Outstanding displays from both newcomers and seasoned athletes at the Australian Athletics Championships have led to the initial selection of the first 14 track, field, and road athletes for the Australian Olympic Team.

Among the 14 athletes chosen for the Australian Olympic Team, an impressive 12 have represented Australia across the last three Commonwealth Games, demonstrating their consistent prowess on the international stage.

Matt Denny, Birmingham 2022 gold medallist, Peter Bol, and Eleanor Patterson, both Birmingham 2022 silver medallists, and Jess Hull, and Nicola Olyslagers, both Birmingham team members, can also start packing for Paris after Australian chef de mission Anna Meares called out their names in Adelaide.

Abbey Caldwell, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist impressed selectors in the 1500m, placing second in a time of 1:59.01, with Michelle Jenneke also announced to the team.

Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jemima Montag leads the selected race walkers, with Kyle Swan, Rebecca Henderson, and Rhydian Cowley joining her on the road.

They’re joined by middle-distance sensation Claudia Hollingsworth, long jump surprise packet Chris Mitrevski, and national record holder Lauren Ryan, all Olympic debutants alongside Caldwell.

The women’s two-lap final was billed as the event of the national championships and it more than lived up to expectations.

National record holder Catriona Bisset made the early running, but it was young tyros Hollingsworth and Caldwell duelling it out in the final straight.

“It’s pure elation, just a huge weight off my shoulders,” said Hollingsworth, whose decision to prioritise the 800m over the 1500m this weekend was fully vindicated.

“I’ve been thinking about this one race for so long now and just to have it over with is so exciting.

“Now I can relax and really focus on the rest of the season. It’s pure joy.”

 

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Bol has battled hamstring soreness for much of the domestic season, but he hung tough to finish second in the men’s 800m final in 1:45.06 behind surprise winner Luke Boyes (1:44.73).

But because Boyes missed the automatic qualifying standard by three hundredths of a second, he could not be included in the Games team straight away along with Bol, who was fourth in the Tokyo Olympics final.

“That’s probably the fastest I’ve run in a while and it feels good,” said Bol.

“Just great getting this out of the way.

“Now I go out to America, do another month of training and then head to Europe and compete with the big boys and hopefully we get three Australians (in the men’s 800m) at the Olympic Games.”

Olyslagers, the recently-crowned world indoor champ and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games silver medallist, claimed a dominant victory in the high jump with 2.01m.

She then had three unsuccessful cracks at 2.06m, which is just 3cm short of the world record which has stood since 1987.

Patterson, the 2022 world champion, was second (1.95m) with the promise of much better to come in the next few months.

The final track and field team is expected to number roughly 70 by the end of the qualification period on June 30.

With thanks to Athletics Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee.