Morning Session: 10am – 1pm AEST

Never before has Australia had faster women selected for the 1500m at the Olympics. The trio of Linden Hall, Jessica Hull and Georgia Griffith look primed to impress in the heats. Hall became the first Australian woman to break the four-minute barrier earlier this year and will be out for Olympic redemption after missing the final at Rio.

Up against Hall will be compatriot Hull who will be looking to reclaim the Australian record. In her last race before the Olympics began, she ran the third fastest time by an Australian female, falling just short of her 4:00.42 best, showing she is in good form. Georgia will also join the two, and despite having battled injury in the final weeks leading into the Games, she’ll be pushing to qualify on her Olympic debut. The 1500m heats will begin at 10.35am AEST.

Riley Day made a name for herself in 2017 when competing against the world’s fastest man Usain Bolt at Nitro Athletics. Day is in good form and will compete in the 200m heats from 11.30am AEST. At just 21, this is her first Olympic appearance but her third Senior Australian representative team, after competing at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and 2019 World Championships. She will be looking to use her experience to better her 22.77 personal best set in March at the Australian Track and Field Championships and secure herself a place in the semi finals later in the evening.

Evening Session: 8.20pm – 9.15pm

Australia has only ever won one medal in the women’s pole vault at the Olympics, a silver by Tatiana Grigorieva at the Sydney 2000 Games and our two representatives this year will be challenging to join her.

Nina Kennedy surpassed Alana Boyd’s previous Australian record with a 4.82 jump in March this year – a clearance that would have won her bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. While her record suggests she is more than capable of a podium finish, her domestic season was interrupted by consistent injury. Her goal still remains the same as she makes her Olympic debut. Joining her will be Grigorieva’s niece, Elizaveta Parnova, who will compete in her second Olympic Games, after making her debut at the age of 18 years in London 2012. Look out for Parnova, who is in career best form and could surpass her 4.60m personal best. The women’s pole vault qualifying round begins at 8.20pm AEST.

Rounding out the evening for the Australians will be Steve Solomon in the 400m semi-final at 9.05pm AEST. In his heat, Solomon clocked 44.94 for a new personal best – a milestone he hasn’t achieved since he ran the London 2012 semi-final as a 19-year-old. Solomon finished fourth fastest in the qualifier, a promising placing for his second Olympics.

Cody Lynch

Seven Aussies chasing Athletics success on Monday