One week since clocking the fastest 800m time since 2011, Georgia Griffith has attained a 1500m IAAF World Championship qualifying time of 4:07.32 at the Stumptown Twilight in Portland.
History awaits for the VIS Scholarship holder as she may become the first Australian ever to complete the 800m/1500m double at a World Championships.
Slicing 6.23 seconds off her personal best, Griffith launched herself up the Australian all-time ranking list to 13th. Griffith now joins fellow VIS athlete, Linden Hall, as the qualified athletes in the 1500m for London.
The success of Griffith may lie within her recent stint at altitude for a training camp in America.
“The experience of the training camp at altitude has been perfect. I’m the kind of athlete that likes to focus completely on my running when I’m in an important training phase and this opportunity has allowed me to do that. The environment has been amazing,” Griffith said.
Lining up in his first 800m in two years, Paralympian, Jaryd Clifford, raced in Canberra to set a new Australian T12 record of 1:55.66.
“This race was a tune-up for next month’s World Championships, so I didn’t exactly taper coming into it. I took a conservative approach pace-wise during the race to ensure I stayed in my lane, which meant I almost even split the two laps.” Clifford said.
Earlier this year, Clifford had to pull out of a race due to visual fatigue, this being his first track race since there were plenty of butterflies in the belly with the result boosting his confidence.
“I was happy with the time, whilst also adding the Australian record to my CV is a bonus. Lately, I’ve been focussing on speed in training and it’s a good confidence boost both physically and visually leading into the World Championships.”
Ryan Gregson bounced back from the Oslo Diamond League with a season’s best performance over the 1500m, running 3:34.37 for 6th place at the Stockholm Diamond League.
Brooke Stratton has returned to the long jump runway after a lengthy time on the sidelines through injury, soaring 6.57m in Townsville. A positive step in pursuing a qualifying mark for the Stratton camp.
Peter Bol had a taste of victory across the one lap event in Leiden (NED), running 47.76 putting him in good stead for a fast 800m.
