Linden Hall has performed strongly at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, the third stop of the 2017 IAAF Diamond League series, punching a World Championship qualifying time of 4:07.37 to finish 12th.
The Prefontaine Classic holds a special spot in Linden Hall’s athletic career. It was where she ran her personal best of 4:01.78 in 2016 which is third on the all-time Australian rankings.
“Not quite the magic of last year’s #PreClassic, but got the qualifier on the board, and the season will only continue to get better,” Hall said.
Hall’s performance puts her in contention to be selected for the London World Championships, she’ll have to hold tight until the team is announced on 24 July.
Kathryn Mitchell continued her consistent form for 2017, throwing her fourth World Championship qualifying mark in Eugene.
In what was an extremely competitive field, Mitchell placed 5th with a throw of 62.87m, less than half a metre behind two-time Olympic champion, Barbora Spotakova (CZE).
Luke Mathews had his first taste of an IAAF Diamond League meeting of the year, lining up in the International Mile (b race) where he placed 6th in a time of 3:54.53.
Mathews performance rockets himself up the all-time Australian rankings from 20th to 9th, surpassing the great Herb Elliot whose time of 3:54.5h stood as the world record in 1958.
It wasn’t to be for Ryan Gregson in the world-renowned, Bowerman Mile as drama unfolded mid-race. Gregson fell victim to the unfortunate events of Ayanleh Souleiman (DJI) tripping over, resulting in the Australian record holder having to hurdle him with just over a lap remaining. Unable to recover from the mishap which saw the rest of the field edge away, Gregson placed 11th in 3:56.90. Gregson will look to bounce back as he lines up in the 1500m at the Oslo Diamond League on 15 June.
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