The men's 1500 metres was one of the most anticipated races at the just-concluded Athletics Australia national championships in Adelaide and Caringbah's Oliver Hoare headlined a 1,500-metre field that included Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn and 17-year-old prodigy Cameron Myers.
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They are the favourites for a spot in Australia's team for the Paris Olympics in July, and Commonwealth Games champ Hoare was the fastest man qualifying.(3:38.80)
In the aftermath Adam Spencer 3:37.68 won just ahead of a fast closing Ollie Hoare 3:37.83. Spencer had already achieved the automatic qualifying standard .
The 27-year-old Hoare who has been out injured for months said it's good to test himself against a stacked field in his pet event the 1,500 metres.
"The depth in the 1,500 just shows you that the event's now grown so much in the country that we're going to have athletes that whoever the top three are when they are selected in June, they're going to be guys that you would expect to see in the final, competing for a medal."
Hoare will now turn his attention to racing in Europe and America before, all things going to plan, Paris in July. Hoare's personal best for the 1,500m is 3:29:41 and was an Oceania record.
In a battle in the women's under-20 3000m steeplechase, Sutherland's Mia Toohey just took the title and secured automatic selection for the World Junior team with her time of 10:30.47.
Kirrawee High Schools NSW star Izzy Louison-Roe from the St George club closed her massive Australian Championships campaigns with six medals
Competing in three events, 16-year-old Lizzy Louison-Roe, also secured selection in the Australian team for the World Juniors in the high jump.
Izzy won medals in high jump (U20, U18 gold), triple jump (U20 silver, U18 gold), long jump (U18 bronze) and the 100m hurdles (U18 100m hurdles).
Sutherland's Tammin Lampret, the current Australian All Schools U16 90m hurdles champion and NSW champ, has graduated well to the new 100m hurdles distance in 2024,
In the heats in Adelaide, she clocked the second fastest time of 14.08, but in the final, running into a solid headwind , Tammin was unstoppable winning the title in a blistering 13.73 seconds.
She had earlier won bronze in the 200m.
Endeavour High's Telaya Blacksmith (T20), who is chasing Paralympic 400m selection, almost long jump qualified with a silver winning leap of 5.20m and Sutherland's dual Paralympian Sarah Walsh (F64) jumped a Paralympic Games B qualifier of 5.01m.