Middle-Distance Masterclass Bound for Adelaide Invitational | Women's 800m

Australia’s premier middle-distance women are set to launch their dreams of a Paris Olympic berth with an 800m showdown at the Chemist Warehouse Adelaide Invitational, headed by national record holder Catriona Bisset and a roll call of stars to challenge the champion including Abbey Caldwell.

The SA Athletic Stadium will set the scene for a blockbuster night of athletics at which the Women’s 800m will be a headline act, with seven senior Australian representatives since 2021 locked in for the two-lap clash.

Australian record holder Catriona Bisset (Ned Brophy-Williams) enters the Olympic year as world rank number seven, acknowledged for an outstanding 2023 campaign which saw her race prominently across the World Championships and on the Diamond League scene – led by a 1:57.78 performance in London to become the first Australian woman to break the 1:58 barrier.

World Championships teammate Abbey Caldwell (Gavin Burren) is only on the rise at 22-years-old and already owns the second fastest 800m time by any Australian woman in history (1:58.48), with the Commonwealth Games and World Cross Country Championships medallist dialing in on an Olympic debut in 2024.

“This Olympic campaign is almost entirely different to 2021. Back then I was a very inexperienced athlete and found myself last minute scrambling for a spot in Tokyo after a string of solid performances,” Caldwell said.

“I am heading towards Paris with invaluable international experiences and huge growth on and off the track. Gav and I have developed many aspects of my training, but importantly expanding our team. I don’t think we have set expectations but rather to keep growing, learning and push to qualify for Paris ready to attack the races as a competitor rather than a participant.”

Caldwell will be out to reap the rewards of another strong preparation when toeing the line in Adelaide, welcoming the competitiveness of the Australian middle-distance ranks and the rising standard of the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting.

“If I can execute a competitive race and ideally take the win, I will tick it off as a success. We’re so lucky that the Women’s 800 has grown massively in the last 12 months, so I’m very much looking forward to the opportunity to just get in and race it,” Caldwell said.

“The 800 and 1500 complement each other perfectly. I am keen to keep developing across both events and keep all options open leading into Nationals and Paris. Australian distance running is making a big statement at the moment and no performance is being overlooked, it’s a very exciting time.”

The Olympic duo of Linden Hall (Ned Brophy-Williams) and Bendere Oboya (Craig Mottram) will also patrol the business end of the field, with Hall’s last race in September producing an Australian 1500m record of 3:56.92, while Oboya made an emphatic return to racing at On Track Nights Zatopek:10 in December with a 1:26.34 showing over 600m.

Two-time Olympian Morgan Mitchell (Liz Mathews), World Championships representatives Ellie Sanford (Ned Brophy-Williams) and Tess Kirsopp-Cole (Craig Mottram) add further class the field, while Brooke Feldmeier (USA) brings 1:59.08 credentials from the United States (full field to be announced in the coming weeks).

The Chemist Warehouse Adelaide Invitational will take place at SA Athletics Stadium from 6:30pm ACDT on Saturday February 10, with tickets available for purchase HERE.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 28/1/2023 (Athletics Australia), 29/1/2023 (Athletics South Australia)