Australia’s Jessica Hull convinced she can conquer athletics blue riband in the 1500 metres and claim gold
A year ago Jess Hull was struggling to keep up with the upper echelon of middle-distance running. Come Paris, she is now vying for gold.
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Twelve months ago Jessica Hull couldn’t compete, now the Australian is going into her date with destiny in the Olympic 1500m final thinking she can win gold.
The dramatic turnaround was again on show at Stade de France with Hull cruising home for second place in the semi-final, further cementing the theory she now has the tools to end the Kenyan and Ethiopian domination of the event.
Hull ran the second fastest 1500m of her career, 3min55.40sec, to finish just a step behind Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji (3:55.10sec) with her teammate Gudaf Tsegay – the second fastest woman in the world – back in fourth.
After last year’s world championships in Budapest where Hull finished seventh in the final behind defending Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon, she vowed to overhaul her training to make sure she was able to go with the big girls when it mattered next time.
Under the guidance of her father, Simon, the 27-year-old has focused on improving the finish of her races which was again evident in the Olympic semi-final.
“It was fast and I kind of preferred that, it’s a bit simpler and I can just focus on my racing gears and relax out there,” Hull said. “I felt good and I’m comfortable with the fast semi now. I’m not feeling like I did 12 months ago.
“I’m a different athlete now and I can handle it (fast pace) and I know that I’ve got more to come back with on Saturday (final).”
When asked if she could win Olympic gold, Hull was emphatic saying: “I do.”
She then added: “It will be the greatest 1500 race on times ever, we’re seeing it take 3:56 to make the final out of the heat. It’s insane but it’s a privilege to be in the position where people are talking about me as a metal contender, let alone a gold medal contender.
“Faith’s (Kipyegon) not gonna go down without an absolute fight. The Ethiopians are ready as well so it’s going to be a mega final on Saturday night.
“It’s really cool to be a part of the event when everyone’s got their eyes on it. It’s a blue riband distance event on the women’s side and it’s a really cool time to be part of it.
“So I’m going to bring what I can and I’m going to see what I can do.”
The Wollongong product, who spent time in the NCAA system running for the University of Oregon, says she is now “mature” enough to handle the fast splits in races such as the semi-final or last month when she pushed Kipyegon all the way in a world record-breaking race, dropping five seconds off her own personal best.
“Physically it feels incredible but I think emotionally now I’m just so much more mature when I see those splits. I’m just like,’I’ve been here before and I literally have, I’ve done things that a lot of these women haven’t done’.
“So that’s a power to me when I’m out there. I can kind of settle myself when it does get a little hard, because it is fast but I can say I’ve been here before. I’m just doing it again.”
Hull’s Australian teammate Georgia Griffith ran an attacking race in the opening semi-final, leading for the first three laps before getting swamped at the bell.
She still had a chance to run in the first six automatic qualifying positions but hit a wall halfway up the home straight and struggled home in ninth (4:02.69sec).
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Originally published as Australia’s Jessica Hull convinced she can conquer athletics blue riband in the 1500 metres and claim gold
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