Jessica Hull and Linden Hall have produced brilliant semi-final runs to ensure that Australia will be the only country with two representatives in the Olympic women’s 1500 metres final in Tokyo.
Hull was the first to make her mark on Wednesday evening, finishing fourth in the opening semi in a slick three minutes 58.81 seconds, breaking Hall’s national record in the process.
Not to be outdone, Hall ran bravely from the front in the second semi before crossing the line third in 4:01.37.
They will be joined in the final by Dutch superstar Sifan Hassan, who is chasing an unprecedented 1500-5000-10,000 metres treble in Tokyo.
Hassan won the second semi in 4:00.23, but Kenyan Faith Kipyegon was fastest overall in 3:56.80.
The only other Australian women to have qualified for an Olympic 1500 metres final were Jenny Orr in 1972 and Marg Crowley in 1996.
Hall and Hull ?
Australia will have two women in the 1500m final at the Olympic Games after Linden Hall runs a brave race to advance to the final. How good is this! #TokyoTogether #ThisIsAthletics #Olympics pic.twitter.com/matGzNAvbZ— Athletics Australia (@AthsAust) August 4, 2021
