Who went to the Maurie Plant Meet last week? What an unforgettable night of racing for everyone who was there. Aths fans were absolutely treated to some great performances - from Jess Hull and Olli Hoare, to Fred Kerley setting the place alight with his enthusiastic celebrations. Did anyone see Olli Hoare empty his stomach on the track?! Gruesome scenes. Elise will have more on the Maurie Plant Meet later in the newsletter….
On Running announced their new team, headed up by none other than Craig Mottram. More on that in this issue too.
We tried to get a Cameron Myers interview for you for this issue as well….only to be rejected because he has too much school work (true story). Gotta respect that.
Plus, we’ve got Win of the Week and an update on FTK’s Q&A Series.
by Fraser Darcy
The On Athletic Club Oceania Squad launched last week joining the OAC Global (based in US) and European squads. In a country where training squads have primarily been location based or coach centric, this is the first squad that is created from scratch with full sponsorship from a private enterprise. The five athletes, who will train full-time in Melbourne and benefit from a clubhouse like set up, are all middle-distance guns and have a mixture of time horizons for their athletics career. Claudia Hollingsworth is only 17 and could be still in the peak of her career by Brisbane 2032 so On are definitely in it for the long haul. Which is great right? A shoe company investing in runners to be the best version of themselves so they can represent Australia on the world stage? That’s what we hope happens. As more of these professional running groups start to emerge worldwide may we see athletes having to choose between representing their employer and their nation? Or will it be a scenario similar to US based collegiate runners who fall into the vortex of NCAA meets over potential Australian championships or selection trials. Let’s hope not.
Instead, let’s get on the prayer mat and hope that other running related companies (or any companies) see the value in investing in their own training squads. Perhaps running could one day emulate the cycling model, where teams sponsored by banks, telecommunications companies and even governments race each other on the world tour for 90% of the year bar the Olympics and World Champs when the athletes represent their nations. Or what about the F1 model where manufactures even have their own championship to fight for seperate to the drivers. Imagine if the Abbot’s World Majors were a plaything for every shoe brand and fans cheered on their favourite brand’s runners, not just a little known East African. Private equity investment in sport is growing globally and with it comes increased returns from athletes but more effects to consider off the field (i.e. the concept of ‘sportswashing’). Perhaps the arrival of the OAC on the Australian scene will have greater implications than just a few PB’s for the five athletes selected in the squad so far. Speaking of athletes, the initial squad is: Claudia Hollingsworth, Maudie Skyring, Keely Small, Tess Kirsopp-Cole, Ben Buckingham and coach Craig Mottram. Congrats On the opportunity.
By Elise Beacom
With Osaka Marathon last weekend and Nagoya next weekend, what delicious Japanese marathon do we have in the proverbial sandwich this Sunday? It’s Tokyo! Here are five things you should know ahead of time:
It’s a fast one: Tokyo Marathon is the first Abbott World Marathon Major in the calendar year and one of the fastest among the six, following a change to the course in 2017. Two Kenyans broke the course record in 2022 – in the men’s category, it was Eliud Kipchoge (2:02:40) and the fastest woman to go ‘round was Brigid Kosgei (2:16:02). Check out the course map here.
It’s set up for the Japanese athletes: This year, the event organisers have curated a start list that will support the Japanese runners to be competitive and go after records, as Tokyo is a lead-in race for Japan’s Marathon Grand Championship (a qualifier for the Paris Olympics). Current national record holder Kengo Suzuki has withdrawn, but could former record holder Suguru Osako (2:05:29) break it for a third time? (2:04:56 is the lucky number.) In the women’s line up, Mao Ichiyama (8th place Tokyo Olympian) already has the women’s only Japanese record (2:20:29), but could she better the standard for a mixed field (2:19:12)?
The course record probably won’t go: But there are still some very fast international starters. On the men’s side, Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia, who won London Marathon in 2021 and came third at Tokyo Marathon in 2020 is top seed with a PB of 2:03:36. Sunday will mark the 25th marathon for fellow Ethiopian Ashete Bekere (she ran her PB of 2:17:58 for 2nd at Tokyo last year). NN Running Team’s Ashete will be hunting another lifetime best and says Tokyo is her fave course. Not sure what Lisa Weightman’s plans are, but she’s on the list as well after running a phenomenal 2:23:15 in Osaka (third fastest all-time Australian woman) and spending some downtime with Mickey Mouse this week. See the full elite start list here.
