Matthew Denny

The countdown has well and truly started as athletes tailor their preparations depending on their next target.

This weekend we have plenty of domestic highlights stemming from the two days of the Adelaide Invitational action (Friday & Saturday evenings) as well as the Australian Half-Marathon Race Walking Championships (Sunday morning).  See below for a preview of these meets.

Overseas some of the Australian contingent competing in the NCAA (almost 100 in total at last count) are focused on the NCAA National Indoors this weekend, with details for Div I and Div II finals on our website.  Another group are spending the weekend in Italy for the World University Cross Country Championships.

And things don’t slow down next week. The Australian team has been selected for the World Indoors Championships in Poland.  While relatively small, the team of eleven boasts seven international medallists and two debutants.

Then two weeks from now we get to visit / watch the super-exhilarating Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne with plenty of big names competing.

A lot of athletes will clearly be aiming to peak at the Australian Championships in Sydney, only one month from now.  With Australian titles, as well as Commonwealth Games selections on the line, there’ll be strong fields as well as the excitement of competing on the new Sydney track.

The week after that the juniors have their own Australian U20 Championships in Brisbane.  With over 100 athletes now having achieved a World U20 standard in their event, the selection trials will be high stakes, with first two on the podium getting the automatic selection in the majority of the events.

And no respite for some after this.  World Relays are in seven weeks, and the first China Diamond League (Shanghai) in nine weeks.  Then it will be interesting to see who makes the trip to Darwin for the Oceania Championships, ten weeks from now, where the points on offer can have a big impact on an athlete's world ranking.

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are just over four months away, with the World U20 Championships a week after.  Six months away from the World Ultimate Championships In Budapest, a week after which there is the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen.

Despite some saying this is an “off” year for athletics, that’s an awful lot of major international championships to prepare for.  For now a preview of some of this weekends activity:

NCAA National Indoor Finals

Australian podium success at the NCAA National Indoor Championships (Div I) has come relatively recently - with David McNeill & Ryan Fosters' podiums in 2010 likely the earliest.  Success has been solely in the distance events - which makes Eddie Nketia's participation in the 60m finals this weekend of note, also given his transfer of allegiance from New Zealand to Australia in late in 2025.

The top ranked Australian going into these champs is Hayley Kitching in the 800m (ranked #2) - the last victory by an Australia at NCAA Indoors was Charlie Hunter in the men's 800m in 2021.  Tomas Palfrey has a busy weekend having qualified for the mile and 3000m, and will join his college's distance medley relay (DMR) team. Thomas Diamond also goes in the mile and the DMR, with other possible DMR team members: Imogen Gardiner, Ben Thomas, Bailey Habler & Archie Noakes.

In the Div II finals, Bec Bennett is ranked #3 in the 400m and Harrison Boyd #4 in the mile (adjusted for altitude time). Flynn Pumpa will run the mile and likey the DMR.  Good to see some field athletes qualifying with Amber Lawless in the Shot Put and Isabella Davie in the Pentathlon.

Australian Half Marathon Race Walking Championships

These Championships are the main selection trials for the World Race Walking Team Championships to be held in Brasilia, 12th April.

In the U20 events up to three athletes can be selected.  For the junior men, 10000m race walk world record holder Isaac Beacroft would be expected to take the title, with the next two spots to be fought out amongst Owen Toyne, John Ronan and Riley Coughlan who all have the time standard.

In the junior women's Zoe Woods will go in as favourite but Sienna Pitcher and Milly Sharpe will push hard, and all three have the standard.

In  the senior events up to five athletes can be selected (with three scoring in the teams event).  While Jemima Montag is absent, the women have strong representation with Rebecca Henderson, Elizabeth McMillen, Olivia Sandery and Allanah Pitcher all under the time standard.  Sandery has the edge over the longer distances, and won the Marathon Championship in November, while McMillen and Henderson have tended to battle out the shorter races.  This will be a fascinating contest.

As to will be the men's half marathon.  Rhydian Cowley comfortably won the Marathon Championship, but over the shorter distance Timothy Fraser and Declan Tingay make it more competitive. Will Thompson and Kyle Swan will be in the mix and also have the standard.

Adelaide Invitational

The third event of the Summer Series sees some fascinating head-to-heads and an important hit-out for many athletes in the lead up to the Maurie Plant Meet and then National Championships.

On the track …

We’ll start with the end of the program feature event, the men’s 200m, with an exciting match-up between Australia’s two fastest men currently over the 400m: Reece Holder (44.53) and Aidan Murphy (44.81).  Murphy has a faster PB than Holder over 200m (20.41 to 20.48), although to be fair Holder has likely never raced a ‘feature’ 200m event where there’s added incentive to perform.  They’ll be joined by World Championship 400m finalist, Jacory Patterson (USA), as well as recent National 200m record-breaker, Tommy Te Puni (NZL).

In the 100m races, a number of athletes are backing up after the relay teams competed on Friday.  Jacob Despard, Christopher Ius and Josh Azzopardi from the winning Green team (in 38.34) face off against Connor Bond & Joseph Ayoade from the Gold team which unfortunately was a dnf.

In the women’s 100m, Ebony Lane, Olivia Rose Inkster & Chloe Mannix-Power from the winning Green team (43.37) encounter the fastest woman in Australia this year, Zara Hagan (11.16), along with Olivia Hastings and Georgia Harris from the Gold team (44.06)

Exciting to see Jemma Pollard and Ellie Beer have their second head-to-head this year over 400m, with the last one in Perth resulting in Pollard being pushed to a new PB in order to take the win.

In the men’s 400m, Luke van Ratingen will take the start-line for the first time this season, bolstering the talent pool before the World Relay Championships. He has some stiff international competition from Kyle Gale (BAH) and National record-holder Lex Revell-Lewis (NZL).

