Wearing an adhesive bandage covering a gash on her leg, Jess Hull became the first Australian woman to qualify for a world championship 800m final after powering through her semi-final in Tokyo and setting a new national record.
Her time on Friday was only good enough for third place, but given the speed of the race she progressed into Sunday’s final as one of the two fastest qualifiers. And it lowered the national mark set only last month by her team-mate Claudia Hollingsworth, who finished fourth in her semi.
Hull said she felt she had been given a “second chance” after her fall and reinstatement in the heat on Thursday, but she was pleased with her speed given she has already run three rounds of the 1500m. “To come out tonight and run fast and run a PB and earn my place in the final, I’m really excited,” she said.
Hull’s time of 1:57.15 broke Hollingsworth’s mark set just last month by half a second, and the 28-year-old said she knew she had to run fast when she saw the draws. “I figured the little Qs [fastest non-automatic qualifiers] were coming out of my semi just based on the depth, so I was like, ‘OK, just race the race’ and I got the time that finally I’ve been searching for.”
After her bronze medal in the 1500m, the drama of Thursday, and now an 800m final, Hull said even she has been surprised by how much she had crammed into one week. “I’m not one to be dramatic, and even though dad would say that, as a coach, I’m not someone that turns up to training and has the dramatics daily, but this championship has been quite dramatic by my own standards.”
Hull had been inspected by the Australian team doctor and a physio after she fell and slid across the track on Thursday due to contact with a competitor, acquiring a wound on her inner calf in the process. Although she wore a 10cm plaster, she said she was “OK” and the cut was mostly shallow and did not need stitches. “I might feel a little more bruised tomorrow, but I don’t think so,” she said. “There’s one deep bit right on the very inside [of the cut], but the rest of it’s just superficial.”
Abbey Caldwell finished fifth in her race but ended with the 14th best time in the semis, and said she was content with her performance. “Watching Jess’s race I was quite inspired to just be aggressive and she really proves that we can do it, and we have three Aussies that are worthy of the spot in the final.”
In the women’s javelin, Mackenzie Little qualified for Saturday’s final with a single huge throw of 65.54m, beating her season best by three and a half metres with an effort that would have been good enough for silver in Paris. “I threw that throw, I felt light, easy, fantastic, and it just felt so good,” she said.
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Working as an emergency doctor in Sydney, Little helped saved the life of a man who had suffered a huge heart attack the week before she left for Tokyo, and combines regular night shifts with her career as an international athlete. The 28-year-old said she now has a negative leave balance, and “it has been tough [to juggle the two] and it will continue to be tough, but I still wouldn’t change it”.
Ky Robinson progressed to the men’s 5,000m final after finishing fifth in his heat, the first time an Australian will be represented in the last 16 at the world championships since Stewart McSweyn in 2019.
Saturday’s action includes the 20km race walks in the day session, as well as men’s discus qualifying featuring Matt Denny. The evening includes the relay heats, and finishes with the women’s 5,000m final featuring Rose Davies and Linden Hall.
