Australia’s Catriona Bisset has broken her national 800 metres record at a track and field meet in Poland, recording the fourth fastest time in the world this year.
Key points:
- Bisset posted a time of 1:58.09 to finish second in the 800m final in Poland
- She took 0.69 off her previous national record
- Bisset will be making her Olympic debut in Tokyo
Bisset stopped the clock in one minute and 58.09 seconds to finish runner-up to Ethiopian Freweyni Hailu (1:57.57) in the women’s final at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial meet in Chorzow.
Her performance saw her slice 0.69 off her previous national record, which she set in 2019, illustrating the 27-year-old is hitting career-best form just over a month before the Tokyo Olympics get underway.
Melbourne-based Bisset is coached by the legendary Peter Fortune, who guided Cathy Freeman to gold in the women’s 400m at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
When Bisset set her first national record (1:58.78) in 2019 she broke the previous mark — held by Charlene Rendina — that had stood for 43 years.
Bisset will be making her Olympic debut in Tokyo.
Fellow Australian Eleanor Patterson won the women’s high jump final in Chorzow with a successful clearance of 1.96m.
Patterson’s personal best is 1.99m and she will be competing in her second Olympics in Tokyo after debuting at the Rio Games five years ago.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Jeff Riseley ran an Olympic-qualifying time of 1:44.85 to finish seventh in the men’s 800m final in Chorzow.
Tokyo will be Riseley’s fourth Olympics should he be selected when the squad is finalised in the coming weeks.