Also taking the start-line for the first time this season is sub-2 minutes athlete, Carley Thomas in the women’s 800m, where she faces two athletes who have seen many start-lines this season in Abbey Caldwell and Jaylah Hancock-Cameron. Also watch the match-up in this race between the juniors, with Ivy Boothroyd who had a breakthrough PB in Hobart and will race again against her main junior challenger in Emma Fryga.

In the men’s 800m, Australian 2024 Champion Luke Boyes takes on the leading junior talent Daniel Williams, who has his eyes set on the World U20 Championships.  Williams also has his eyes on a stint in the NCAA with Penn State University, to be coached by former Australian record-holder in the middle-distance events, Ryan Foster.

Speaking of the NCAA, there’s an alumni match-up in the men’s 1500m, between Alexander Stitt, Jackson Sharp, Jesse Hunt and Toby Gillen, the lead contenders. Again there’s the race within the race with a host of quick juniors competing. Charles Barrett has recently been successful in staying ahead of Alexander Cameron-Smith and Lucas Chis, but will this continue?

Another NCAA alumni, Klara Dess, starts favourite in the women’s 1500m and faces a number of junior women including New Zealand’s Scarlett Robb, and Australian juniors Milla Roberts and Sarah Baker, with local Hannah Tourneur in the mix. Another local to watch is 15-year-old Amelia Sheridan, too young to qualify for this year’s World U20 Championships, but running under the standards anyway.

Last night saw the women’s 3000m Steeplechase with a win to Cara Feain-Ryan (9:34.89) and Tessa Ebert grab a PB and another World U20 qualifier (10:05.26).  In the men's race today a strong Japanese contingent are likely to maintain a fast pace which Ed Trippas and Ben Buckingham will look to benefit from.

Ashley Moloney takes on his second 400m hurdles event, after the Hobart debut where he showed how difficult it is to get the pacing right between hurdles.  Despite this he still ran a very respectabke 52.70, and sub-50 second man Matthew Hunt will know if Moloney’s close after the last hurdle he’ll be storming home fast.

To the field …

Those in Adelaide get to the meet early, because you’ll see that 70 metre mark in the discus get well and truly peppered.  Matthew Denny of course will be partly responsible but he’s joined by two international throwers who can get the disc out there, regular visitor to Adelaide, Lawrence Okoye (GBR) and Claudio Romero (CHI).  Darcy Miller and Etienne Rousseau will look to use this strong competition to crack the 60 metre mark.

Taryn Gollshewsky also has international company, Nanaka Kori (JPN) and Nora Monie (CMR), who have both thrown over 60 metres and will provide strong competition for Gollshewsky.  There will be a close competition between the juniors, with Chelsy Wayne, Jessica Johnston and Lauren Kelly all boasting PBs around the 52 metres mark.

A classic match-up in the women's long jump with Australian record-holder Brooke Buschkuehl on the come-back trail, up against the World U20 Champion Delta Amidzovski.  In Melbourne last month, Amidzovski took an early lead but Buschkuehl was gaining in her last few jumps – keep an eye on this contest as it unfolds.

In men's pole vault, while they have the same PB (5.53m), the last time Aiden Princena-White beat Dalton di Medio was in Adelaide two years ago. Could history repeat?

Shemaiah James has made it his quest this year to break his long-standing triple jump PB of 16.42m – will today be the day?  He’ll have Connor Murphy to provide strong competition, along with fellow 16 metre jumpers, Liam Glew and Awan Akuen.  In the women’s triple jump on Friday, Desleigh Owusu recorded another solid win (13.43m +1.1). 

Other meetings

That's a solid offering of athletics for this weekend.  We also have the FISU World Cross Country with a 16-member team competing (will link the livestream if we find one).  There's also the Queensland State Championships with some interest in the sprint events (results can be found here)

Enjoy!

Visiting Hobart's Domain athletics track, one's gaze is drawn up to the heights of Mt Wellington / Kunanyi, often to check the incoming weather.  While the track cannot claim "altitude" status as such, on a calm, clear evening the sense of space can often lead to times and distances that excel.

Given it's been ten years since Hobart hosted a “classic” meet, there are high hopes for Saturday’s meeting, with an influx of highly credentialled national and international athletes, and even the weather forecast looks like it will provide the perfect setting.

Fans would be advised to get to the meet early.  It’s not often you can say you’ve seen the second-best athlete in the world, and Hobart spectators will be the first to see Matthew Denny throw this season.  This is the first of three events in Australia for Denny, before heading to Ramona, aka ‘Throw Town’, that wind-swept part of Oklahoma where Denny almost took the discus World Record last year.

Speaking of second-best – Australia’s second fastest man ever over 100m, Lachlan Kennedy, returns to the track over 200m after a break of nine months.  Kennedy faces off against his training partner Calab Law, and local product (now Brisbane-based) Jacob Despard.

The other marquee events are the 3000m, given their National Championship status, the first open Championship events held in Hobart since 2001. 

In the open race the men’s field sees Callum Davies go in as favourite with his recent strong form, but if Alexander Stitt is there with 200m to go then expect a close finish.  Brett Robinson and Adam Goddard recently showed their track speed over 5000m, and the two steeplechasers Ed Trippas and Ben Buckingham will enjoy the freedom of a flat track.

The women’s race will be gripping given it boasts National record-holders for 3000m, Georgia Griffith, and for 5000m & 10000m Rose Davies.  Along with Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka, they’ll be wanting a fast early pace because if it comes to a sprint-finish this brings into the mix fast-finishing record holders formerly for 800m (and currently U20 1500m) Claudia Hollingsworth and formerly 1000m Abbey Caldwell.

These 3000m events are also significant because they are a key part of the story that selectors will construct to determine the “discretionary” picks for the World U20 Championships in this event, given it will not be held at the Australian U20 Championships in Brisbane in April.

