It took 24 months, not 18, for McSweyn to find his groove, but in this Covid-19 impacted year, McSweyn has certainly made the most of it. In a shortened European season. McSweyn has claimed the Australian 3000m record, on September 17 in Rome, and now the men's 1500m record clocking 3:30.51 in Doha.
It may be going a step too far to acclaim Magic Monday, day four of track and field competition at the Sydney Olympics, as perfect. Just as with records, one great day of athletics competition can eventually be surpassed by another. But it would be fair to say that anything better, even by the merest poofteenth, would have been perfect.
Topped by Cathy Freeman’s resounding victory in the 400 metres, a victory which, even if for a moment only, united a nation, reconciling Australia with a past it has all too often wished out of existence, the day’s nine finals generated wave after wave of emotion which, as they mutually reinforced each other, grew into a tsunami.
This article was written with the help from Snell's classic book, NO BUGLES NO DRUMS
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Snell won three Olympic gold medals during his career, including winning both the 800 and 1500 metres at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Born: 17 December 1938, Opunake, New Zealand
Died: 12 December 2019, Dallas, Texas,...
Sunday night spent reliving those wonderful moments in Sydney as Catherine Freeman took the gold medal in the 400 metres. Wake up Friday morning to learn that Stewart McSweyn has taken down the national record in the 3000 at Rome’s Golden Gala Diamond League.
Not a bad week, you’d have to say. Even better when you factor in a national record 4:00.42 for Jessica Hull in Berlin, yet another fast 1500 by McSweyn in Zagreb, winning there in 3:32.17 just a few days before Rome. Or Nicola McDermott getting over 1.95 metres to take third place in the Rome high jump.
A 3:32.17 win for Stewart McSweyn over 1500 in Zagreb on Tuesday night (15 September), was a national record of sorts, the second, 7:28.02 two days later for third over 3000 in Rome, was some sort of national record, taking down no less than the great Craig Mottram by some four seconds.
Jessica Hull broke the Australian record for 1500 metres in Berlin on Sunday (13 February), taking it down to 4:00.42 in finishing third behind Britain’s pair of Lauras, Muir and Weightman.
asmanian, Stewart McSweyn, has smashed Craig Mottram's 3000m Australian record, set in Athens in 2006, by a whopping 4 seconds. Competing at the Rome Diamond League, McSweyn ran aggressively, confidently and with purpose from the gun.
But an Australian record is just the start. McSweyn is now the 17th fastest 3000m runner in the history of world athletics. If he was an Australian swimmer, he would be a household name.
McSweyn's time; 7:28.02, to Mottram's previous record of 7:32.19. The run was also a 6.77 second personal best for McSweyn.
My whole athletic career I have always been interested in how other athletes prepare themselves for a big session or race. This is definitely an aspect to training a lot of people don’t focus on much, however, growing up and moving through the different phases of my running career,...
But Hull wasn't done. In what is perhaps her pet event, the 1500m, most were assuming it was just a matter of time before Linden Hall's mark of 4:00.86 set in 2018 would also fall. In Berlin, conditions were ideal for Hull. A pacemaker was arranged for Scottish star Laura Muir, the rabbit went out on sub-4 1500m pace. Hull sat in behind second place finisher Laura Weightman for the majority of the race. The Steve Cram coached English athlete was just a little too strong for Hull, but it gave her the perfect rabbit, as they raced just milliseconds apart over the final 200m.
Published 12-09-2020
It’s 20 years to the day that the Olympic Games kicked off in Sydney. Or it will be on Tuesday, 15 September.
That’s if you’re reading this on 15 September, and you reckon the Olympic Games commence with the Opening Ceremony, which would seem to be the implication of...
