Linden Hall has taken advantage of the searing pace set by peerless Kenyan Faith Kipyegon to smash her own Australian 1500m record at the Diamond League final in Oregon.
Hall ran a smart tactical race, moving through the field in the latter stages to finish fifth in three minutes 56.92 seconds, bettering her previous best of 3:57.27 set earlier this year.
Multiple world and Olympic champion Kipyegon was in a class of her own, taking the win in 3:50.72 in a red-hot race where the top nine finishers broke the four-minute mark.
“It’s exciting to end the season on a high,” said Hall, 32, who was eliminated in the semis at the recent world championships in Budapest.
“It’s been a year that has thrown a few curveballs but I’m really proud to have run my three fastest-ever times this season, and I’ll head into the new season and an Olympic year with so much confidence from this run.
“Any chance to add to an Australian record is something to be proud of, and this year I’ve really appreciated these moments because the other girls at home are making these records harder to get and even harder to hold.”
Fellow Australian Jessica Hull was eighth in 3:57.57.
Mackenzie Little matched her bronze-medal effort from the Budapest world titles by finishing third on Saturday (early Sunday AEST) in the javelin at storied Hayward Field in Eugene, which also hosted last year’s world championships.
Little produced her best throw of 61.24m in the opening round.
World champion Haruka Kitaguchi from Japan took the win with 63.78m and New Zealand’s Tori Peeters (61.30m) just pipped Little for second place.
Australia’s world champion Nina Kennedy had a rare off day in the women’s pole vault, finishing fifth with just the one successful clearance at 4.56m.
American Katie Moon – who famously shared the gold medal with Kennedy in Budapest – won the Diamond League crown with 4.86m.
Stewart McSweyn was 10th in the men’s mile as Norway’s alltime great Jakob Ingebrigtsen claimed a dominant win in 3:43.73.
Five more Australians are in action on the concluding day of the Diamond League final on Sunday.