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"Time means nothing, until it becomes a special moment." #Gold

A photo posted by Usain St.Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) on

RunnersTribe.com ‏@runnerstribe 1m1 minute ago
@LukeMathews95 12th in #1500m heat 3, with 3:44.51 in a tough supercharged heat. Exceptional effort by this rising superstar in #rio2016

Impressive run by @ryangregson25 as he advances to the final of the men's 1500m! #rio2016 #oneteam #athletics

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Locals

A photo posted by Silas Moss✌?️?? (@silasmoss) on

After a long road to #Rio2016, Kim Mickle is ready to launch in the qualifying round of the Women's Javelin. GO KIM! #OneTeam

A photo posted by Athletics WA (@athleticswesternaustralia) on

Coming up

Madeline Hills (NSW), Genevieve LaCaze (Vic) and Eloise Wellings (NSW) hit the track again in their second event of the Games, the women’s 5000m.

Genevieve La Caze
Genevieve La Caze Melbourne World Challenge: Photo by Con Chronis

Hills and LaCaze back up after their gruelling 3000m steeplechase final yesterday.Wellings is set to half her distance after a huge 27 second PB and 10th place finish in her pet event, the 10,000m final four days ago. Wellings achieved her dream of being an Olympian in London after going close to making the team in Sydne­­­­­y when just 16. Now, at 33, she’s in her second team and in the prime of her career.

Two-time Commonwealth champion Alana Boyd (Qld) opens her pole vault campaign in the qualifying round. A mixed preparation has delivered a new Australian record of 4.81m, set on the Sunshine Coast in July but also a badly injured ankle earlier in the year at the world indoor championships. Boyd, who is part of the athletics leadership group for her third Olympic Games, will be hoping for a smooth ride into the final.

Melbourne Track Club’s Luke Mathews (Vic) and Ryan Gregson (Vic) face the tough challenge of the men’s 1500m opening round. Gregson’s best of 3:31.06 from 2010 stands as the Australian record. The 26-year-old is returning to that same career best form after an injury-free preparation has delivered a great series of recent races. Gregson has his sights set firmly on making the final in his second Olympic Games.

Luke Mathews and Ryan Gregson working hard at MTC training session in Melbourne earlier this year: Photo by RT
Luke Mathews and Ryan Gregson working hard at MTC training session in Melbourne earlier this year: Photo by RT

Mathews returns after the being run out in the 800m heats, and makes history as the first Australian in 32 years, and only the eighth Aussie qualify for both the Olympic 800m/1500m double. The 21-year-old relishes the big occasion – Mathews faced the 800m world record holder David Rudisha in March at home in Melbourne, taking it right to the champ and setting a personal best in the process. Keep a watchful eye on these two elite track stars.

The ebullient Michelle Jenneke (NSW) has featured on giant billboards throughout Rio for Coca-Cola’s Rio advertising campaign, but today it will be her hurdles campaign that we set our eyes on, with the opening round of the women’s 100m hurdles. Of course, sadly, team captain Sally Person is missing, as the only Australian to have run faster thanJenneke.

Dani Samuels (NSW) backs up from the discus qualifying round, and means business in the final. This is the third consecutive Olympic final for the 28-year-old. Can she go one better than London and Beijing?

Alex Hartmann’s (Qld) men’s 200m round 1 race launches on day five. His PB of 20.45 has him sitting inside the top 10 Australian all-time results and is the fastest we’ve seen in the 12 years.

Hartmann burst onto the scene in the past two years after entering elite sprinting much later in life than most. The current national champion in the 100m and 200m, Hartmann at 23, has focused on the longer distance. A mystery stomach bug that saw him drop 10kgs in four days just weeks out from the Games won’t get in the way of this determined athlete, they breed them tough in Brissie!

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