Box Hill once again proved a happy hunting ground for Linden Hall, who added the 5000m at the Box Hill Burn to her list of triumphs at the “Home of PBs.”
On the track where five years ago she became the first Australian to break 4 minutes for 1500m, Hall targeted the Commonwealth Games qualifying standard of 14:55.00 with the aid of Australian 800m champion Abbey Caldwell as pacemaker, wave light technology to continue the rhythm and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka as competition.
Running smoothly through the opening kilometres Hall fell off the pace in the final few laps, rallying at the finish in relatively still distance running conditions at Hagenauer Reserve.
She fell short of the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark by just a second, running 14:56.04 for a 10 second victory. The performance was nonetheless noteworthy: the fastest ever by an Australian on home soil (eclipsing the 14:57.54 run by Rose Davies at the 2024 Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne) and also the fastest during the Commonwealth Games qualifying period (also removing Davies, who ran 14:56.83 at the World Championships, from the top spot).
Astonishingly for a suburban venue, Box Hill has produced the fastest ever performances by an Australian on home soil across five different distances.
Tanaka took second place in 15:06.44 with Maudie Skyring third in 15:24.53.
Keep scrolling, article continues below
In the men’s race the wave light technology was set to a swift 13:15 tempo with only national champion Seth O’Donnell following the pace earnestly. A chase pack of Callum Davies, Adam Goddard and Brett Robinson followed and didn’t look a threat until the final mile when O’Donnell tired significantly.
It was Robinson, 34, the former Australian record holder in the half marathon and marathon, who made chase. Moving smoothly in his first 5000m race since 2022 he was a stark contrast to the tiring tenacity of O’Donnell when passing him with 650m remaining.
However, the race wasn’t over, with O’Donnell doggedly lifting to hold on to the 2013 world championship finalist over the distance. It wasn’t until the final 200m that Robinson pulled away, taking victory a second clear, 13:28.39 to 13:29.40.
Callum Davies (3rd, 13:31.64), Adam Goddard (4th, 13:40.60) and NSW champion Luke Hince (5th, 13:47.17) were amongst the runners rewarded with personal bests.
Over 1500m Victorian mile runner-up Will Lewis took line honours in a close race with Luke Shaw, 3:41.67 to 3:42.02.
In the women’s race 18-year-old Ally Brooks set a new personal best and her second World U20 qualifier with a 4:23.51 victory. Brooks is one of 7 junior women to have bettered the 4:27 mark so far this season.
Photo Gallery
Free download using the code you receive when you subscribe to our newsletter