Alexander Cameron-Smith took the win over Lucas Chis at the Zatopek De Castella 3000m, and they battle again, but this time the contest will include Charles Barrett, who recently become Australia’s second youngest sub-4 miler.  Watch for the time as no junior has run under the World U20 qualifier of 8 minutes.

In the junior women’s contest, Imogen Baker’s season has been impressive with qualifiers across three distances.  Wanting to also make their case to the selectors will be Milla Roberts, who has the 3000m qualifier, and Eliza Lawton whose PB is also under the standard.

The theme of “junior race within the senior race” is also a feature of the women’s 800m.  Incredibly ten junior women have the World U20 800m standard and another four (Tobin, Emanuel, Williams, Owen) could join them after Saturday’s race.  Emma Fryga has been the fastest and she’ll be looking to be competitive with Jaylah Hancock-Cameron & Tess Kirsopp-Cole.

Hobart athletics fans were fortunate to see the great Sebastian Coe, in the twilight of his career, race a 1000m on the Domain back in 1990.  Peter Bol’s graceful, smooth style is reminiscent of Coe, and he races over 800m with much the same field as the Perth meet with the addition of exciting junior Tate van Camp.  Bob Abdelrahim has improved his PB each time he’s run this season – can that continue?

Missing from the 800m is the World U20 silver medallist Peyton Craig, because he’s turning his attention to the 1500m, a distance he showed early promise in.  His PB of 3:41.13 looks something of an anachronism, and sub-3:40 men Will Lewis and Connor Whitely will be pushing to get back to those levels.

Another one testing themselves in a different event is Olympic decathlon bronze medallist Ashley Moloney, who’s entered for the 400m hurdles.  A 45 seconds 400m runner and sub-8 second 60m hurdler, Moloney has the elements to produce something exciting.  He’s up against newly minted sub-50 seconds man, Matthew Hunt.

In the women’s 400m hurdles, Alanah Yukich has made the trip from Perth and often runs her best after long travels.  Marli Wilkinson will want to continue her strong start to the season.

There’s a couple of returning winners from that 2016 Hobart meet.  Hamish Peacock’s longevity in the sport is incredible, and while his 80 metres days are behind him, he’ll enjoy competing with Sri Lankan Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage and Frenchman Felise Vaha'i Sosaia as they challenge that mark and his meet record of 80.77m.

Jack Hale’s the other 2016 winner returning, with his new-found form from the grass tracks and various gift wins.  Will be interesting to see how this translates to the track and in a field that includes fast men from Japan, Rai Atago, and Sri Lanka, Merone Wuesinghe.

The women sprinters are making the most of the visit, with many backing up in the 200m after the 100m.  Amaya Mearns, Ella Connolly, Olivia Rose Inkster and Mia Gross are all running the double.  And will have to contend with Bree Rizzo in the 100m, and then in-form Monique Hanlon in the 200m, as well as the return of 2019 National Champion, Maddie Coates.

The women’s hammer event is of high-quality with two National record holders and 70m+ Olympians in Lauren Bruce (NZ) and Stephanie Ratcliffe.   Emma Berg and Alexander Kolesnikoff look to be the leading contenders in their respective shot put events.

Quality continues in the jumps with World U20 long jump champion Delta Amidzovski, facing two-times National champion Sam Dale and World University Games medallist Emelia Surch.  World U20 silver medallist Izobelle Louison-Roe goes up against fellow 1.90m+ high jumper Emily Whelan.  In the men’s triple jump, winner in Perth Awan Akuen, Shemaiah James and Liam Glew will all be looking to push each other well over that 16m mark.

It's a fast-paced high-quality meet in Hobart, finishing with some cracking 3000m racing.  Plenty of high points and highlights for sure.

By any measure, 2025 was an extraordinary year for Australian athletics.  We review some of the key results and records set.

Global Championships

Australians won 12 Global medals, with Australia's best World Indoor Championships ever (7 medals), equal second best World Championships (4 medals) and the first World Relays medal in the new 'qualification' format. 

The World Indoors for Australia had the most number of athletes finishing in the top 8 (9) and the top 16 (15) while the World Championships also saw the most number of athletes (28) finishing in the top 16.

World Indoors

GOLD Nicola Olyslagers High Jump
SILVER Eleanor Patterson High Jump, Lachlan Kennedy 60m
BRONZE Ky Robinson 3000m, Jessica Hull 3000m, 4x400m women (Beer, Connolly, Pasquali, Pollard) 

World Relays

SILVER 4x400m mixed (Van Ratingen, Beer, Thorne, Bull)

World Championships

GOLD  Nicola Olyslagers High Jump
BRONZE  Kurtis Marschall Pole Vault, Jessica Hull 1500m, Mackenzie Little Javelin, 

Adding more Global medals this year takes these athletes into the upper echelons of Australian athletics history:
- Nicola Olyslagers moves to equal #4 Australian on the career Global medals list, with six medals, equal with Cathy Freeman
- Eleanor Patterson equal #6 with five,
- Jessica Hull equal #8 with four.

Rhydian Cowley made his sixth appearance at the World Championships, equalling the record of Steve Moneghetti & Jared Talent.  A number made their fifth appearance: Rohan Browning, Peter Bol, Brandon Starc, Linden Hall, Michelle Jenneke and Nicola Olyslagers.

National Records

Australian athetes broke 32 national senior records, including 4 indoor records and 4 World Junior records.  Look how the year unfolded, Australian records falling every month up to October, and then a couple more in December.

