Australia’s Mixed 4x2km Relay Team has raced into Australian athletics history, claiming the bronze medal at the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships.
The quartet of Oliver Hoare, Jessica Hull, Stewart McSweyn and Abbey Caldwell clinched the medal behind Kenya and Ethiopia, with all four athletes securing their first World Championships medal.
Scorching temperatures and challenging conditions saw the team finish with a performance of 23:26, while Ethiopia took second with a time of 23:21 and Kenya claimed gold with 23:14.
“We wear the guernsey with pride and we all executed good races. To compete with the powerhouses of Ethiopia and Kenya hopefully puts Australia on the map and shows that we are part of the big-three of distance running now,” McSweyn said.
Hoare, a Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist led the team, while Hull and McSweyn took control of the second and third legs of the race before Caldwell, a Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist, anchored the team to finish with a performance of 23:26.
“There is always pressure when it comes to racing on home soil when you have the resumes that we have and the anticipation of what was to come,” Hoare said.
“That’s why we do this sport, we handle the pressure the way we handle it and being at home, I know personally that people have come here to cheer us on.”
Other results from the weekend saw the Senior Women’s 10km and Senior Men’s 10km teams finishing fourth and the U20 Men’s 8km team finishing sixth.
The team now turn their focus to the inaugural Maurie Plant Meet, taking place in Melbourne on Thursday 23 February at Lakeside Stadium.
A part of the World Continental Tour Gold Series, the meet will feature some of the best that world athletics has to offer in an unmissable night of action.
Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne
Thursday 23 February 2023
Main program from 6:50pm AEDT, preliminary events from 5:45pm AEDT
Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne
Event information and tickets
With thanks to Athletics Australia.
