Water has been Australia’s friend in Paris. The Olympic team won gold in the pool and at the end of a bubbling brook. Even Grace Brown’s brilliant cycling time trial was in the rain. But now it’s time for dry land to make its stand.
The athletics program at the Stade de France begins on Friday in Paris, as Australia’s best runners look to end a 12-year drought on the track. And with a strong team in the field, there is optimism rivers of gold, silver and bronze will flow.
The middle distance looms as Australia’s best chance for a podium. Jessica Hull is in the mix in the 1500m after setting a world record in the 2000m three weeks ago. To win she will have to get past legendary Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, who narrowly beat the Australian in the Paris Diamond League meet last month on her way to a world record. Hull will be joined by Linden Hall and Georgia Griffith in the event, all three fresh off personal bests and ranked in the world’s top 15.
There are solid prospects in the men’s 1500m too, which starts Friday night AEST. Commonwealth champion Oliver Hoare and Stewart McSweyn are both eyeing a place in the final, and McSweyn will have a big Games, choosing to double up in the 5000m.
Australia’s women’s 800m contingent is strong, with Catriona Bisset, Claudia Hollingsworth and Abbey Caldwell all tipped to progress through heats on early Saturday AEST. In the men’s, Peter Bol will hope to reach the final as he did in Tokyo, although Joseph Deng might be a better chance as the new Australian record holder, set last year.
Peyton Craig is also entered in the 800m. He was a national swimming, athletics and triathlon champion as a child, and the 19-year-old catapulted himself into Australia’s elite ranks with performances this year, just missing the national record in June.
Torrie Lewis is a wildcard in the 200m. The 19-year-old claimed the title of Australia’s fastest woman with a new national record in January. But she is choosing to focus on the 200m alongside the 4x100m relay, and could surprise given she beat 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson in 200m at the Chinese Diamond League meet in April.
Australia’s women’s and men’s 100m relays have qualified for the Games for the first time since Sydney 2000, and are led be Lewis and Josh Azzopardi respectively. Amid the drama of the changeover anything could happen. Azzopardi will join Rohan Browning in the 100m, the first time two Australian men will contest the event since Sydney.
In the field events, multiple medals are in play. Pole vaulter Nina Kennedy won gold at the World Championship last year. The contest with American Katie Moon – who shared the world title with the Australian – will be one of the meet’s highlights.
In women’s high jump starting Friday, both Eleanor Patterson – the 2022 world championships winner – and Tokyo silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers will be thinking of a medal, but victory might be too tall a task. Ukraine’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh won bronze in Tokyo 2020 but has made the event hers in recent years, and last month recorded a new world record of 2.1m – 7cm higher than the personal best of either of the Australians.
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Decathlete Ash Moloney, who won a shock bronze in Tokyo, has struggled with his knees in recent years but has laid a solid foundation in 2024 and could surprise again. He is joined by American-born Daniel Golubovic in the event, which starts on Friday.
Australia returns to Olympic heptathlon for the first time in 16 yearswith two entrantsin Camryn Newtown-Smith and Tori West both among the world’s top 24.
There are also stories of overcoming injury. 100m hurdler Liz Clay is back in the team after a severe foot fracture in 2022 that forced her to start learning to walk again. 400m runner Reece Holder came from nowhere in 2023 to set the fastest time by an Australian for 17 years. The 21-year-old has suffered a leg complaint this year, but remains a chance for the final if he can find a personal best.
All will take the stage at the grand Stade de France in northern Paris. France’s towering coliseum – with a capacity of 80,000 reduced to 69,000 for these Games – was built in the mid-1990s for the 1998 Fifa World Cup, but in recent years has had a freshen up.
The rugby sevens, which took over the venue in the Games’ first week, set crowd records and had LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032 organisers thinking about bigger venues. The five-decade old Queensland Sport and Recreation Centre, with a temporary capacity of 40,000, is due to host athletics in 2032, and comparison this week will be difficult to resist.