SYDNEY — Jess Hull finished the Australian Athletics Championships campaign on her terms, and it didn’t look like that was always going to happen.
After a disastrous 1,500 metres final on Friday night where she fell and finished last, the Olympic silver medallist was considering pulling the pin on the meet in Sydney. She withdrew from the 800m and seemed unlikely to contest the 5,000m.
But then, in a moment that somehow felt bigger than the lanes she’d been dealing with all week, she decided to run for the kids. “There were kids waiting at the call room to see if I was going to go and race, and that just makes me realise it’s so much bigger than you,” Hull said after winning the 5,000m. “I’m lucky I had the [sunglasses] on because on the first lap when they were just going berserk for me, I was tearing up and I’m like, get it together. So it’s very special.”
There’s a kind of theatre in that, really. And the race itself delivered: Hull and Linden Hall were jostling for the lead in the final lap, until Hull kicked up a gear in the final 200m to easily claim the title in her less preferred event. It made up, at least in part, for the 1,500m, which ended contentiously as winner Claudia Hollingsworth was initially disqualified, then reinstated. Hull fell during the closing stages of the 1,500m on Friday night. (AAP: Dean Lewins)
Emotionally, mentally, Hull said it took a toll. “Emotionally, mentally, we’re all pretty tired and a lot goes into it, there’s a lot of emotion,” she said. “By about 4 o’clock yesterday, I was over it and I was just like you know what 5k, I’m getting out there. I don’t plan to race for another month, so I didn’t want to sit on that for a month and I just wanted to go back through the motions and I’m so glad I did.”
She also said she’s still feeling the after effects from her fall, including whiplash and limited motion, and that it affected her mindset in the 5k. “It scared me a bit. There were some moments in that pack that were a bit dicey, and I was putting my hands out when I was going to make a move,” she said. “I wanted everyone to know where I was going. I didn’t want anyone to just clip me.”
Hull was careful not to place any blame on Hollingsworth, but frustration did seep through when she talked about the process that left her rival ultimately holding the national crown in the 1,500m. “You just want a fair race. If you get beat fair and square, you can live with that, but when it gets taken out of your hands, it’s a bit hard to shut the door on it and just leave it,” Hull said. “I think a lot of us would acknowledge it’s a DQ anywhere else in the world, but it isn’t here, and you’ve just got to live with that.”
It is what it is, Hull said — not the fault of another athlete — but the drama clearly hasn’t vanished for everyone. Hollingsworth, who insisted she ran a fair race, said she wants to move on from the controversy around the women’s 1,500 metres final which saw her disqualified then reinstated, as Jess Hull crashed out. The 29-year-old also took the chance to shut down reports that emerged last month, suggesting a rift between the star middle-distance runner and Australian Athletics.
“I have no idea where that’s come from. I am so supported by the high performance unit,” she said. “I’ve had team camps … the staff are involved. They’re part of my season planning.”
“I am so supported by Athletics Australia and I have been my whole career.” Abbey Caldwell was another athlete caught up in the same Friday-night swirl and lodged a protest alongside Hull’s camp. Caldwell finished third in the 1,500m, defended her 800m title, and said she blocked out the controversy. “It’s an amazing group of girls, I think we look out for each other on and off the track, and we know it can be competitive, but I think it’s a really good culture,” she said. “Everyone just wants to focus on racing at the moment, so I think that makes a big difference.”
Hollingsworth finished second, but was included in the first group of athletes officially selected for July’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. And Caldwell, celebrating her 21st birthday, described the week as a bit of a grind. “Lots of ups and downs, but with the 800 literally the next day, I just had to focus on that and move on pretty quickly,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll have this week now to reflect on it, but the 800 was my next goal, so I just had to move on and focus on that.” Actually, maybe that’s the only way to survive moments like these—keep moving, even when your legs and your head don’t quite agree.
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