Australian athletics team in serious form ahead of Olympics after triple gold and record run at London Diamond League meet
The Australian athletics team are coming in hot after claiming a triple gold at a pre-Olympic meet, while the country’s 4x100m women’s relay squad have continued their stunning rise.
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The Australian athletics team are coming in hot after claiming triple gold at the London Diamond League meet.
Mackenzie Little, Nina Kennedy and Oli Hoare all made big statements as they countdown to the Paris Olympics.
The Australian women’s 4x100m relay team also continued their stunning rise on the world stage with another record breaking performance.
Mackenzie Little, who has been chasing her Olympic dreams and working as a doctor, opened the London meet with a stunning personal best on her first throw in the javelin.
The Royal North Shore Hospital registrar sent her javelin sailing to 66.27m to record the world’s second largest throw of the year to secure gold.
“I’ve felt really fulfilled working this year, so I think holistically I’ve been in a good mental space, despite being busy and tiring sometimes,” Little said.
“I think the (Olympic) event will be really dynamic and open but I now need to keep everything in check and use the nerves and expectations as fuel for some explosive technical throws in Paris.”
World champion pole vaulter Nina Kennedy claimed her fifth consecutive competition this year, with a 4.85m performance to cement her place as a true contender in Paris.
The 27-year-old Perth dominant win was against a world class field that included Olympic champion Katie Moon (USA) and World Indoor champion Molly Caudery (Germany).
Middle distance star Oliver Hoare claimed Australia’s third gold in London with a season’s best of 3:49.03 in the Emsley Carr Mile. Fellow Aussie Stewart McSweyn led the field throughout the race, until Hoare hit the accelerator over the final 250m to power home.
McSweyn crossed the line in 3:49.59 for fifth place, while teen sensation Cameron Myers finished sixth in 3:50.16.
The 4x100m relay team led by Australia’s fastest woman Torrie Lewis along with Ella Connolly, Bree Masters and Kristie Edwards smashed their third Oceania record this year with a time of 42.48 seconds.
The quartet finished fourth behind the new world leaders, Great Britain (41.55), France (42.10) as well as Great Britain’s second team (42.46) and will be a strong chance to make the Olympic final.
“It felt great out there today. The conditions were great, there’s an amazing crowd of 60,000 out here, so it’s definitely a great confidence boost pre-Paris,” Masters said.
“We’ve got so much depth in our squad and we’re so interchangeable and adaptable in any leg. We’ve proven that by breaking the record with changing team members.”
Originally published as Australian athletics team in serious form ahead of Olympics after triple gold and record run at London Diamond League meet
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