Newly crowned women’s world indoor 1,500m champion Georgia Hunter Bell of Great Britain will be among the stars in action at the Melbourne Continental Tour Gold athletics championships starting tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Olympic 1500m bronze medallist and world 800m silver medallist faces a deep Australian contingent including world cross country mixed relay champion Linden Hall, world leader Claudia Hollingsworth, Sarah Billings and Abbey Caldwell, as well as NCAA champion Sophie O\u2019Sullivan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The race includes four of the six fastest Australian women in history, all of whom have broken four minutes for the distance, and the meeting record of 4:05.97 set by Hollingsworth last year could be under pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men\u2019s 800m is similarly deep and features six of the eight fastest Oceanian men of all time. Australia\u2019s Peter Bol, the continental record-holder and world and Olympic finalist, leads the field fresh from his fourth-place finish at the World Indoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He will be joined by New Zealand record-holder James Preston, Oceanian U20 record-holder Peyton Craig, Bob Abdelrahim, 18-year-old Daniel Williams, the outdoor world U20 leader, and Luke Boyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the men\u2019s 1500m, 19-year-old Cameron Myers makes his eagerly anticipated outdoor debut following an undefeated indoor campaign that included a 3:47.57 victory in the Wanamaker Mile and a world-leading 7:27.57 clocking \u2013 an outright Oceanian record \u2013 over 3000m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He lines up alongside recent world indoor bronze medallist Adam Spencer, Jude Thomas and Germany\u2019s Robert Farken, all of whom have broken 3:32. The meeting record of 3:32.55, which has stood since 2000, could be on borrowed time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia\u2019s Georgia Griffith, the Oceanian record-holder, headlines the women\u2019s 3000m alongside world 5000m finalist Rose Davies, while Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn and Ireland\u2019s Brian Fay are among those set to contest the men\u2019s 3000m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men\u2019s discus is another standout events on the programme, featuring Olympic champion Roje Stona of Jamaica and Australia\u2019s Matthew Denny, the Olympic bronze medallist and second-best thrower in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Denny will be looking to improve on his meeting record of 68.17m from last year, having thrown 68.74m in Hobart last month. Also in the field are European and Commonwealth medallist Lawrence Okoye and South American champion Claudio Romero of Chile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Australia\u2019s Nina Kennedy, the Olympic champion in the women\u2019s pole vault, returns to action on home soil after missing the entirety of 2025 through injury. She faces strong competition from USA\u2019s Amanda Moll, the 2025 world leader with 4.91m, and her twin sister Hana Moll, who leads the world list so far in 2026 with 4.88m. The meeting record of 4.71m could come under threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World champion and meeting record-holder Nicola Olyslagers, silver medallist at last weekend\u2019s World Indoors, leads the women\u2019s high jump field. 18-year-old compatriot Izobelle Louison-Roe also arrives in strong form after recently clearing 1.95m, just one centimetre shy of the Oceanian U20 record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men\u2019s long jump features 2025 world indoor bronze medallist Liam Adcock, while Japan\u2019s Tomohiro Shinno, the Asian silver medallist and recent world indoor finalist, is among the entries for the men\u2019s high jump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US champion Jacory Patterson will contest his first 400m of the year. Patterson broke 44 seconds three times last season, highlighted by his PB 43.85 to win the Diamond League final. He faces world and Olympic semifinalist Reece Holder and fellow sub-45-second athletes Aidan Murphy, Cooper Sherman and Japan\u2019s Fuga Sato. The meeting record of 44.82, set by Jeremy Wariner in 2008, could be tested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men\u2019s 200m sees teenage sensation Gout Gout return to the Maurie Plant Meet, where he will look to avenge his defeat from last year. Earlier this season, the Australian reduced his 100m PB to 10.00 and clocked 20.42 for 200m into a -2.1m\/s wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He faces compatriot Lachlan Kennedy, the 2025 world indoor 60m silver medallist, who won last year\u2019s meeting in a PB of 20.26 to Gout\u2019s 20.30. Ireland\u2019s Benjamin Richardson, the fastest man in the field with a PB of 19.99, and New Zealand\u2019s Tommy Te Puni, the quickest in the field this year with 20.35, add further depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kennedy will also line up in the men\u2019s 100m, where he brings a PB of 9.98. He will take on four-time Australian champion Rohan Browning and New Zealand champion Tiaan Whelpton in what promises to be a competitive sprint contest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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