Tasmanian, 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.
A pacemaker set the early pace with McSweyn tucking in. When the rabbit dropped out at around the halfway point, McSweyn took up the running and pushed the pace. He was eventually beaten over the last lap by eventual winner Jacob Kiplimo, who won in 7:26.64, and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, (7:27.05). Both Kiplimo (Uganda) and Ingebrigtsen (Norway), smashed their respective national records.
It is arguably McSweyn’s most impressive run of his young career to date. He is already the owner of the Australian 10,000m record. However, his run of 7:28.02, perhaps indicates that it’s just a matter of time before he obliterates the rest of his personal bests, from distances from 800m to 10,000m.
Is this @Stewy_mac3’s best ever mark across his PBs from 1500m to 10,000m??
It appears yes and by a long way !!7:28.02 = 1252 WA points
Equal to
1500m 3:29.52
Mile 3:46.13
5000m 12:48.67
10,000m 26:44.25#TarbyStats— David Tarbotton (@David_Tarbotton) September 17, 2020
Mottram’s remaining Australian records (mile, 2000m, 2 miles, 5000m) are now under serious threat. The new top-10 Australian all-time list looks as follows:
| 3,000 METRES | Name | State | D.O.B | Place | Location | Date | |
| 7:28.02 | Stewart McSweyn | T | 010695 | 3 | Rome, Italy | 17 Sep 20 | |
| 7.32.19 | Craig Mottram | V | 180680 | 1 | Athens, GRE | 17 Sep 06 | |
| 7.35.45 | Collis Birmingham | V | 271284 | 8 | Stockholm, SWE | 17 Aug 12 | |
| 7.37.76 | Patrick Tiernan | Q | 110994 | 4 | London, GBR | 9-Jul-17 | |
| 7.40.48 | Ben St.Lawrence | N | 071181 | 6 | Rieti, ITA | 8 Sep 13 | |
| 7.41.03 | Sam McEntee | V | 030292 | 10 | London, GBR | 9-Jul-17 | |
| 7.41.60 | Shaun Creighton | V | 140567 | 9 | Oslo, NOR | 21 Jul 95 | |
| 7.41.78 | Lee Troop | V | 220373 | 3 | Sydney | 20 Feb 99 | |
| 7.42.19 | Ryan Gregson | V | 260490 | 7 | Rabat, MOR | 16 Jul 17 | |
| 7.42.76i | Morgan McDonald | N | 230496 | 2 | New York, USA | 9 Feb 19 | |
West Australian Matthew Ramsden finished seventh in 7:48.08, a little off his best, with the Australian 1500m record holder Ryan Gregson 10th in 7:53.65.
Australian high jumper Nicola McDermott, was Australia’s other competitor in Rome. She has once again proven beyond doubt that she is one of the world’s best high jumpers and a serious contender for Tokyo 2021. She finished third with a jump of 1.95 metres.
