Australians send records – and competitors – tumbling in London
Jess Hull smashed her own mile record, Rose Davies crushed her national 5000 metres record and Cam Myers just crashed.
On a dramatic day at the London Diamond League, Hull, the Paris Olympic silver medallist, again beat her own national record with a statement performance ahead of the world championships in Tokyo in September.
As in Paris, her effort was not enough to win; she came second in 4:13.68 behind Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay (4:11.88).
“I had a lot of distractions, but was just trying to zone into the leader in the second half, but it was a solid run,” Hull said.
“Coming in, we were thinking I could run a national record, and I did. I would have liked to have been a little closer to 4:10, but I felt very strong for 4:13.
“A lot of records fell today, so it was a pretty special to be a part of that race.”
Davies’ emergence as a serious contender on the world stage continued when she smashed her own national and Oceanian 5000m records while finishing third in 14:31.45, wiping more than nine seconds off her previous record (14:40.83) set in China in April.
Georgia Griffith finished fifth in a huge new personal best – 14:32.82 – to also smash the former record.
But the day ended dramatically for Myers, the young, emerging middle-distance star who clipped the heels of Briton George Mills, sending them both tumbling to the ground just when Myers was moving up through the field to fourth place only 200m from the finish in the 1500m race.
Myers, who was on the inside lane, tried to cut across behind Mills to make his move around the Brit when he clipped heels. A third runner, Germany’s Robert Farken, also fell in the collision. The 19-year-old Myers got up to limp home. Another teenage superstar, Kenya’s Phanuel Koech, who will be a long-time rival of Myers’, won the race in 3:28.82, the fastest time run in the UK.
Jess Hull (right) congratulates Gudaf Tsegay after their race.Credit: Getty Images
High jumper Eleanor Patterson came second with an effort that was consistent if not stunning. She cleared 1.93m on a rare occasion her keen rival Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh had a day. Brit Morgan Lake won with 1.96m.
“I am very honoured to be known as ‘Miss Consistent’ as it reflects my aim to be consistently jumping well,” said Patterson. “Today doesn’t quite match up to it – but if 1.93 is a bad day and second I can’t be too mad about it.”
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