Abbey Caldwell is the second-fastest Australian woman in history over 1,500m after claiming a breakthrough bronze medal at the Diamond League meet in Shanghai, China.
Caldwell shaved three seconds off her previous personal best as she stopped the clock at 3:56.12, behind Ethiopians Birke Haylom (3:55.56) and Tsige Duguma (3:55.71).
Caldwell was the best of five Australians in the final, pipping Olympic silver medallist Jess Hull (sixth), Sarah Billings (eighth), Claudia Hollingsworth (ninth) and Linden Hall (10th).
National record holder Hull led at the 1,200m mark before a hot finish that saw Haylom and the rest of the top six surpass Australian champion Hollingsworth’s season-leading time of 3:58.09, set in March at the Box Hill Classic.
“I honestly didn’t think even mid-race it would be that good. But to get a PB, I’m absolutely stoked,” Caldwell, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, said.
“I knew I was very fit and I wanted to show that on the track. We have the luxury of coming off our domestic season in Australia and I knew I was race-ready.
“I just needed to put my training into a race and I executed that, so I’m very happy. To be on the Diamond League podium for the first time is the biggest bonus ever. It’s amazing.”
The 24-year-old was one of three Australians to make it onto the podium on the first day of Diamond League competition for 2026, as Kurtis Marschall won the fight for second behind Swedish superstar Armand Duplantis with a clearance of 5.80 metres in the men’s pole vault.
“Unfortunately, not many athletes jumped as high as they would have liked today. But it is so early in the season, everyone is grinding really hard,” Marschall said.
“At this competition last year, I only jumped 5.70m, so I’m very happy with the result of 5.80m today.
“We are still in quite heavy training. As we move forward, we will just lighten the load, freshen up, and start feeling a bit better towards the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Matt Denny also claimed silver in the men’s discus.
He threw 67.54 metres with his last legitimate effort, but was bettered by Slovenia’s Kristjan Čeh (70.58m), who became the first person to surpass 70 metres at the meet.
Back on the track, national champion Lachlan Kennedy reached the men’s 100m final, finishing fifth in 10.01 seconds, with South African Gift Leotlela first in 9.97.
Torrie Lewis (23.25) finished ninth in a star-studded women’s 200m field. Jamaican star Shericka Jackson won in 22.07 seconds.
By
