This Australian runner just set a new national record. She thinks it’s ‘pretty sick’
Claudia Hollingsworth just broke the national 800m record. It was “pretty sick”.
Hollingsworth is 20. That’s also pretty sick.
If you don’t know of her, firstly that’s a shame. But you also will get to know her, for the woman from bayside Melbourne is a bona fide emerging star. Gout Gout isn’t the only young champion athlete in this new golden era of Australian athletics.
A month out from the world athletics championships in Tokyo, the Diamond League meet in Silesia was a legitimate preview to Tokyo and an announcement by Hollingsworth of her station in things.
The 20-year-old ran one minute 57.67 seconds to slice 0.11s from Catriona Bisset’s record. As importantly as the time, Hollingsworth did it in a field including Britain’s Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, who won the race.
“It’s pretty sick,” said Hollingsworth, beaming in delight.
“To come down the home straight and not be sure but to look up at the big screen and see it [the time] was really exciting.
“To share it with Abbey [Caldwell] and Catriona was so special – having three Aussies in a race like this is awesome.
“I got into this mentality that they are quick races now, and if you want it to be quick, you have to be in it to win it.
“I’m trying to be more aggressive and try different ways of racing leading into Tokyo because those heats are going to be quick leading into the semis and hopefully the final.”
Hollingsworth, trained by Australia’s former champion middle distance runner Craig Mottram, finished fifth. Caldwell was just behind her in 1:57.70 – also quicker than Bisset’s previous record of 1.57.78.
Claudia Hollingsworth ran a time of one minute 57.67 seconds. Credit: Brodie Cross/Athletics Australia
Both Hollingsworth and Caldwell are already pre-selected to race the 800m at the world titles, with one place on the team still to be named.
Paris Olympics silver medallist high jumper Nicola Olyslagers and pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall both finished on the podium.
Olyslagers, who also won Olympic silver in Tokyo, was returning to competition after a six-week lay-off. With a best jump of 1.97m, she finished behind reigning Olympic and world champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh (2m), the woman who beat her on count back for gold in Paris.
Marschall, who won bronze in the pole vault at the last world titles in Budapest in 2023 finished tied for third after clearing 5.90m.
“I had a bit of a tummy issue in the last couple of days, so to come away with a 5.90 on a scrappy day, I’m very happy,” said Marschall.
“We are going straight to Lausanne from here and hopefully we can get 10 centimetres higher (to break the elusive 6m mark.”
World record holder Armand Duplantis from Sweden won in Silesia with 6.10m clearance ahead of Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis, with Marschall and Dutchman Menno Vloon tying for third.
Paris Olympics 1500m silver medallist Jessica Hull assumed the uncustomary role of bit-part pacemaker for rival and friend Faith Kipyegon, who attempted to break the 3000m world record.
She fell achingly short, running the second quickest time ever in 8:07.04. She won the race by nearly 30 seconds.
The world record 8:06.11 set by China’s Wang Junxia in 1993.
In other Australian action in Silesia, Linden Hall was sixth in the women’s 1500m and Cam Myers and 2022 Commonwealth champ Olli Hoare were sixth and eighth respectively in the men’s 1500m.
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