25-Jan 60m Lachlan Kennedy 6.43
29-Jan 60m Torrie Lewis 7.14
2-Feb Half Marathon Isobel Batt-Doyle 1:07:17
8-Feb 3000m Ky Robinson 7:30.38 (i)
8-Feb Mile Cameron Myers 3:47.48* =NR (i)
21-Feb 5000m Jack Rayner 12:59.43 (i)
6-Mar 1000m Georgia Griffith 2:34.50
15-Mar 4x100m Australia men 37.87
16-Mar 35km Walk Rhydian Cowley 2:25:21
16-Mar 35km Walk Olivia Sandery 2:42:40
23-Mar 1500m Georgia Griffith 4:00.80 (i)
6-Apr Discus Matthew Denny 72.07
10-Apr Discus Matthew Denny 74.25
13-Apr Discus Matthew Denny 74.78
26-Apr 5000m Rose Davies 14:40.43
26-Apr 1000m Abbey Caldwell 2:32.94
3-May 10km (road) Isobel Batt-Doyle 30:44
10-May 4x100m Australia mixed 41.15
11-May 4x400m Australia mixed 3:12.20
11-Jun 10000m Rose Davies 30:34.11
24-Jun 200m Gout Gout 20.02
11-Jul 800m Peter Bol 1:42.55
11-Jul 1000m Jessica Hull 2:30.96
19-Jul 5000m Rose Davies 14:31.45
19-Jul Mile Jessica Hull 4:13.68
9-Aug 3000m SC Ed Trippas 8:13.15
16-Aug 800m Claudia Hollingsworth 1:57.67
27-Aug High Jump Nicola Olyslagers 2.04
13-Sep 100m Torrie Lewis 11.08
19-Sep 800m Jessica Hull 1:57.15
7-Dec Marathon Jessica Stenson 2:21:24
11-Dec 10,000m Walk Isaac Beacroft 38:02.68*

*Beacroft's and Myer's times were also World U20 Records. Myers mile time was an overall & indoor WU20R as well as a 1500m indoor WU20R en route.

Worth noting Denny's 74.25 missed the world record by 10cm, and the 74.78 went over, but Mykolas Alekna had already thrown further in the same competition.

Denny's final record was a 6.9% improvement on the record at the start of the year (69.96), the biggest leap.  Olivia Sandery improved the 35km RW record by 2.9%, the Australian mixed 4x400m relay team (Van Ratinge, Beer, Thorne, Bull) by 2.4%, and Jessica Hull the 1000m by 2.3%.

Other points of note:

Ed Trippas breaks one of the oldest track records on the books, taking 3.07 seconds off Shaun Creighton's 32-year-old 3000m steeplechase record.    

Izzi Batt-Doyle's half marathon record broke Kerryn McCann's 25-year-old record.

Another long standing record to go was Craig Mottram's 17-year-old indoor 3000m record, broken by Ky Robinson.

Rose Davies' two new long distance records also broke the long standing (16 years) Oceania records of Kim Smith (NZ).

Jessica Hull continued her record breaking ways (every year since 2020) extending down into the shorter middle distances which means she currently holds all six outdoor national records from 800 to 2000m.

Georgia Griffith broke her second Jessica Hull record, something of a distinction in this era, with the 1500m indoor record (adding to her 3000m NR) and finished a close second to Rose Davies in her 5000m record run, becoming second Australian woman under 14:40 in the 5000m.

Diamond League

It was the busiest year ever seen in terms of Australian athletes competing in the Diamond League. Overall 42 athletes competed (a record), with 26 of them scoring a total of 305 points (another record).

Come the finals, Australia had eleven athletes compete, which equalled the record compared with similar finals format back to 2017.  In the final a record equalling four top 3 finishes and a record eight top 4 finishes which were:

DL CHAMPION  Nicola Olyslagers High Jump
SECOND Jessica Hull 1500m
THIRD Linden Hall 1500m, Liam Adcock Long Jump
FOURTH Kurtis Marschall Pole Vault, Matthew Denny Discus, Mackenzie Little Javelin, Georgia Griffith 3000m

World Athletics Awards

Nicola Olyslagers becomes only the second Australian, after Sally Pearson, to receive a World Athletics Award, winning women's field athlete of the year, given her domination in the high jump. 

Grand Slam Track

The year saw the emergence of a new league in athletics with Grand Slam Track.  Jessica Hull was the only Australia invited as a 'Racer' for the short distance category (800m/1500m), in a format where four racers met four challengers over two different distances each meet. Over the three meets, Hull finished 4th overall in Kingston, 5th in Miami and 2nd in Philadelphia.

Other Australians were invited as Challengers to various meets:
Peter Bol (800m/1500m) Miami 5th overall
Sarah Carli (400m/400mH) Miami 6th overall
Abbey Caldwell (800m/1500m) Philadelphia 4th overall
Ky Robinson (3000m) Philadelphia 3rd 

Sadly it looks as if this may be the only year for Grand Slam Track, but World Athletics took up the innovation challenge and introduced a new event for 2026, the World Ultimate Championships. 

World University Games

Another opportunity for Australia's younger athletes to particpate on the world stage, and another outstanding result for those competing, with a large number achieving personal bests.  In terms of medals a record collection again, most number of total medals (10) and most number of golds (5)

GOLD  Georgia Harris (100m), Elizabeth McMillen (20km RW), Benjamin Guse (Decathlon), Connor Murphy (Triple Jump), Womens 4x100m relay (Harris, Kristie Edwards, Olivia Rose Inkster, Jessica Milat)
SILVER  20km RW team (both mens & womens)
BRONZE  Desleigh Owusu (Triple Jump), Emelia Surch (Heptathlon), Roman Anastasios (High Jump)

Australia had never medalled in the triple jump at these championships, in which Australia first competed in 1937, so it was great to see double success.

What a year!

A fantastic year for Australian athletes, but this is not in isolation, with momentum building since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.  Expectations are raised that this will continue into 2026, and only more so after the 4x2km cross country relay team (Oliver Hoare, Linden Hall, Jack Anstey, Jessica Hull) became the first world champions for the year.

