Global stars Hull and Marschall deliver double bronze at World Athletics Indoor Championships

Middle-distance star Jessica Hull and pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall have delivered double bronze medals at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, joining the podium party in Poland on the penultimate day of competition.

Racing in a tactical 3000m final, Hull, a New South Wales Institute of Sport  (NSWIS) scholarship holder, threw down the gauntlet to her rivals with an assertive charge, leading them to the bell lap where it became clear that she was enroute to her sixth global medal, with only the colour in question.

“I’m happy to take a medal and I hope to add another one tomorrow night in the 1500m,” Hull said. “I almost wish I just completely went for it when I went to the front. I was trying to be a bit more calculated because I have tied up a bit in recent times, but I just need to keep showing up and my time will come.”

Crossing the line in third place with a time of 8:58.18, Hull was relieved after being caught up in the scrappy contest which started at a pedestrian pace, clocking 2:41 for the final kilometre in a true championship race.

“I was surprised it was that slow! It’s nice to know that I don’t need the race to go fast for me to be consistently medalling now, which is a good sign that the training is working. We don’t want to be a one-trick pony,” Hull said.

“It shows a lot of growth because I used to hope it would be fast and simple. Now, you can give me a washing machine on an indoor track and I’m still excited for that!”

The Australian finished behind Nadia Battocletti (ITA, 8:57.64) and Emily Mackay (USA, 8:58.12).

Marschall (WA) continued his flawless year to date, once again breaking through the six-metre marker when clearing 6.00m to clinch bronze in the greatest pole vault field ever assembled on the global stage, featuring nine of the top 10 men in the world.

Only world record holder Armand Duplantis (SWE, 6,25m) and Emmanouil Karalis (GRE, 6.05m) could better the Australian, with Marschall saying bronze is as good as gold.

“In this day and age, you have to jump six metres to get a medal! It’s the first time you have ever had to do it, but it’s going to be a consistent thing moving forward,” Marschall said.

“I feel like I’m just a six-metre guy now and it’s reassured me in the top three in the world.”

After a first-attempt failure at 5.95m, Marschall backed himself to pass and raise the bar to 6.00m which proved pivotal in his third global medal. 

“Dec and I put our brains together and made sure we made the right decision. We decided to pass and back ourselves in, we have put together such a solid season,” Marschall said.

“He’s made this transition super seamless and there is no stopping us.”

In the morning session, Peter Bol (WA) cruised into another global final when winning his 800m semi-final with a perfectly executed race in 1:46.21.

It’s the fourth win from four races for Bol in 2026, while debutant Hayley Kitching (NSWIS) also finished first in her 800m semi-final with a time of 2:00.06.

Kitching, who has been competing on the NCCA circuit for Penn State, qualified in fifth position for Monday morning’s final where she will meet Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) who ran a time of 1.58.53 to qualify first.

Featuring 674 athletes from 118 countries, the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships are being held in Kujawy Pomorze, Poland from March 20-22.

Australian Athletics

Photos: Ben Levy/Australian Athletics