The three Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holders, were part of the 15 track and field athletes that were selected to the team at the conclusions of the Australian Athletics Championships.
Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman welcomed the athletes to the Australian Olympic Team after an excellent national championships.
“The AOC is thrilled to announce these 15 outstanding athletes to the Team for the Tokyo Games,” Mr Chesterman said.
“The group includes national champions and national record-holders, who have produced world class performances to achieve tough qualifying standards. This selection is testament to the incredible work they have put in over their entire athletic career and in particular their efforts throughout such a trying 2020. Today is a great celebration of that determination.
“Congratulations not only to the athletes but to the coaches, families, teammates, friends, sporting institutes and everyone at Athletics Australia who has helped develop these athletes across the years to be ready to take on the world on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
Stratton, Hall and Bisset join fellow VIS scholarship holder Jemima Montag (20km walk) who was announced in August 2020.
“Athletics is expected to be our biggest single sporting team in Tokyo and it’s fantastic to see the quality of athletes coming through,” Mr Chesterman said.
Athletes selected after the Championships either qualified for auto-nomination as national champions who had achieved a Tokyo qualifying standard to the AOC under the Athletics Australia nomination criteria, or as discretionary nominations for athletes with a Tokyo qualifier and satisfying Athletics Australia’s nomination criteria.
Australian Record holder Brooke Stratton is "over the moon" to be going to her second Olympic Games after an ongoing injury threatened to derail her season.
"I was a bit unsure if I was actually going to be able to make it out here today, so to end up with a 6.84m is a great way to finish off the domestic season", Stratton said.
Cat Bisset, another Australian record holder, was so relieved when she crossed the finish line in first and automatically qualified herself on the Australian Olympic Team.
"I wanted to win so badly, I wanted to make that automatic Olympic spot, I've just been dreaming and running through this moment in my head for weeks now, so I don't think I've ever been so relieved and so happy after a race." Bisset said.
After locking away two Olympic qualifiers already this season, Linden Hall took out the 1500m race, to secure an automatic nomination for the Australian Olympic Team. Having recently, broken the Australian record, she used this race as an opportunity to learn, and locking herself into the team was just "the cherry on the top of a magical domestic season."
Track and field athletes can still earn qualification for Tokyo, which will be based on world rankings at the end of June, with additional athlete due to be nominated for selection then in line with Athletics Australia's criteria and Tokyo 2020.
Currently the selected team size for Tokyo 2020 is 95 athletes of an expected 450-480 strong Team.
Stratton, Hall and Bisset selection takes the selected Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holders on the Australian Olympic Team to 15. Click HERE to see who they are.