Expect an exciting Summer Series of athletics over the next few months, with meets in Perth, Hobart, Adelaide and Melbourne, as well as the Short Course Nationals in Melbourne, culminating in the National Championships on the newly resurfaced track in Sydney.  Then Darwin hosts the Oceania Championships in May. 

Internationally we've got World Indoor Championships in March, World Relays in May and the Diamond League action starts building from the Chinese meets in May.  A major focus for athletes will be trying to gain selection for the Commonwealth Games in July, but some will also be trying to qualify for the Diamond League finals in early September.  For those highly world-ranked athletes, the World Ultimate Championships take place a week later.  In late September a change of surface takes us to the World Road Championships.

That's a huge year gone and another huge year to come .. and at TrackAthletes we'll be doing our best to keep up you up-to-date. 

Details for all these coming meets are on our website and you can add meets, as well as athletes, to your watchlist.  Our Stats page lists the National Records and will shortly start listing the National Leads for 2026. 

Tune in! 

Looking down the start lists for the Zurich Diamond League finals it appeared everything was as per the qualifying tables.

The first day listed the Australians who had gained enough points to qualify during the season (explainer here).  In the high jump (early morning Thursday aest), the fabulous duo Nicola Olyslagers & Eleanor Patterson fly once again.  Olyslagers amazingly in her sixth straight final, with second in the last two years, and will be keen for that crown. Currently ahead 4-3 in this year’s head-to-head against Mahuchikh.  Patterson in her third final, with a best of fourth, is always ready to surprise.

Kurtis Marschall had his first pole vault final back in 2018, but had to wait until 2023 for his second, where he finished fourth.  Now in his third and definitely will be pushing for the podium.

Not sure of the stats on debutant Diamond League athletes topping the points for the season but that’s what Liam Adcock achieved in the long jump and with style.  His last jump victory in Rome was a classic and we’d love to see that again for the title.

Then the day two start lists come out.  Matthew Denny first up of the Australians, competing against the disc throwing collective: Alekna, Ceh & Stahl.  Denny always finds something extra in the final: he has three Diamond League wins in total, but two of those were for the championship ('23, '24).  He attempts to become only the fifth man in Diamond League history to win 3 consecutive titles in a field event.  Also the first Australian to win three Diamond League titles (Nina Kennedy has two).

Next the women’s 3000m, remembering they have cut the 5000m races back to the shorter distance.  Who do we see – Rose Davies and Georgia Griffith!  That’s a nice surprise.  Rose was ranked 16th & Georgia 24th; talk about a ‘roll down’!  Interesting they’ll be competing against Fantaye Belayneh who visited Australia during the summer and just beat Griffith in the 3000m at the Maurie Plant meet.  Given both of them have gone to new levels over 5000m this year, this is one to watch.

Two Australians also racing the 1500m, Jessica Hull & Linden Hall.  There will be no Faith Kipyegon so we’ll see the first new champion since 2019.  On times, Hull is the fastest and Hall just keeps improving.  Another one to watch, and with Catriona Bisset on the pacing duties.

Given the strength of Australian women’s middle distance, the wild card entry for the World Championships for the winner has huge significance in these two events, as the additional fourth spot can be easily filled with a qualified athlete.

Mackenzie Little earned her finals spot in the wet at Lausanne and will throw in the last field event Friday morning in her third final and looking to improve on her third in 2023.

The men’s 1500m is unfortunately missing Cameron Myers who qualified but has decided not to run.  It will still be a cracker of a race with Yared Nuguse trying to get the wild card entry against a top quality field, including the exciting 20-year-old Neils Laros.

Sarah Billings has been selected to run the 1500m at the World Championships but will run her first Diamond League final over 800m.  Without Keely Hodgkinson the field is looking more even, with season bests ranging between 1:56 to 1:57.  Billing’s strength & speed over the last 100m could be a factor.

2025 has been one of Australia’s best Diamond League seasons:
- equal most podiums (31) cf 2024 (31)
- most athletes scoring points (26) cf 2023 (23)
- highest total points scored (306) cf 2024 (274)

So not surprising there is a record 11 athletes competing in the final.  The best Australian result in the finals is four podiums, including two wins (2024), and its looking likely this will be challenged. 

Previous Diamond League Champions

2011  Mitchell Watt  Long Jump
2016  Fabice Lapierre  Long Jump
2018  Brandon Starc  High Jump
2023  Matthew Denny  Discus
2024  Matthew Denny  Discus

2017  Sally Pearson  100m Hurdles
2022  Nina Kennedy  Pole Vault
2024  Nina Kennedy  Pole Vault

With three Diamond League meetings happening over the next week, the rolling updates in this article will track Australian athletes in their attempts to qualify for the Diamond League Final (Zurich 27-28 August).  An explainer on the Diamond League can be found here.

Update 22nd August

Outcomes from Lausanne

In atrocious conditions the athletes must have been thinking of competing without getting injured, as well as striving for times, height and distance.  Summary of results here.

In terms of finals qualification, Mackenzie Little was in the hot seat (or rainy runway?).  Needing a 6th place or better, plus beating one of her rivals, she probably thought after her first throw of 56.15m that it was a good start but would need to improve.  As it happened, and as the rain got heavier, that throw ending up giving her 5th place, which meant she qualifies 5th for the final.

Already finals qualified athetes had a hit out with Nicola Olyslagers winning in a three-way tie off one clearance at 1.91m, Eleanor Patterson 4th on a countback with the same height.  Liam Adcock, 8th in the long jump, and Kurtis Marschall, no height in the pole vault, will both turn their focus now to Zurich,

The result of the 800m, in which Claudia Hollingsworth finished 7th in 1:58.81, confirmed Sarah Billings has qualified at this distance for the final.

