Commonwealth champion Ollie Hoare has etched his name in the history books by becoming just the second Australian man to shatter the 3:30 barrier in setting a new national 1500m record in Oslo.
Taking on a star-studded field, Hoare clocked 3:29.41, bettering Stewart McSweyn’s Australian and Oceania record by 0.1 of a second, making him faster than legends including Herb Elliott and Craig Mottram.
“To be able to run that Australian record; the amount of brilliant, talented and fantastic athletes that have come through like Herb Elliott, Ryan Gregson, Craig Mottram and Stewy McSweyn in this event is incredible,” said Hoare, who made the 1500m final at the Tokyo Olympics.
“It’s a privilege to be a part of that history and hopefully I can keep building up Australian track and field in this event.
Hoare only finished in seventh place in the race at the Bislett Games, which featured eight of the top-10 ranked men in the world, fading from fourth position but still managed the record time.
“Running sub 3:30 was the goal today but it was also to compete and finish in that top section,” he said.
“A lot of those guys are going to be in the Olympic and world final, so I wanted to be aggressive and put myself in a position where I could be amongst the top.
“But it’s June 15 and we have two months until the world championships and I can’t complain with an Australian record or an area record or the fastest race I’ve ever run with an amazingly talented field.
“I’m looking forward to the next few months, not just for me but for all 1500m athletes. It’s such a competitive event at the moment. All the guys are running really fast and competing well. Everyone is going to grow and excel from this, and that’s my plan too.”
Also at the same meet, Australian star Jessica Hull, who broke the national 1500m record earlier in June, officially registered the Australian and Oceania mile record (1600m) in the Dream Mile race with a run of 4:18.24 for third place, eclipsing Linden Hall’s mark of 4:21.10.
“It feels good to officially have the Australian mile record and run it in a bit more of a big-time race this time around,” she said.
“I was pretty confident that the record could go today. I know how I’m training compared to last year when I ran my then PB, which was the (unofficial) record, so I was happy that I could give it a nudge today.
“I’m a different athlete to who I was a year ago.”
