Tokyo 2021 Olympics: Australians Linden Hall and Jess Hull fight hard in 1500m final
Australian Linden Hall ran a career-best time, but Kenyan Faith Kipyegon won 1500m gold in a breathtaking Olympic record run.
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Sifan Hassan’s bubble burst and Australia’s Linden Hall ran a brilliant personal best in a memorable women’s 1500m final.
Hassan’s audacious bid to win three gold medals at Tokyo — 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m — has been one of the stories of the Games but she was upstaged by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, who won in an Olympic record 3min53.11sec.
Great Britain’s Laura Muir set a national record in taking silver (3:54.50sec) with Hassan third (3:55.86sec).
Hall powered home over the final stages to finish sixth in a career best 3:59.01sec.
Fellow Australian Jessica Hull, who stole Hall’s national record when she ran 3:58.81sec in the semi-final, struggled into 11th place (4:02.63sec).
Hall was unlucky not to equal Australia’s best finish at Olympics which was Margaret Crowley coming fifth in Atlanta in 1996.
Hassan has been one of the stories of the Games.
The Dutchwoman’s bid to win the golden trifecta — which required six times in nine days — has been captivating although it almost came unstuck in the opening round of the 1500m.
Hassan was tripped over and fell to the track before getting up and chasing down the leaders over the final 300m to win easily.
She completed the first piece of her golden trifecta on Monday night when she won the 5000m.
But there was clearly not enough petrol in the tank in the 1500m — the race she won at the 2019 world championships.
EARLIER: Friendly barbs as Aussie pair trades 1500m record
The trash talking has started — even if it was in jest.
Hull and Hall sound like a removalist company and that is exactly what the two have been doing for the past 12 months as the national record has jockeyed between them.
But, on Wednesday night, the rivalry pushed the pair straight into an Olympic 1500m final, where they will line up on Friday night.
In the first heat, Jess Hull finished fourth and in doing so set an Australian record of 3min58.81seconds.
And, 15 minutes later, Linden Hall finished third to also qualify but with the knowledge her national record had fallen.
“I was kind of watching the race (Jess in her heat) and with 200m to go, I thought Jess really has to die in this last 200m for my record to survive,” Hall said.
“I guess it makes it a bitter sweet night but I kind of knew she would get it again – we’ve both had it twice now which is great for Australian running for us to hopefully keep tag teaming it.
“I get to hang on to being the first to go sub-four minutes, — no one can take that away and I can hold on to that.”
For Hull — who lives in Oregon but grew up in Wollongong — she had predicted the record to her dad on Wednesday morning.
“Pretty stoked with that one. I knew I was ready to do it. Dad checked in today and I told him I was confident and that I would do a 3min58sec and I think I spoke it into existence,” Hull said.
Hull had a cheeky peek up at the big screen as she rounded the bend with 200m to go.
“That was uncharted territory for me coming into that last 100m and I just wanted to know if a wall was coming for me because I knew it was quick,” she said.
“A lot of women in this race are capable of running quick times so I wanted to make sure I was OK,” Hull said.
“There was no thought of easing up … I don’t have the luxury of the head swivel I just had to run through to the line.”
Hull said she has been inspired by the success of the Aussie women at the Games in particular Emma McKeon.
“I have just been so inspired at how we’ve been doing … Emma McKeon grew up about 10 minutes from where I grew up so there is something in the water at Wollongong.”
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Originally published as Tokyo 2021 Olympics: Australians Linden Hall and Jess Hull fight hard in 1500m final
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