Abbey Caldwell has taken her stellar early-season form to its logical conclusion, winning the Xiamen Diamond League 1500m in 3:57.26. It is the first Diamond League victory of her career.
The result comes just one week after Caldwell ran a personal best of 3:56.12 in Shanghai to become the second fastest Australian woman all-time, finishing third behind Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom. If Shanghai was the breakthrough, Xiamen was the confirmation.
Conditions were far less forgiving this time around: a sweltering 29 degrees and 81% humidity.
“I’m really happy with that,” Caldwell said. “It was really hot out there. A lot harder than last week. It just escalated that extra bit up. So that was tough, but I just wanted to execute a really good race so I’m happy with that.”
It was a strong night for the Australian 1500m contingent more broadly. Jess Hull ran at the head of the chase pack, in contrast to her front running effort last week, and finished fifth in 3:58.97, with Linden Hall eighth in 4:00.55. Sarah Billings, who bravely went with the early pace alongside Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom (second), and faded to 11th in 4:02.00. Claudia Hollingsworth finished 13th in 4:06.46.
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That last result is a reminder of how quickly form can shift in middle distance running, but perhaps, also how challenging it is to read May form. Just 56 days ago, Hollingsworth beat world indoor champion Georgia Hunter Bell at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, having run her personal best of 3:58.09 a few weeks prior at Box Hill. Now, with the Commonwealth Games athletics just 65 days away, the Australian champion finds herself showing only the fifth-best form in the national women’s 1500m group.
The selection picture for Glasgow is coming into sharp focus, and Caldwell — two Diamond League podiums in a fortnight — has made a compelling case to not just line up in the mile alongside the 800m that she has already been selected for. An 800m/Mile double in the women’s events requires:
- Day 1 Evening Session: 800m first round (assuming entries require this round to be held)
- Day 3 Evening Session: 800m semi-finals
- Day 4 Morning Session: Mile first round
- Day 5 Evening Session: 800m final
- Day 6 Evening Session: Mile final
Based on form – which has plenty of time to change for herself and others – she is well on track to challenge to improve on her bronze medal four years ago.
In other results in Xiamen:
- Eleanor Patterson 5th in the high jump in 1.94m
- Lachlan Kennedy was 6th in the 100m in 10.06s
- Liam Adcock was 8th in the long jump in 7.76m
- Torrie Lewis was 9th in the 200m in 23.25s
- Cara Feain-Ryan was 12th in the 3000m steeplechase in 9:29.10
- Seth O’Donnell was 14th in the 5000m in 13:18.68