The crowds will turn up: Running is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture – about a million people are expected to line the Tokyo streets and cheer on the marathoners as they pass by.
It has its own theme song!: Do yourself a favour and watch the official video clip. Japanese band EXILE wrote the song called Power of Wish (One Step Ahead Version feat. DOBERMAN INFINITY).
by Elise Beacom
I had to queue to get into the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne last week. Yes, you read right, queue. It was a hot and balmy night last Thursday and not only were the athletics A-list there to bathe in the atmosphere, even the masses showed up! On the way to Lakeside Stadium, I chit-chatted with British marathoner (and spectator) Charlotte Purdue who was slumming it on the same stifling tram. Also in the carriage were two people dressed head-to-toe in On Athletics gear poring over a map of Melbourne. It gave me a sense that athletics had arrived in our city.
With such a high-quality program (and pyrotechnics!) from start to finish, the hype was real. Seeing Jessica Hull and Abbey Caldwell battle it out in the women’s 1500m less than a week after they won bronze together at World Cross-Country Champs was a highlight. Watching American sprinter Fred Kerley’s thighs gobble up the bend in the men’s 200m and celebrate 30m from the finish was another killer moment. Hearing Bruce McAvaney froth on athletics LIVE in the commentary box was also special – watch him call Rohan Browning's win in the men’s 100m. We also saw Canberra teen Cameron Myers become the second youngest person to break the four-minute mile (you might have heard of the youngest... Norwegian protégé Jakob Ingebrigtsen). And high jumper Nicola Olyslagers filled more pages in her journal. Check out the highlight reel here.
The Maurie Plant Meet had all the elements to make it successful – it was honouring a man so well respected in athletics, the start lists were primo thanks to athletes staying on after World XC, it was well promoted (with every Tom, Dick and Harry giving out a 10% discount code), the broadcast was good, the weather was perfecto and there were G&Ts. What made it even more memorable was the generosity of the athletes with the crowd – taking photos with fans and signing autographs. But the appreciation went both ways. Here are some Things We’ve Seen on Instagram That We’re Not Too Sure About from the athletes who were there competing:
Fred Kerley posted a bird’s-eye view of the fans mingling with the athletes. “Everybody’s talkin’ culture, but it starts with us,” he said.
Olli Hoare, who won the John Landy Mile, said it was “The best turn out for a track meet I’ve been to in Australia. Makes me excited for the growth of track and field in the coming months and years.”
And we’ll leave the closing comment to Jess Hull who said, “It’s so incredible to see our sport coming to life like this at home, thank you for coming out and packing Lakeside Stadium to give us athletes another unforgettable experience and showing our international guests how good the Australian summer of racing can be!”
Hear, hear! More of that please. Well done Athletics Australia.
If you aren’t up to date with the FTK Q&A series, first of all shame on you. Secondly, you’re missing out. The format has switched up this season - so unfortunately it means we don’t get to hear people ask Brett what to eat before a race every single week. Instead, we’ve got Joel going deep with his guest each week - and when we say deep, we mean it. From talking fatherhood with Ryan Gregson, to a great insight into injury with Dave McNeill, Q&A has found its groove as a high quality listen each week.
There’s some huge episodes coming up - including a mini series hosted by Dave that speaks to a number of current NCAA athletes on their pathway and experience in college.
Big. Things. Comin’.
Shout out to Lisa Weightman, holy moly. If you live under a rock (firstly, how’s the wifi), and secondly, Lisa ran 2:23:15 at the Osaka Marathon last week to move up to #3 all time on the Australian marathon list.
Something’s clicking for Lisa, as the result was a 45 second PB from the one she sent in September in Berlin! It’s remarkable to see Aussie women shaving time off their PB’s recently, and it makes you wonder who’s next…
Also, Lisa still appears on the start list for Tokyo Marathon…and her Instagram reveals she is indeed in Tokyo enjoying some time with Mickey. Wild.