Olympics-bound Jessica Hull shatters 1500m national record at Eugene Diamond League 2024

Australian runner Jessica Hull set a new national record in the women’s 1500m to finish second at the Eugene Diamond League 2024 with a time of 3:55.97 on Sunday.

Competing at the Hayward Field, Eugene in the USA, Hull became the first Australian athlete to clock under 3:56.00 in the women’s 1500m race.

Hull bettered the previous national record of 3:56.92 achieved by Linden Hall at the same venue last year. In the process, she also set a new Oceania record in the women’s 1500m. Hull’s effort in Eugene was also the fifth-fastest time this year.

The 27-year-old Hull’s previous personal best in the 1500m was 3:57.29 achieved in Italy in June last year. At the Doha Diamond League earlier this year, Hull also clinched the second spot with a time of 4:00.84.

The Australian athlete, who finished 11th at the Tokyo Olympics, was selected for the Australian athletics team for the Paris 2024 Olympics last month.

At the Eugene Diamond League, also called the Prefontaine Classic, Ethiopia’s World Championships silver medallist Diribe Welteji dominated the field to finish first, clocking 3:53.75. World indoor champion Elle Purrier St. Pierre of the USA was third with a timing of 3:56.00. Australia’s Linden Hall finished 12th and last with 4:01.97.

In the men’s 1500m, Commonwealth Games champion Ollie Hoare produced a time of 3:49.11 to become the fourth Australian runner to beat the Paris Olympics mark. The entry standard for the men’s 1500m (one mile) is set at 3:50.40.

The 17-year-old Cameron Myers also clocked under the qualifying mark with a finish in 3:50.15. However, his best time in the qualifying period of 3:33.26 was achieved in Poland last year. Myers is ranked third among Aussies on the Road to Paris 24 list at 24th and is followed by Hoare.

Stewart McSweyn is the top-ranked Aussie on the Road to Paris 24 list at 16th with a time of 3:31.42 set in London last year and is followed by Adam Spencer (3:31.81) at 19th.

Achieving the entry standard is just one part of the Olympic qualification process. National Olympic Committees have the final say as to who will be selected to the NOC team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Each NOC can field a maximum of three athletes in the men's 1500m event at Paris 2024.

Great Britain’s Josh Kerr (3:45.34) won the race in Eugene with a world-leading mark and was followed by Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:45.60) of Norway and the USA’s Yared Nuguse (3:46.22). Hoare finished ninth in Eugene while Myers came 12th in the field of 16.

Australian national record holder Catriona Bisset clocked her third fastest time of 1:58.44 in the women’s 800m for sixth place while Australian 10000m record holder Lauren Ryan finished 15th in the 5000m race at Eugene with a time of 15:03.63.