Five global medallists chase more Aussie glory on final day in Tokyo

The curtain comes down on the World Athletics Championships tonight in Tokyo, with five global medallists and the Australian Men’s 4x100m relay team set for a blockbuster finale.

World and Olympic medallists Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson – both New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship holders – headline the women’s high jump final, Jessica Hull (NSWIS) chases a second medal in Tokyo, Matthew Denny goes for global medal number two and world indoor medallist Ky Robinson strives for an outdoor podium.

High-flying Australian duo Olyslagers and Patterson resume their rivalry with the world’s best, with both a strong prospect of adding a sixth global medal to their illustrious careers.

The pair made history in 2023 as the first two Australians to land on the podium together in an individual event and have continued the momentum since, with double podium placings at the World Indoor Championships and Olympic Games.

Olyslagers enters as the favourite for gold after a near-perfect season that saw her claim the Diamond League trophy, five clearances over 2.00m and a new Australian record of 2.04m. Having toppled the reigning Olympic and world champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) on multiple occasions, including at the World Athletics Indoor Championships this year, where the Australian won gold, she now stands as the woman to beat in Tokyo.

“This is the most fresh I’ve felt for a World Champs event before,” said Olyslagers. “Usually I’m just hanging on for dear life because it’s been a long season, but since I came home to Australia mid-year, I feel like I’m just starting to warm up so I’m really excited.

“I want to take risks out there; I don’t want to play it safe. I really want to jump higher than I ever have before and make the most of the shape I’m in. Hopefully, you’ll see the unpredictable and me doing different things.”

Australia’s 2022 world champion Patterson, with a 1.99m season’s best has had a slower season on paper after switching coaches in pursuit of marginal gains. Having undergone a technical overhaul this season, she has not yet threatened her 2.02m best but high jump fans will know that the big stage performer makes it count when it matters most.

Although the pair are seasoned in their pursuits, the standard of global high jump has lifted in 2025 with five women in the final soaring over the 2.00m barrier this year, including Mahuchikh (2.02m), Germany’s Christina Honsel (2.00m), Ukrainian Yuliia Levchenko (2.00m) and Great Britain’s Morgan Lake (2.00m).

“I would love to come away with a season’s best if not a PB, and that would be incredible. I think I’ve been in incredible form all year and I’ve had the best season of my life, jumping nothing less than 1.91m,” Patterson said.

“I think I’m knocking at the door of higher heights and so I think it could be really a lot of fun on Sunday. I have a lot of faith in my coach Fuzz (Caan) and our plan. I back myself when it comes to a major championship, so let’s see how we go.”

On the track, Jessica Hull (NSWIS) returns to the spotlight just 48 hours after rewriting the record books with a new 800m Oceania record of 1:57.15.

Already a 1500m bronze medallist earlier this week, the 28-year-old now stands on the brink of becoming the first dual medallist for Australia at the one World Athletics Championships.

While Hull made the two-lap event look easy in the semi-finals, it has been a steep learning curve for the four-time global medallist recovering from a heavy fall after being clipped in the heats, and the fast starts of the 800m specialists, telling fans not to worry if she is not in the picture after the first 150 metres.

She is the fifth seed in the final, competing against some of the greatest the event has ever seen, including reigning Olympic and world champion Keely Hodgkinson (1:54.74 SB), her teammate Georgia Hunter Bell (1:55.96), who finished behind Hull in the 1500m at the Paris Olympics last year and Kenyan star Mary Moraa (1:56.03).

“I don’t have any expectation on me in this event, and I just get to kind of run pretty free and that’s quite dangerous when you’re out there amongst the women that are expected to do things and run fast,” Hull said.

“It’s been really fun this championships, and I think at different points in your career you’ve got to do different things to keep it fresh. It’s what keeps me excited for this Olympic cycle, and I hope I still have the same enjoyment to go on to Brisbane 2032 by being able to just mix things up and focus on different ranges.”

Discus giant Matthew Denny (QLD) returns to the circle for his fourth consecutive World Athletics Championships final after a season that has elevated him among the event’s elite.

With multiple wins and Australian records, he now has the second best throw in the history of the event at 74.78m. The Queenslander has stamped himself as a genuine medal threat once more and will be hunting his second global podium after claiming bronze in Paris last year.

On paper the path to the podium may look easy for Denny, who threw a one-and-done 66.63m in the qualification round, but yesterday’s results give a glimpse of the distances that are to come. Olympic champion Daniel Stahl (SWE) threw a classy first attempt throw of 69.90m, former world champion Kristian Ceh (SLO) a 68.08m, and world record holder Mykolas Alekna 65.39m.

Adding to the drama, Alekna’s brother Martynas threw 67.16m on his first attempt, while Olympic champion Ralford Mullings (JAM) missed out on a finals berth showing how unpredictable results can be at major championships.

“The big thing for me was to not overextend too much today. I felt in great shape and fixed some things that kind of weren’t working in the last two comps but I just wanted to put ourselves in a good place to be able to recover and go hard tomorrow,” Denny said.

“Everyone’s in great condition and we’re in an era of throwing that’s never really been seen in the Men’s Discus across the board. Everyone is going to be ready for that and fully commit, because I know I’m coming in ready to go and start throwing hands early.”

Ky Robinson will contest his first outdoor global final in the Men’s 5000m, marking the first time since 2019 that an Australian has progressed this far in the event at the world meet.

The 23-year-old has carried his enviable form from the 2025 season onto the world stage, running at the front of the pack over the 12.5 laps and will now look to mix in with the world’s best distance runners on the closing night. Ranked 11th in the 16-strong field on season’s best times (12:58.38), the World Indoor medallist is seeking to follow the footsteps of Australian middle-distance legend Craig Mottram, who won Australia’s only medal in the event in Helsinki 2005 with a bronze.

The pace is expected to be fast led by Great Britain’s George Mills (12:46.59 SB), USA’s Grant Fisher (12:44.09) and his teammate Nico Young (12:45.27) as Robinson continues his progression in the event. “I’m still young, I’m still developing, so I’ve tried to keep that confidence and take everything in my stride. I’ve joined a new (training) group this year, going out to altitude in Boulder and I feel like I’m a really good fit for that group,” Robinson said.

“It’s shown with how they’re running, how I’m running, and I can learn off some of those older guys who have more experience than me. Having people that are much better than me to run with to push me helps me step up to their level and compete on that stage.”

With three of four Australian relay squads knocked out of the rounds, hopes will lie with the Men’s 4x100m relay squad who finished as the fastest non-automatic qualifiers for the final with a time of 38.21.

The Australians know they can run much quicker in the final, having run 37.87 in Sydney in March and go into the final as the seventh fastest qualifier.

The final day of Australian action at the World Athletics Championships begins with the evening session at 6.45pm AEDT. Australian viewers can tune in live and free on SBS and the Nine Network.

Australian Athletics