Olympic Women’s 1500m: Can Jessica Hull deliver gold?

As the fifth fastest woman in 1500m history, Australia’s Jessica Hull will be going all out to land the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.

The 27-year-old comes into this competition in great form and here’s a closer look at her chances for the event which gets underway with the heats on 6th August.

Hull out to cause an upset

Albion Park-born Hull will have made her competitors sit up and take notice after she managed to break the world record in the 2000m leading into the Games in Paris.

The 27-year-old NSW star managed to clock in at 5 minutes, 19.70 seconds at the Monaco Diamond League meeting last month.

Hull has had her fair share of injury troubles in the past but put her impressive display in Monaco down to having a clean bill of health for a sustained period.

“It is amazing to be called a world record-holder now. I am running so fast now because I have been healthy for four years and have a really strong body now,” said Hull.

“It was incredible. When I was on my own on the last lap everyone was cheering for me," she added. “I was just looking at the lights, hoping they wouldn’t catch me. There are for sure some women who can run that 5:19, but for now I have my place in the history books. I ran hard for this record, I worked extremely hard for this.”

On the back of that performance over the longer distance of 2000m, Hull has switched her focus to getting the best out of herself on the biggest occasion of them all, the Olympic 1500m.

Australia’s hope is 11.00 to claim the win and must overcome some stern opposition if she is to finish top of the podium.

Big names to overcome

When it comes to the other women looking to take the gold medal home with them, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon is the one to beat.

The 30-year-old is an icon in the sport and is the current world record holder for the 1500m, so it’s unsurprising she is the 1.22 favourite to take top spot on the podium in Paris.

Kipyegon managed to edge out Hull in the Paris Diamond League meet on her way to a world record time last month and the veteran will take some stopping.

At second-favourite in the 1500m market, Gudaf Tsegay at 7.00 is also expected to be in the mix when it comes to the medals.

The Ethiopian is a formidable competitor and it might well be a battle between Tsegay, Kipyegon and Hull for the medals in what will be a highly-anticipated final in Paris.