Aussie wins silver in Zurich, Starc finishes in Top 10

Oceania 800m record holder Catriona Bisset has raced her way to second place at the Zurich Diamond League, leading the way for eight other Australians on the final night of competition at the prestigious meet in Switzerland.

Having missed out on a spot in the finals at the World Athletics Championships last week, Bisset (VIC, Ned Brophy-Williams) was out to seek redemption over the two-lap race, delivering on her goal in 1:58.77.

Finding herself in the middle of the pack at the bell after a jostling first lap, the Australian was strategic in her approach, using the sound of the bell as her signal to surge forward. Bisset held her own over the final 400m, only defeated by Great Britain’s global medallist Laura Muir who crossed the line in 1:57.71.

“I’m feeling pretty good at the moment. Obviously I wanted to make the final at Worlds, and unlike last year or previous years, I do genuinely believe that I belong in these races,” Bisset said.

“I knew this race was going to be fast after Worlds. There were a lot of people in this race who were out to prove themselves.  I felt like I held my position and when I felt Laura going around, I thought to myself, let’s build this momentum, be patient and kick hard home.”

Bisset will now enter the Diamond League Finals in Eugene, USA (September 15-16) full of confidence having executed one of her best seasons to date.

“The 800m is a funny one. Any tactical mistake, even if you are the fittest you’ve ever been, it’s easy to miss out on performing well. I am really proud of what I’ve been able to achieve this season so far. I ran second in two Diamond League meets and it’s been my most consistent season yet so I feel like coming in tonight, I was out to have fun and I had nothing to lose.”

Days after claiming his maiden global medal at the World Athletics Championships, Kurtis Marschall (WA, Paul Burgess) found himself up against some of his toughest competition in the Men’s Pole Vault as world record holder Armand Duplantis (SWE) and former world champion Sam Kendricks (USA) took command.

With a clean scoresheet at 5.75m, the Australian was in the mix with five other athletes for another podium finish. A third-attempt clearance at 5.85m saw Marschall advance in competition but was forced to bow out, unable to clear 5.95m – the height that won him bronze.

Stewart McSweyn (TAS, Nic Bideau) fought valiantly when leading an all-star field in the Men’s 1500m. Amongst the top-three at the bell lap, McSweyn found himself swallowed up as he approached the final bend, crossing the line in seventh place in 3:31.92 as the Tasmanian adds another Olympic qualifier to his name.  The race was won by USA’s Yared Nuguse, who took the win in 3:30.49,  over world champion Josh Kerr (GBR, 3:30.51) and Olympic finalist Abel Kipsang (KEN, 3:30.85).

Rounding out the Australian action were Christopher Mitrevski (VIC, John Boas) in the Men’s Long Jump and New South Wales Institute of Sport Scholarship athlete Brandon Starc (NSW, Alex Stewart) in the Men’s High Jump.  Mitrevski produced his best leap of 7.81 (-0.2) on his first attempt to place 7^th, while Starc cleared two jumps at 2.15m and 2.20m, finishing 10^th in the field overall.

Although a non-Diamond League level event on the program, Australia’s 4x100m relay team of Ebony Lane (VIC, Matt Carter), Bree Masters (QLD, Ryan Hoffman), Kristie Edwards (QLD, David Reid) and Torrie Lewis (QLD, Andrew Iselin) finished their season with their strongest race to date as a quartet, crossing the line third in 43.21. With smooth transitions from Lane to Masters to Edwards, Lewis took charge down the home straight, strong in her attempt to run down the Netherlands and Switzerland. The race was won by the Netherlands (42.86) as Switzerland’s Melissa Gutschmidt took a fall over the finish line, placing second in 42.94.

Sascha Ryner, Athletics Australia