Browning at Best as Hull Passes Budapest Test

It was a day of triumph for Australian athletics as NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holder Rohan Browning stunned crowds with scorching form at the 100th edition of the Australian Track and Field Championships, while fellow NSWIS athlete Jessica Hull and Matthew Denny punched their tickets to the Budapest World Athletics Championships.

The man known as the Flying Mullet,  Browning made a statement when running the fastest time by an Australian on home soil, clocking 10.02 (0.0) to reclaim the throne as Australia’s fastest man.

“It felt good. It is one of those bittersweet ones where, flat wind and I was so close to sub (10 seconds). I was hoping to maybe round down but I’ll take 10.02,” Browning said.

His second fastest performance of his career, Browning’s win is further proof that this Summer has been his best domestic season yet with times of 10.18, 10.14 and 10.25 under his belt.

“This has been my best domestic season ever and in the past I have really struggled to run through the rounds. It’s got me hungry for the rest of the year on the international circuit” Browning said.

“After last year, I’m a lot more robust now; just a little bit older and more mature. I understand my body a lot better and I want to be a threat on the global scene. I’ve got to go sub-10. It’s bittersweet today, but it’s not far off.”

Touted as the event of the championships, the women’s 1500m final delivered everything and more as Jessica Hull and Abbey Caldwell lit up the final 100m, with Hull prevailing in a new meet record of 4:04.19.  Edging out Caldwell (4:04.68) by less than half a second as Linden Hall claimed bronze in 4:05.65, Hull was forced to earn her Australian title in a world-class field.

“That was definitely the most nerve wracking one. It’s definitely different when you bring it to a championships. It was fun racing this Summer but with a national title on the line and a spot to Budapest, it was a little bit more stressful,” Hull said.

“I thought it could be fast, it could be slow and the idea of racing a little more tactically excited me. When my coach brought me the race plan, I thought, let’s give it a try.”

In a high jump competition for the ages, Joel Baden soared higher than all with a 2.32m clearance to defeat Australian record holder at 2.36m Brandon Starc, before raising the bar to 2.37m in an attempt to claim the outright record.

Article courtesy of Athletics Australia