Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Commonwealth champs Eleanor Patterson and Rose Davies have kicked on from their Glasgow exploits, along with double silver medallist Jessica Hull, as Australia’s women athletes continued to shine on the Diamond League circuit in Poland.
All three made the podium in Chorzow at the Diamond League Silesia meet on Sunday (Monday AEST), with high jump champ Patterson soaring to third place, Glasgow 5000/10,000m double winner Davies grabbing bronze in the 5000 and Hull running her fastest race of the year to finish 1500m runner-up.
But there was disappointment for Glasgow sprint hero Lachlan Kennedy, who after his Australian-record run for silver at Glasgow’s Scotstoun Stadium, failed to make the 100m final in Chorzow.
Pride of place went to Olympic silver medalist Hull, who tried out new tactics, sitting back in the field in the Silesian Stadium and kicking for home at the top of the straight, only to be reeled in by Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma. She needed a 2026 world-leading time 3min 55.06sec to pip Hull’s 3:55.20.
“I got caught in the last few metres but it was a big step forwards in confidence today. That’s the fastest I’ve run all year and we have some good races to come over the next few weeks,” enthused Hull, who’s eyeing the inaugural Ultimate Championship in Budapest next month.
Davies earned her second ever Diamond League podium as she pursued Italian favourite Nadia Battocletti, fresh from her own 5000/10,000 double at the European Championships.
Davies eventually finished third in 14:55.39, pipped by Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu and Battocletti, who won in 14:54.09.
“Every race is a step forward and to come top three at a Diamond League shows I’m in good form,” said Davies. “I really look up to Battocletti, she’s a great athlete and I would love to be like her.”
Patterson again defeated teammate, world champ Nicola Olyslagers (1.98m to 1.96m), just as she had done in Glasgow when they took gold and silver.
It was a pretty good effort, considering former world champ Patterson was battling illness, but she had to settle for third behind familiar Ukrainian rivals, Olympic champ Yaroslava Mahuchikh (2.00m) and Iryna Gerashchenko (1.98m).
Kennedy took his first strides back on the international circuit after his historic 9.85sec silver medal-winning run in Glasgow, but his 10.08sec run in the heats in Chorzow was not enough to earn him a place in the final, which was later won by Jamaica’s world champ Oblique Seville in a searing 9.83sec.
“I didn’t come out as well as I would’ve liked but I’m just trying to shake the rust off a bit. I’ll get back into some training and better form – I’m happy,” Kennedy insisted.
Triple Commonwealth pole vault champion Kurtis Marschall cleared 5.90m but it only earned him fifth place while his mate Armand Duplantis earned yet another effortless triumph with a 6.20m winner.
Queensland’s two-time Diamond League champion Matthew Denny finished eighth in the discus (66.38m), as Lithuania’s world record holder Mykolas Alekna won with a competition record 72.58m.
The international highlight was world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden handing Olympic champ Julien Alfred her first loss of the season to win the women’s 100m, 10.78sec to 10.83.
