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Aussie star backed to break Olympic drought after stunning world record run
By Iain Payten
An incredible week of records from Australian middle-distance runner Jess Hull, and a proven ability to handle pressure, will have rivals scared she can cause a major upset at the Olympics.
That’s the view of former Australian athlete Benita Willis, whose Australian record Hull obliterated on her way to breaking the 2km world record at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco on Saturday morning (AEST).
The 27-year-old clocked 5:19.70 seconds – going it alone in what is a rarely contested distance over five laps. Hull’s brilliant solo effort, set up by pacemakers, destroyed the previous world-best time of 5:21.56 set by Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba three years ago, and wiped 18 seconds off Willis’ national record of 5:37.71, set in 2003.
Hull’s world record came just days after the Albion Park runner posted the Oceania record and eighth fastest 1500m of all time by a woman at the Paris Diamond League meeting in 3:50.83, finishing second behind Kenyan great Faith Kipyegon – who broke the world record in the race.
“It is amazing to be called a world record holder now,” Hull said. “I am running so fast now because I have been healthy for four years and have a really strong body now.
“I definitely felt the Paris race all week in my legs, so today the goal was just to be strong, even if my legs were very heavy. I ran at a different pace and level of fatigue that I have never been at before.”
The remarkable week cemented Hull’s status as a genuine contender for the 1500m at the Olympic Games in Paris on August 10. It is an event in which no Australian has won an Olympic medal, but Willis said Hull’s powerhouse form shows she can break the drought.
Jess Hull claimed the 2000-metre world record with a stunning run in Monaco.Credit: Getty
“I watched the race and we traded messages afterwards,” Willis said. “It was incredible – world records are very hard to attain.
“She has always improved steadily each year, but this year she has just got to a new level. At the Olympics ... Jess has as good a chance as anyone. She has that 5km background as well, so she’s very fit. Some of the girls aren’t as good in the final because they’ve had to run a few more races, which you don’t in the Diamond League.
“I am sure she will be very confident after this 2km, and that 1500m, and her whole season. I watched her interview this morning, and she was talking about learning to deal with the pressure, and she had pressure on her in the 2km Monaco after that 1500m, and she dealt with it very well.
“Obviously you have pressure on you but if you have some of your competitors now looking for you, and are a bit scared, in the race, wondering what you’re going to do, that’s to your advantage. That’s a good advantage for her now going into the Olympics.”
Following her run in Paris, Hull revealed how a gruelling training regimen at high altitude had her in the strongest shape of her life.
After breaking the 2km record, she revealed she had signed up to race in Monaco expecting Kipyegon had asked for it. But the Kenyan didn’t enter, leaving a perfect opportunity for Hull to learn how to deal with the pressure of being the race favourite.
Jess Hull claimed the 2000-metre world record with a stunning run in Monaco.Credit: Getty Images
“I thought, ‘OK, I should be thinking about trying to win that race’,” Hull told Citius Mag. “Then you start to hear they want to set it up for a world record and they have really good rabbits [pacers], and it’s like, ‘Oh, if I want to win that race I have to break the world record?’
“Lately you have to run world records to win races, and this is the week I needed, I think. I had to learn how to manage these expectations and I needed to learn how to bounce back from a big race like that ... and embrace being the one with a bit of pressure on her. This is what I have always dreamed of and it’s time to embrace being that person.”
On a stellar night for the Australian Olympic team, Nina Kennedy also won the pole vault and Mackenzie Little finished runner-up in the javelin.
World champion Kennedy won on countback from Angelica Moser, clearing 4.88 metres at the first attempt while the Swiss went over at her third try.
“The results show us everyone is in really good form,” said the West Australian. “Everyone is pushing for the Olympic gold. Our sport is in a really good shape. Now I’ve just got a fire in my belly and I want to win in Paris.”
Little, the Sydney doctor who had only arrived from Australia the day before, was delighted with her first-round 64.74-metre effort that left her second behind world champion Haruka Kitaguchi.
“I was working until the morning I left, and the week before I did night shifts to get on the European time zone,” Little said, with a smile. “Now I will have time to get my eight hours of sleep in and get ready for London [the last Diamond League meeting before the Games on July 20].”
Oli Hoare could only finish seventh in 3:31.07 in a searing 1500 metres won by Jakob Ingebrigtsen, whose European record time of 3:26.73 in his Paris dress rehearsal, made him the first man to break 3:27 since 2015.
with AAP and Michael Gleeson
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