RECORD RUN: TASMANIAN McSWEYN ON TARGET FOR TOKYO OLYMPICS
TASMANIAN Stewart McSweyn broke the Australian record for the 1500m at the Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham yesterday, firming as a chance to run at the Tokyo Olympic Games next year.
The 23-year-old middledistance specialist from King Island again showed he belongs among the world’s best, claiming third place with the Oceania indoor record of 3min 35.1sec, which had been set by his training partner Ryan Gregson two years earlier at the same event.
Gregson was in the same race this year, finishing sixth in 3:37.52 behind a world recordbreaking performance from Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera (3:31.04). Tefera broke the record set by Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj of 3:31.18 in Stuttgart in 1997.
Many eyes were on fellow Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, who just missed the mile world record last week. But Tefera, 19, overtook his compatriot with 200m to go.
“I can’t believe that,” Tefera said. “To have the world record is a special feeling.”
Kejelcha was aiming to break the record after coming within 0.01sec of a world mark in the indoor mile last week at the Millrose Games.
Australian Joseph Deng won the 800m in 1:47.27.
For Deng this European trip was more a fact-finding mission, given the national 800m record holder had never pre- viously raced indoors. But the 20-year-old showed class and poise beyond his years to win a rough-house affair which saw two runners fall shortly after the start. Deng went to the front and was never headed to claim the national record which had been set by Ryan Foster (1:47.48) in 2010.
McSweyn and Deng have easily been Australia’s most improved athletes over the past 12 months and will be the leading medal hopes at next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.