Jess Hull secures silver medal in 1500m after breaking Olympic record in ‘race of her life’ behind legend Faith Kipyegon

Jessica Hull has won a historic silver medal for Australia on the track, breaking the existing Olympic record by finishing second in the 1500m final behind top athlete Faith Kipyegon.

The 27-year-old has been building strongly this year in the run-up to Paris and she lived up to her promise with a strong final 600m that left her in a state of disbelief.

Hull is the first Australian woman to win a medal in the 1500 metres and the first woman to win overall since Herb Elliott in 1960. John Landy (bronze, 1956) and Edwin Flack (gold, 1896) are the only people to ever finish on the podium.

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“That was amazing. That was so amazing. Jess Hull, you just went down in history,” Tamsyn Manou said on Nine.

“Jessica Hull, you are now a legend of our sport. That was a brilliant race, she covered every move, that was just brilliant.”

Gerard Whateley described the event as “the race of her life” as she finished third on the final bend, overtaking Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, who was also eventually overtaken for bronze by Britain’s Georgia Bell.

Kipyegon won her third consecutive 1500m title by a final margin of 1.27 seconds, bettering her own Olympic record to 3:51.29. Hull, however, ran 3:52.56, so fast that she bettered the Tokyo gold medallist’s previous time by 0.55 seconds.

“It’s a race we’ll never forget, (Kipyegon has) won three and Jess Hull’s part in that will be silver. It’s a rare treasure, it’s an achievement that’s as good as gold,” Whateley said.

“Faith Kipyegon joins Usain Bolt in a pantheon of the greats and we’re talking about Jess Hull with Edwin Flack, John Landy and Herb Elliott — and they did it in an Olympic record.”

Hull said it was “incredible” to join that trio as Australian 1500m medallists – something she was all too aware of in preparation for the race.

“It’s really cool to hear that now, it’s a bit daunting in the process,” she told Nine.

“A little bit of anticipation to be next, but it’s a rare audience, it’s one now and the floodgates will probably open. There’s a lot of talent coming through, so this is going to be normal.”

Since returning to Australia full-time a year ago, Hull has been coached by her father Simon, a former national middle-distance runner.

She previously lived in Oregon and was coached by Pete Julian.

Hull made two major breakthroughs last month, raising expectations she was poised to win a medal on the biggest stage.

First, she improved her personal best by five seconds and rose to fifth all-time in the 1500 meters, finishing second in 3:50.83 at the Paris Diamond League, behind Kipyegon, who broke the world record.

The following week in Monaco she broke the world record in the 2000 metres, further convincing her that she was ready to make the step from regular world finalist to Olympic medallist.

“I’ve felt so much support this past month. I don’t think a month ago I could have anticipated the kind of ride I’ve had,” Hull said.

“I’m just so proud and I appreciate everyone’s well wishes. I hope (the early alarm) was worth it … we got an Olympic silver medal and everyone contributed to that.”

Hull finished 11th in the 1500 metres final in Tokyo and seventh at the two most recent world championships.

When asked about her childhood club Albion Park, she told of a morning text message that inspired her to join.

“Mom sent a picture of me at the State Little Aths, I was probably 12, and she said I had to do it tonight for this little girl,” Hull said.

“That was all I needed to hear from her, it brought me to tears a little bit. I’m glad she sent it early in the day so I could have that moment and recalibrate.

“We can do this. I hope I’m the first of many middle distance stars to come. It’s a pretty special feeling. I think I ran the longest lap of honor in the world and won the silver medal!

“I can’t imagine gold feeling better than this, silver feels damn good.”

Hull’s silver was Australia’s seventh track medal in Paris, the second-best performance in Olympic history, behind only Australia’s 12 medals on home soil at Melbourne 1956.

She joked that she had now completed the set with her old friends Nina Kennedy (pole vault gold medalist) and Matt Denny (discus bronze).

The trio rose through the ranks together after representing Australia at the Junior World Championships

“It’s just a fairytale, isn’t it? There are so many parts of this championship that just felt right and this was one of them,” Hull said.

Just minutes before the 1500m final, Australian Stewart McSweyn finished 18th out of 22 competitors in the 5000m final, won by Norwegian great Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

McSweyn, who secured his place in the medal race by successfully appealing a nasty fall in the semi-final, was eliminated early but was eliminated as a contender.

He was immediately present to embrace the new gold medal winner Ingebrigtsen, who shook off the disappointment of missing out on the podium in the 1500 meters with style.

Elsewhere at Stade de France, Australian duo Kathryn Mitchell and Mackenzie Little missed out on medals in the javelin final.

But Mitchell took a well-deserved bow after her final throw, finishing seventh with a first attempt of 62.63 meters, her best effort of the year.

The 42-year-old finished just 15 centimetres behind the top six, giving her two more chances to win a medal.

Little qualified easily with a time of 62.82 meters, but in the final he did not come close to that.

On her first throw she threw 60.32m, but she failed to reach 60m again. She finished twelfth.

It was a disappointing end to the 27-year-old’s second Olympic Games after she won bronze at the 2023 World Championships.

Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi won gold there and was unstoppable in Paris. Her first throw of 65.80 meters was enough to become Olympic champion.

– with AAP