Hull fall upsets race to historic treble

Jessica Hull’s quest to win a  historic treble at the Australian Athletic Championships – the women’s 800m, 1500m, and 5000m – was tripped up in front of a stunned crowd during a frantic sprint to the finish line during the 1500m final on Friday night.

Hull hit the newly laid track at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre – and hard – after it appeared as though Victorian Claudia Hollingsworth caused her to  fall while attempting to shift from the inside rail behind Hull.

Ironically, the race had been described as a ‘jog’ and a ‘tactical race’ before the 29-year-old Hull – renowned for her penchant to normally set a cracking pace from the start – seemed to respond to the urging of the  Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre’s crowd  to lift the tempo and break free of the pack before the fall.

As Hollingsworth – who appeared visibly shocked when the Paris Olympic silver medallist fell – ran towards the finish line in first place, Hull picked herself up, jogging home in 11^th position.

Hollingsworth appeared to apologise to Hull, a New South Wales Institute of Sport scholarship holder, as they hugged after the race. Both then fronted the media.

“When it’s that slow, things happen . . .  you can blame yourself a bit because I let it go as slowly as they did,” a philosophical Hull said of the pace in which the race was run.

“It happens. I felt like I had just hit my last gear and I got tapped. I was closing the rail because I knew someone was there, and [I] went down.  It happens.

“Whoever was coming from behind just gave me a tap, and when you’re going that fast the slightest bump you hit the track.

While the crowd was devastated by the outcome, Hull won its admiration for refusing to disappoint her young fans by taking the time to sign dozens of autographs and pose for selfies.

Hollingsworth insisted the fall was a ‘total accident’ before the 20-year-old expressed her admiration for Hull.

“I respect her so much and it’s unfortunate that happened,” she said.

“When I cross the line, I normally like to finish with a big smile on my face. I like to think that I finish really happy, and yeah, definitely mixed feelings. I never want to see a teammate like that fall down . . . definitely going to have a chat to her and make sure she’s OK.”

Hollingsworth was later disqualified, meaning Sarah Billings received the gold medal in a pedestrian 4:17.36 over fellow Victorians Abbey Caldwell and Georgia Griffith.

Daniel Lane, NSWIS