The women's 4x100m relay team (Connolly, Rizzo, Edwards, Lewis) managed to get a slippery baton around the track in 43.24, ahead of Cote D'Ivoire, although both these teams look to have sewn up the last two qualifying spots for World Championships. 

Brussels 22nd August

The calendar waits for no-one, and we have Brussels on early tomorrow morning.  Matthew Denny probably just needs a legal discus throw to confirm his qualification, while Linden Hall has a bit more work to qualify for the 1500m.

There's a range of scenarios in the women's 1500m as to who qualifies given a number of women at the top of points table are not competing (including Jessica Hull).  In summary, it appears if Hall can finish in the top 6 and beat one of the USA athletes she'll likely qualify. A 7th or 8th placing could still see her through to the final depending on other placings.  Interestingly Faith Kipyegon will not qualify for the final, meaning we'll have a new women's 1500m DL champion for the first time since 2019.

Zurich 27-28 Aug

In summary, Australia has six athletes qualified for the final:
High Jump: Nicola Olyslagers & Eleanor Patterson
Long Jump: Liam Adcock
Pole Vault: Kurtis Marschall
Javelin: Mackenzie Little
800m: Sarah Billings

Two competing in Brussels can seal their qualification:
Discus: Matthew Denny
1500m: Linden Hall

And two are sitting Brussels out but are likely to qualify:
1500m: Jessica Hull
1500m: Cameron Myers

Update 20th August

Outcomes from Silesia

Linden Hall and Cameron Myers gained some valuable DL points with 6th place finishes.  This pushes Myers into a relatively safe spot for finals qualification and moves Linden Hall, who also PB'ed, into a finals qualifying spot - see Brussels section below.

Claudia Hollingsworth's 800m Area Record was a highlight, with Abbey Caldwell very close behind in a PB.  Hollingsworth has been added to the DL 800m in Lausanne.  Kurtis Marschall again tests the six metre mark and finishes 3rd.  

Jessica Hull ran the 4th fastest time ever for 2000m in pacing Faith Kipyegon's 3000m WR attempt.  Lauren Ryan is in peak form, running her 3rd PB in a row, this time over 3000m.  Rose Davies finished a very credible 4th, with Georgia Griffith in 7th.

Oliver Hoare & Catriona Bisset have both commented their training form is not being reflected in their race results - both go again early Thursday morning.

Lausanne 20th August

The event with most significance early Thursday morning (aest) will be the Women's Javelin, with Mackenzie Little flying in to compete.  Little currently sits in 7th and in order to move into the final's qualifying top 6, needs to finish at least 6th in this event and beat one of Ruiz Hurtado or Sietina.  Perhaps more importantly in the lead up to the World Championships, Little will be hoping to find that 60m+ form that made her such a force in this event over the past few years.

Another event with potential ramifications is the non-DL women's "B" 800m in which Catriona Bisset & Bendere Oboya are racing.  There's a chance this is something of a head-to-head before the Australian World Championships team is selected next week, with one 800m spot still up for grabs. 

Claudia Hollingsworth gets a start in the DL 800m event, a great test in a quality field with many likely World Championship finalists.  The result of this event will not impact Sarah Billings current DL final qualifying spot for the 800m.

Jack Rayner goes in the 5000m (with Jude Thomas pacing).  Rayner's first 5000m since he ran his sub-13 minute PB indoors and then unfortunately had an injury derail his outdoor season.  Another reason to keep an eye on this event is the potential for results to impact Seth O'Donnell's qualification chances for World Championships - see more here.

The Australian Women 4x100m relay team will race at the end of the program against quality European teams and Cote D'Ivoire.  Sitting in 15th spot of 16, as one of only two time qualifiers, this race could have assisted a non-qualified country to challenge Australia's qualification time of 42.48  However, all teams running are qualified, except for Cote D'Ivoire which is listed at 16/16.  Therefore Australia is safe in this race (team listed is Ella Connolly, Kristie Edwards, Georgia Harris, Torrie Lewis), and will then hope a country does not have a fast relay during the few remaining National Championships this weekend. If they qualify, Australia will have all relay teams running at the World Championships!

Also competing are Australia's already DL final qualified athletes, Nicola Olyslagers & Eleanor Patterson in the high jump, Liam Adcock in the long jump & Kurtis Marschall in the street pole vault.

Brussels 22nd August

The startlists for the final DL event are out.  Australia has only two athletes competing but others will be keeping a close eye on results regarding potential finals qualification.

Matthew Denny returns to Europe for the discus event and will face all the other men currently in the world top 5.  Denny just needs to finish in the top 8 to qualify for the final for his fourth time, being crowned Diamond League champion the previous two years.

Linden Hall goes again in the 1500m after her PB in Silesia with work to do to make sur she finishes top 10.

Cameron Myers will not compete in the mens 1500m, but looks to be safe in his current 7th spot, given there's only 3 men in the race who could pass him on points.

Australia's record year at the Diamond League

So if all goes well for the Australians over these next two meets we could see ten athletes qualifying for the Diamond League final this year in Zurich 27-28 August, which would equal 2023 as the most ever.  It has already been a record year in terms of most number of Australians competing at a Diamond League and scoring points, the most total points scored in a year and the most number of podiums.

Update 16th August

Athletes who have Qualified

In the women's high jump, it will be no surprise that Eleanor Patterson and Nicola Olyslagers have qualified. This will be Patterson's 3rd final (best 4th in 2024) while Olyslagers has competed in every final since 2019 (two seconds & two thirds).

You wouldn't think this was Liam Adcock's debut Diamond League year - he took 2nd in Xiamen and then a stunning last jump win in Rome to lead the long jump standings where he's remained.

Kurtis Marschall vaulted his first DL final in 2018, but his second wasn't until 2023.  He goes again looking to improve on the 4th two years ago.

