Records fell and new stars emerged on the third day of competition at the Australian Athletics Championships, all with the bright lights of Paris looming on the horizon.
Stacked fields in key middle distance and sprint events competed for medals in Adelaide on Saturday afternoon, but not before Matt Denny set a new national discus record with a throw that confirmed his status as a genuine Olympic medal shot.
Denny produced a personal throw of 69.35 meters to claim another national title, breaking his own Australian record in the process.
He overcame a recent bout with COVID-19 to light up the national championships with a performance he said supported his lofty Olympic dreams.
“I’ve stated that my goal is to win at the Olympics and I think a lot of people haven’t taken that too seriously,” Denny said.
“Which is pretty fair considering I’m fourth in the order at the moment, fourth in the standings and I haven’t broken the 70 meter mark.
“But today we didn’t have big winds or anything like that. I think [throw] It changes my argument about being competitive and seeking victory in Paris.
“Seventy was on my mind today. Obviously I was out of it, but to get a PB and a national record… If you look at the past years, most of my top nationals have been 65 at best, last year it was 63. So I think it’s only from here that we go up working towards the Olympic Games.”
A small selection of athletes will be named on Sunday as the first members of Australia’s Olympic athletics team for Paris, and Denny has a great chance to be among them.
Also in with a chance of early selection is 1500m star Jessica Hull, who broke away from a strong field to take the national championship in impressive fashion.
Hull competed in the 1,500m final in Tokyo. However, he is a stronger prospect heading into Paris, as evidenced by his championship record time of 4:01.39.
Now he allows himself to dream of a second Olympic Games and hopes that the selection will take place this weekend.
“It’s so special,” he said.
“Part of me doesn’t think about it because I had to do my job today, but in a few seconds of the Olympics, I would never have believed it. I’m so proud.”
“I check all the boxes [for first-wave selection]. You never know, but I keep my fingers crossed and we’ll see.
“I have mom and dad and [my husband] “Daniel will be here this weekend, so I hope we can celebrate some good news tomorrow afternoon.”
Australia’s depth in the middle distance was further highlighted on Saturday afternoon in the men’s 1500m, won surprisingly by 22-year-old Adam Spencer.
In a highly competitive final that also included Olympians Stewart McSweyn and Olli Hoare and rising star Cam Myers, Spencer held her own with the leading pack before attacking late to secure the victory.
“It was a packed field,” Spencer said.
“Normally there are one to three guys that are really good, but today we had about 10 guys that are on a different level right now. It means even more when you win races against really good guys.”
Selection in the men’s 1,500 meters will be hotly contested, and while he could hardly have done more to impress in Adelaide, Spencer admits there is a lot to play for between now and the Olympic Games in July.
“[Olympic selection] It would be a dream come true. Twelve months ago it wasn’t something I was thinking about but now it is becoming a reality.
“The selfish part of me would love to be picked, but I don’t think it’s in Athletics Australia’s best interest to pick the team in April when the Olympics are in July.
“It’s such a long road [and] A lot can happen between now and then.
“Every other country picks its team a couple of weeks before. The guys who are running well at that time are the ones you should really pick.”
Naa Anang claimed her second national 100m title and first since 2019, clocking 11.34 to beat fellow Queenslander Ella Connolly.
And Sebastián Sultana, 18, confirmed his status as a true star of the future with a dazzling victory in the men’s 100 meters, recording a time of 10.27 and achieving victory.
Rohan Browning, who continues to recover from a knee problem that has affected him in this event, finished fourth.