ATHLETICS: The Australian athletics team is producing plenty of fantastic performances in Tokyo. Tuesday is gearing up as the most exciting yet for the green and gold. From the 13 athletes in action on Tuesday we have Australian Record Holders, a World Champion, Commonwealth Champions and the next generation of stars all on show.
One of the most highly anticipated events on the schedule, the men's 1500m, will start the day on Tuesday. And in the field, Kurtis Marschall will compete for gold in the men's pole vault and our javelin women will compete for spots in the final.
Morning session: 10am – 1pm
The men’s 1500m is set to be one of the most exciting events for Australia on the track, with the nation experiencing a golden era in middle distance running. Stewart McSweyn, US-based Oliver Hoare and national champion Jye Edwards will be flying the flag in the 1500 at Tokyo 2020 and all three are focused on progressing to the semi-finals.
In the last year, McSweyn has stamped his authority on a range of distances and also qualified to compete in the 5000m and 10,000m, before choosing to focus his energy on the 1500m. The 26-year-old recently became the first Australian to break the 3:30 barrier at the Monaco Diamond League and is expected to rise to the occasion at this event, should this be a fast 1500 bout.
Oliver Hoare posted not one but two Olympic qualifying standards in the lead up to Tokyo and has been quietly achieving in the US where he lives. Most recently at the Gateshead Diamond League he edged out McSweyn for a second-place finish in the 1500m, showing anything can happen.
The 23-year-old Edwards is another who has taken a win over McSweyn when he shocked the nation, running the automatic qualifying standard and the national title to nab a spot on the Australian Olympic Team. This is his first major Championship after a breakthrough season. The 1500m heats will start at 10.05am AEST.
Javelin trio have final on their minds
The women’s javelin will commence tomorrow at 10.20am, with a full field of Australians including reigning world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber, Commonwealth champion Kathryn Mitchell and Olympic debutant Mackenzie Little.
Barber and Mitchell have both produced clutch throws at major meets and Little will get her chance on the big stage.
Barber holds a season’s best of 61.09m, which she threw at the Australian Track and Field Championships. Just weeks later she threw over 60 metres in Finland and Norway. Her best of 67.70 metres ahead of the 2019 World Championships is where she wants to be back near at these Games.
Mitchell set the Australian record of 68.92 metres when she won the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April 2018. This is Mitchell’s third Games having placed 9th in 2012 and 6th in 2016. She knows what it takes to make the final.
Mitchell is coached by her partner Uwe Hohn, the javelin coach for the Indian team who before these Games she had not seen for 18 months.
The 24-year-old medical student Mackenzie Little will also contest the event. Little threw over 60m on multiple occasions throughout the domestic season, showing promise for her first Olympic Games.
Little will throw in Group A of qualifying, with Barber and Mitchell in Group B. The top 12 will qualify for the final with 63.00m being the automatic qualifying distance.
Oboya to realise Olympic one-lap dream
Often hailed as the next Cathy Freeman, Bendere Oboya will step onto the Olympic track for her debut in the 400m heats, starting from 10.45am AEST.
The Ethiopian-born Sydneysider has had a rapid progression over a lap, with a personal best time of 51.21 set at the 2019 World Championships. The mark was a Tokyo qualifier, and made her the second fastest junior in Australian history, behind Freeman and ahead of Jana Pittman.
Oboya has drawn in heat 2, with the top 3 and the next six fastest progressing to the semi-finals.
Stratton capabl of big finals jump
Brooke Stratton is also back in action at 11.50am AEST for the long jump final. Stratton produced a best jump of 6.60m to place 11th in the qualification round – a jump that got her through by only 4cm. Stratton has faced niggles over the season, but is reveling competing at this level, with her last international competition being the 2019 World Championships.
With a few small adjustments she could be back up closer to her best of 7.05m.
Evening session: 8pm – 11pm
High hurdler Nick Hough will kick off the Aussie action at 8.10pm AEST in his heats.
The 27-year-old Hough becomes the first Australian to represent in the event at the Olympics since Australian record holder and Indigenous Liaison Officer for the Tokyo Team, Kyle Vander-Kuyp ran in Sydney 2000. Hough boasts a personal best of 13.37 – less than 0.1s away from Vander-Kuyp’s longstanding Australian record.
It's time to Marschall a new best performance
Our first final of the evening in track and field will be the men’s pole vault, with Commonwealth Games champion Kurtis Marschall dueling for a place on the podium. Marschall cleared 5.75m to secure his place in the final, but not before an anxious third attempt clearance at 5.65m which threatened his place for a medal. He’s had a season’s best of 5.80m this year, just shy of his outdoor personal best of 5.81m.
5,000m final beckons for Aussie men
The final races of the evening for Australian, Morgan McDonald, David McNeill and Patrick Tiernan line up for the 5000m from 8.55pm. McNeill, 34, is making his third Olympic appearance after qualifying in Perth just a few months ago. McDonald, 25, is making his Olympic debut after racing in the heats of this event at the past two world titles. Tiernan will make a heroic return to the track after collapsing from heat exhaustion in the final stages of the 10,000m. Tiernan finished the race and has recovered to take his place in his second race of these Olympics.
Cody Lynch
