An Australian runner, Jessica Hull, has solidified her status as an Olympic championship contender with a stunning effort that broke her Oceanian 1500-metre record.
Despite Hull’s remarkable run that broke the record in the Diamond League meeting on Sunday at Stade Charlety, Kenyan superstar Faith Kipyegon beat her with a new record of three minutes 49.04 seconds.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh of Ukraine broke the world record in the high jump, motivating competitors Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson of Australia in a memorable competition.
Faith Kipyegon, the double Olympic champion, beat her time by 0.07 seconds in the same hour.
With her 2.10-metre leap, Mahuchikh broke one of the longest-standing women’s records, paving the way for a thrilling Olympic competition.
Hull said; ‘What crazy it is to see my name in fifth! Making sure I’m ready to medal in Paris has been the main goal of my training this year.
‘I have dreamed of competing in the Olympics since I was a small child and have continued to wish. It’s crazy to think of breaking 3:50 now when I never thought 3:55 would be conceivable.’
As 12 women break the four-minute barrier, Kipyegon smashes the record.
Kipyegon broke the world record she set in Florence last year, charging ahead at the ring of the bell, leaving Hull and the others in her wake. In this historic race, Hull finished in second place; twelve women finished in under four minutes for the first time. One of them was another Australian, Linden Hall, who finished fourth with a personal best time of 3:56.40.
Mahuchikh shattered the 2.09-metre high jump record set by Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova at the 1987 Rome World Championships.
On her second try, world indoor champion Nicola Olyslagers, who had been sidelined due to an injury for a month, matched the Ukrainian’s clearance of 2.01 metres. The 27-year-old Australian jumper, however, failed at 2.03 m. Mahuchikh went on to clear 2.10 metres to set a new high jump record.