought this Olympics was exciting, I’m just as, if not more, excited for the LA 2028 Olympics because our rising stars—both showcased at the Olympics and soon at the World Juniors in Lima—are world-class.

As always, I’m going to miss names, but here are some of our under-20 athletes already crushing it on the world stage:

• Claudia Hollingsworth

• Peyton Craig

• Torrie Lewis

• Cameron Myers

With the World Athletics rankings, we also have 14 athletes ranked in the top 4 of their respective events, as highlighted in an Athsstats post last week. Keep an eye out for all these athletes in the future.

Gear Up

Pace Athletic x Saucony Endorphin Speed 4

Shoe collaborations are starting to sneak into the running world, following the massive success of collabs in the sneaker game. You know running is becoming mainstream when these collabs start popping up.

When I saw that a local-ish running store was dropping a collab with Saucony, I was pretty excited. To top it off, it features artwork from a local Indigenous artist, with a colourway that really pops and, honestly, looks even better in person.

I reached out to Will, one of the founders of Pace Athletic, because I was curious about how this collab came about and the meaning behind the artwork. You can read more about it here.

End Credits

So, the Olympics are finished—what else is there to write about? Plenty, don’t you worry! We still have stacked Diamond Leagues coming up, and now we’ll have the time and resources to organise some cool interviews and behind-the-scenes insights into Australian Track and Field. Keep your eyes peeled, and don’t forget to subscribe to this newsletter and follow the Instagram for live updates.