By my calculations Sarah Billings has qualified for the 800m final, based on the startlist running in Lausanne where only three athletes can pass Billings who currently sits in 5th so will finish in the top 8.

Silesia 16th August

There's a number of non Diamond League events on the program in Silesia in which Australians are competing.  While non-point scoring they are of interest regarding form in the lead up to the World Championships.

In the 3000m Jessica Hull will be pacing Faith Kipyegon's World Record attempt.  Given Georgia Griffith's current form it wouldn't surprise if she gives her own Australian record of 8:24.20 a scare.  Rose Davies & Lauren Ryan also racing the 3000m in what could be a historic event.

The other non-scoring track event for Australians is the 800m where Abbey Caldwell & Claudia Hollingsworth, both already selected for the World Championships. The third spot for WCH 800m is still up for grabs, and this is the last chance for Catriona Bisset to make a strong claim with a sub-2 minute performance. 

On the Friday there will be three non-scoring events in the Katowice town square including a high jump in which Nicola Olyslagers is competing.

So what of the scoring events? 

With a finals birth already locked, Kurtis Marschall goes in the pole vault with freedom to test the limits.

Which leaves the 1500m events where points will be crucial.  Sarah Billings and Linden Hall compete in the womens event. Hall is the 3rd most prolific Australian at the Diamond League, just behind Stewart McSweyn and Ryan Gregson, and closing in on 50 appearances - a phenomenal record.  She'll need all her experience to navigate this highly competitive field, and needs good points here and in Brussels to qualify for the final (currently 16th).  Likewise for Billings who is currently 11th, but may decide to focus on the 800m after this meet.

In the mens, Cameron Myers is currently 6th and will be looking for good points to protect this position to stay top 10.  Oliver Hoare also goes in the 1500m and while he is out of finals contention, would love to go sub-3:30, as will Myers. Is Hoare's Australian record (3:29.41) under threat?

Lausanne 20th August

Seven Australians currently listed to compete in what are all scoring events.  Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson down for the high jump which is the last before the Zurich and with 7 of the top 10 in the world competing, and an important competition before World Championships. Of her 34 DIamond League appearances, Olyslagers has finished on the podium 28 times, an incredible conversion ratio, and the most podiums of any Australian.

Another guaranteed finalist, Liam Adcock, will compete in the long jump.  Currently ranked 5th in the world, he competes against those ranked 1-4, so would love to make a statement before the DL final and the World Championships. 

Kurtis Marschall vaults the day before in a city pole vault event.  With no Duplantis listed, it gives a chance for Marschall (ranked #4 in the world), to perhaps grab the win.

The women's javelin is where it gets really interesting with Mackenzie Little currently 7th.  To move into 6th and grab a finals spot, Little needs to finish at least 6th and beat one of Ruiz Hurtado or Sietina.

Recovered from injuries, Jack Rayner goes in the 5000m (with Jude Thomas pacing), and will be keen to make advances back to his sub-13 minute form. 

Brussels 22nd August

No startlists yet for Brussels, but the following events will impact Australian finals possibilities.

Men

Discus: we're likely to see Matt Denny return who sits 3rd and as good as qualified.

High Jump: if Yual Reath (currently 10th) can get an entry he'd likely need to finish top 3 to have a chance of a final's birth

1500m: depending what happens in Silesia likely Cameron Myers will still need to protect his finals position.

Women

1500m: depending on Silesia Linden Hall and possibly Sarah Billings could still be in the mix.  Jessica Hull may need to run to ensure her finals spot.

5000m: Linden Hall is also currently 9th for the 5000m based on her 3000m win in Stockholm. Has World Champs qualifying standards for both 1500m & 5000m, but four others do in each event, so no certainty on which event Hall will be competing in at World Championships until after 24th August which makes her choice difficult.  Rose Davies currently sits 13th for the 5000m, but only 1 point from 10th & 3 points from 6th.

The Tokyo World Championships are still a while away (September) but things are getting serious for Australian athletes still seeking qualification or those needing competition to sharpen up after the rest period after the Australian domestic season.

While it may be an exaggeration to say coffee shops in Europe and North America are getting prepared for a rush, there’s a strong contingent of Aussies heading overseas and settling into their Northern Hemisphere base camps.

So what viewing do those of us stuck in the colder climes have to look forward to this month?

Diamond Leagues

The Diamond League returns to Europe. Australians have increasingly sought, and been accepted into, Diamond League meets, and a strong presence is predicted for this European season.

We have some tentative indications of who is planning to participate and when (with the caveat these plans can change).

6 June Rome: The published starting list has four Aussies competing but there’s sometimes some late additions: Oliver Hoare (1500m), Sarah Billings (1500m), Abbey Caldwell (1500m), Liam Adcock (Long Jump).

12 June Oslo (Bislett Games): Cameron Myers is set to line up for the Dream Mile, a race steeped in history and prestige.  There’s chat that Stewart McSweyn, who won the Dream Mile in 2021, may be lining up for the 5000m. Kurtis Marschall down to compete in the pole vault.

15 June Stockholm: One of the more popular Diamond Leagues for Australians, currently has Linden Hall (3000m), Kurtis Marschall (Pole Vault) and Nicola Olyslagers (High Jump) as potential starters.

20 June Paris:  Nicola is also planning to jump at this event, and no doubt will be joined by others.

NCAA Div I Nationals: 11-14 June

The NCAA athletics system is tough and unrelenting.  It is an understatement to say making the Nationals is an achievement in itself – but from pressure, diamonds emerge. 

Australia has fourteen athletes competing over the four days.  This includes current Olympians (Adam Spencer, Stephanie Ratcliffe, Alexandra Stoilova), and others staking strong claims to wear green & gold at the World Championships (Lianna Davidson, Lara Roberts, Alexander Kolesnikoff, Ben Conacher). 

