Olyslagers and Patterson shine in Paris

Dual Olympic silver medallist Nicola Olyslagers, a New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete, made it back-to-back Diamond League victories when rising to gold in Paris this morning, as fellow NSWIS athlete Eleanor Patterson clinched bronze.

On the track, Linden Hall of Victoria led a trio of Australians over 1500m.

Building on her win in Stockholm last week, Olyslagers rose to the occasion in Paris, soaring over 2.00m on her second attempt to take down a star-studded field including reigning Olympic champion, and Ukrainia’s world record holder, Yaroslava Mahuchikh (197m). Patterson finished third on countback after also clearing 1.97m.

Despite the win, Olyslagers had her eyes set on equalling or bettering her own national record of 2.03m, with that goal motivating her for upcoming competitions:

“Tonight was great, it was the first time we jumped so late [at night], so for mindset it can be difficult. I’m very thankful for another two-metre jump, but I really want a personal best, so we keep training,” Olyslagers said.

“I tend to have very strong jumps in the first five jumps of the competition and then it slowly goes down. Potentially, I need to work a lot more on my muscles to stay strong as I’m running towards the bar.”

Opening her competition at 1.91m, the double World Indoor champion says entering any later may not be worth the risk:

“1.91 is very high! We need to work to find the best possibility, or some more training so I have the endurance to give my best at the end.”

The Diamond League victory is Olyslagers’ second in a row and the seventh of her career, with Patterson’s third-place finish her third Diamond League podium of 2025 as she closes in on the two-metre barrier once again.

Three of the five Australian women in history to have broken the four-minute barrier over 1500m toed the line in Paris, with Linden Hall prevailing in the domestic battle which included Georgia Griffith and Abbey Caldwell, with Hall taking fourth place overall in a time of 3:57.63.

Racing patiently before launching an attack in the final 200 metres, Hall celebrated her 34th birthday in style with the fourth fastest time of her career, beating home Griffith in 4:01.36 for 13th and Caldwell in 4:01.86 for 16th, while the race was won by Kenya’s Nelly Chepchirchir in 3:57.02.

The Diamond League is the world’s premier athletics circuit and sits in the top tier of World Athletics one-day meets, offering athletes significant prize money and world ranking points. The Diamond League will make its next stop in Eugene on July 5.

Australian Athletics