The last time an Australian athlete won a medal in an Olympic middle-distance event was Ralph Doubell in 1968.
Prior to that, Brenda Jones won silver in 1960 in the 800 metres and the mind needs to stretch back to 1960 and the legend that is Herb Elliot to find an Australian that matched Doubell’s gold.
Paris 2024 stands to be a stunning games and one with plenty of chances for the Australian team to earn gold medals. Of course, many will come in the pool, hopefully a few others in team sports and a sprinkle or two on the track would be something of a bonus.
Jessica Hull has been one of Australia’s most consistent and world standard middle-distance runners for some time. Recent performances suggest she could well be then next Australian to stand on the dais as a medal winner in a women’s event that has been traditionally dominated by Kenyans, Ethiopians and questionable Chinese.
Just over two weeks ago, Hull ran a staggering 3:50.83 over the 1500 metres in Diamond League competition in France. Just one woman beat her across the line and Faith Kipyegon holds the world record for the event at around a second and three-quarters better than Hull’s fifth fastest run of all time.
There will be many watching the games from down under who have not tracked the steady improvement in Hull and the huge advances she has made over the last few years whilst based in the United States.
However, for those of us who have seen the 27-year-old progress in international competition in recent seasons and taken note of her recent world record set over 2000 metres in Monaco, we are merely seeing the fruits of the labour of one of the best and most committed Australian athletes.
Faith KIPYEGON Kipyegon and Jessica Hull lead the pack in the Women’s 1500m race, during the Meeting of Paris 2024 – IAAF Diamond League (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Hull is an astonishingly engaging athlete from a media perspective. Rarely is she not smiling, her physical appearance on the track is eye-catching as a direct contrast to the African champions she faces; her long blonde her bouncing in the slip stream as she gracefully circumnavigates the track, and her squeaky, high-pitched voice is misleading in terms of the mature and serious competitor she is.
Frankly, she enters the games with a serious chance of winning a rare medal on the track for the Australian athletics team.
Elsewhere, Mollie O’Callaghan looks to be the likely golden girl in the pool, along with the growing legend that is Ariarne Titmus. O’Callaghan has already broken world records and will have numerous freestyle and relay swims for a female Dolphins squad that is blessed with talent.
Titmus will attempt to frank her stunning form from the Olympic qualifiers with more gold and consecutive 200 and 400-metre freestyle titles to confirm her status as a living legend of Australian swimming.
Ariarne Titmus celebrates with Mollie O’Callaghan (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Whilst much Australian attention during the first week of the games will be focussed on the pool, and rightfully so, what Hull might achieve in the second week when the track and field competition begins could be history-making for Australia.
Peter Bol finished a brilliant fourth in Tokyo in the men’s 800 metres, yet recent form suggests that that may have been his best chance to grab an elusive medal for Australia across the middle-distances.
Jessica Hull’s recent form has seen her swiftly become the best chance Australia has to break the drought that stretches back to 1968. There will be an army of Africans there to deny her a medal, yet if recent form means anything, Hull should be there or thereabouts when the whips are cracking in the final of the 1500 metres.
For Olympic buffs and follows of the history of Australia at the games, it would mean an awful lot should she stand on the dais in Paris.