What’s exciting is to start hearing of the new names emerging … are these the future diamonds?

Continental Tour GOLD

For those chasing performance scores that boost their quota place for Tokyo (refer World Championships qualification explainer) these meets are critical. They come with a Category ‘A’ ranking which means big points on offer for where you place (ie more than a country’s Nationals).

Four Gold meets in June (unfortunately New York has been cancelled), with current indications of Australian participation in these two:

9 June FBK Games: A popular meet that is very competitive to just get on the starting list.  Thankfully Australia has plenty of stars that have been accepted: Matthew Denny (Discus Throw), Torrie Lewis (200m), Cooper Sherman (400m), Peyton Craig (800m), Claudia Hollingsworth (800m), Catriona Bisset (800m), Celeste Mucci (100m Hurdles), Michelle Jenneke (100m Hurdles), Nicola Olyslagers (High Jump), Liam Adcock (Long Jump)

24 June 64th Ostrava Golden Spike: When athletics meets have a number as their prefix that is older than many grandparents then you know it’s an institution on the calendar.  Many Australians will not have heard of this meet – but that will change in June given the calibre of the expected starters at this stage: Gout Gout (200m), Peter Bol (800m), Cameron Myers (1500m), Jye Edwards (1500m). It's been suggested recently that another star Australian sprinter may be taking his marks at the start line - an Aussie showdown in Czechia?  Kurtis Marschall also planning to jump in his 4th Pole Vault comp for the month.

Taiwan Athletics Open: 7-8 June

An Australia under-23 team of 28 athletes is already setting up in Taipei for this event. A number competed at the World U20 Championships, including Ethan Ayodele, Olivia Rose Inkster, Jasmin & Isabelle Guthrie, but for others, such as Aiden Princena-White, this is a great opportunity to further their international experience.

Random meets and short-notice starters

Of course most athletes can’t book their events calendar weeks in advance. There’ll be athletes popping up at all sorts of random meets, particularly as they start chasing World Championships qualification points.

It’s so confusing! Where are my favourite athletes competing, what time are they running, and how can I watch them?

Luckily we are working hard to answer these questions for you. All you need to do is go to trackathletes.au and ‘star’ the athletes you want to follow – easy! Then you’ll receive an email highlighting when they are competing, with the links to the livestream and results. You can also add specific meets to your Watchlist.

The Diamond League for track & field could be described as the athletics equivalent of the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit.  It displays the best of world athletics talent, has seen numerous world records over the last few years, and provides the athletes with a chance to compete for prestige, prizemoney and entry to the Global Major Championships.

So how does it work? 

Athletes compete over a series of meets (this year 14), in mainly European cities, and earn points in their events (8 for first, 7 for second, 6, 5 … etc, so 8th place is last to score).  At the end of the 14 meets, the top athletes on points are invited to compete in their event at the Diamond League final (27th August, Zurich).  Final sizes are limited to top 6 for field events, top 8 for track events up to 800m, and top 10 for longer track events.

The winner at the final is crowned Diamond League champion for that event and receives a Diamond League trophy, which features a big diamond (not real unfortunately), as well as a ‘wild card’ entry into the next World Championship.

Athletes are also competing for prize money. Winners of an event at a series meet receive US$10,000, scaling down to 8th receiving $1,000. “Diamond+” events have been introduced this year, where each series meet will nominate 4 events (2 men and 2 women) that will receive double prize money. A winner in the finals receives US$30,000, and a winner of a Diamond+ event in the finals $50,000.

The first two Diamond League events will be held in China: Xiamen on 26th April & Shanghai/Keqiao on 3rd May, which is a nice segue into who is Wanda, the Diamond League naming sponsor, and thereby World Athletics' most significant sponsor.

Who is Wanda?

The Dalian Wanda Group is a conglomerate of Chinese companies which its founder, Wang Jianlin, commenced in the late 1980’s, around the beginning of the loosening of private property ownership rights in China. Real estate was the founding sector for the Group.

In 2013, Wang was estimated to be the richest man in China with net worth of over US$20 billion. By then his empire had expanded well beyond real estate, into entertainment & media, hospitality, technology and financial services. It had also started to make significant investments in sports, including football, triathlon, cycling and then athletics.

Wang is also a very generous philanthropist and made what is considered the most significant single donation (US$156 million) in China to restore the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, the city that hosted the recent World Indoor Championships. The Tower was considered one of the modern seven Wonders of the World until it was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s.

Australia and the Diamond League

Wanda has not invested significantly in Australia. It acquired Hoyts in 2015, but then started divesting from 2020. While not a country of focus for Wanda investments, Australian athletes have had considerable success at the Diamond League.  Recent Diamond League champions include Nina Kennedy (pole vault 2024, 2022), Matthew Denny (discus 2024, 2023) and Brandon Starc (high jump, 2018). Sally Pearson is Australia’s only track Diamond League champion (100m hurdles, 2017).

Nicola Olyslagers (high jump) has had an incredible 21 podium finishes in her Diamond League career, the most of any Australian, including 5 wins. Stewart McSweyn (middle distance) has been the most successful track athlete in recent times with 14 podiums and 3 wins.

Given the level of competition, many Australians have set their personal bests, and sometimes Australian records, at the Diamond League meets. A good performance can also drastically improve an athlete’s chances of qualifying for the Tokyo World Championships either by achieving the standard or through acquiring significant ranking points given these events are highly rated by World Athletics (specific ‘GL’ rating, above a ‘Cat A’ meet).

So tune in for the first two Wanda Diamond Leagues (Chain being the friendliest time zone for us to watch) and follow the Australian athletes as they compete in one of the highest levels of global athletics competition in preparation for the Tokyo World Championships.