In Paris, fans will have plenty to cheer for. World record holder Jessica Hull leads Australia’s resurgence in middle-distance running, and our sprinting depth is proven by having two 4x100m relay teams for the first time since Sydney 2000.

Since Tokyo 2020, Australian athletics has experienced a revival on the track. This momentum is set to continue in Paris, with nine national record holders ready to race at Stade de France from August 2. The Aussie track team combines youth and experience across 20 different track events.

Impressive sprint, relay and hurdle depth

Last Games cycle, Rohan Browning and Hana Basic represented Australia in the 100m, and this year that contingent has grown with Olympic debutants Ella Connolly, Bree Masters and Josh Azzopardi joining Browning in the blue ribband event.

Browning’s lifetime best of 10.01 seconds was achieved in Tokyo, and he is the second fastest Australian of all time behind Patrick Johnson. Yet this year, he has been managing injury and was beaten by Azzopardi at the Australian and Oceania Championships. Connolly and Masters make up half of the 4x100m Relay team that shattered the Australian record this month.

Australia’s fastest woman over 100m, Torrie Lewis, will be one of three young Australians competing in the 200m. Geelong product Mia Gross and proud Wakka Wakka man Calab Law have been in good form ahead of their first global meet. Lewis is aiming to break Raelene Boyle’s Under 20 AUS record of 22.74 seconds from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

Ellie Beer returns for her second Olympic Games after racing in the 4x400m relay team in Tokyo, but she will compete individually this time. Debutant Reece Holder joins Beer for a lap of the track in the men’s event, having dipped below the automatic qualifying standard with a 44.79 personal best at the World University Games last year. 

The sprinting action continues in the 4x100m relays when a record-breaking squad of Lewis, Masters, Connolly, Kristie Edwards, Ebony Lane and Aleksandra Stoilova aim to be Australia’s first Olympic finalists in this event since Atlanta 1996. The team qualified at the World Athletics Relay Championships in the Bahamas earlier this year, when they were fifth. 

The men’s 4x100m squad is made up of Australia’s next generation of sprinters, with Browning, Azzopardi and Law coming together with Australian champion, 18-year-old Sebastian Sultana, Jacob Depsard and Lachie Kennedy, while Christopher Ius is the reserve.

Three of Australia’s fastest sprint hurdlers, Michelle Jenneke, Liz Clay, and Celeste Mucci, fill Australia's quota in the 100m hurdles. Jenneke is in career-best form after a scorching 12.65-second performance just weeks ago. 

Clay and Mucci return to the world stage, both having suffered injuries in recent years, ready to end their season on a high as Paris Olympians. Tayleb Willis, the protégé of Deputy Chef de Mission Kyle Vander-Kuyp also makes his Olympic debut in the 110m Hurdles after climbing up the world rankings with a best of 13.44s to become the third fastest Australian sprint hurdler of all time. 

Flying the flag in the 400m Hurdles is Sarah Carli and Alanah Yukich, with the duo seeking to be the first since Jana Pittman in 2004 to qualify for an Olympic final in the event. 

Middle-distance resurgence

The nation fell in love with Peter Bol in 2021 when he became the first Australian to make the 800m Olympic final in 53 years. The Tokyo fourth-place getter will race in Paris, joined by Australian Record Holder Joseph Deng (1:43.99) and teenage sensation Peyton Craig. The trio are the three fastest Australians ever at the distance.

Like their male counterparts, the three fastest Australians of all-time will race the 800m in Paris. Catriona Bisset, 19-year-old Claudia Hollingsworth and Commonwealth medallist Abbey Caldwell. 

Never before has Australia won a Women’s 1500m medal. However, Jessica Hull is a genuine medal threat after breaking the 2000m World Record and shaving more than five seconds off the Australian 1500m record this year. The Albion Park product will be joined by soon-to-be three-time Olympian Linden Hall and Georgia Griffith – both of whom have shown career-best form this year with personal best times.

Commonwealth champion Oliver Hoare leads Australia’s quest in the Men’s 1500m, alongside Tokyo Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn and Adam Spencer. McSweyn will do the double, also taking on the 5000m as he continues to chase global medallist Craig Mottram’s Australian record of 12:55.76, alongside Morgan McDonald at his second Olympics.

Rose Davies has shaved more than 25 seconds off her personal best over 5000m this year, setting a new Australian record of 14:41.65. She will toe the line alongside Isobel Batt-Doyle, the fifth Australian woman to run sub-15 minutes. Lauren Ryan will complete the Australian contingent in the event before taking on the 10,000m as the Australian record holder. 

A quartet of steeplechasers are primed for the Paris purple track. Ben Buckingham, Matthew Clarke and Amy Cashin will compete at their second Games. World University Games champion Cara Feain-Ryan make her Olympic debut in Paris.  

Sport Format

The 100m consists of a preliminary round for athletes that qualified through university placements, as well as three-rounds of heats, semi finals and a final. The longer distance events of Steeplechase too follow the three-round format, while the 5000m will see athletes compete in a heat and final. Ryan’s 10,000m is a one-round event as she takes on the world’s best in the final.

A new format begins in Paris for events 200m in distance through to 1500m and in the hurdles, with the repechage round ensuring that athletes run at least twice at the Olympic Games. In round one of the competition, athletes will progress to the semi-final based on their position across the finish line.

Those that do not advance will then return to the track and compete again, vying for one of the remaining six semi-final spots. The semi-finals will then determine who competes for medals.

Competition schedule

Track and field will be held at Stade de France from 2-10 August.
The Men’s and Women’s Marathon will be held on 10 and 11 August.
View full schedule here
Watch live and free on 9 and 9Now.

Sascha Ryner