On a day at Bathurst’s Mount Panorama largely remembered for searing heat, a wild storm and a merciless course, Australia’s distance runners delivered a statement.
The host nation’s best result at the 44th edition of the world cross-country championships was a bronze medal secured in the mixed 4x2km relay on Saturday.
Oliver Hoare, Jessica Hull, Stewart McSweyn and Abbey Caldwell threw down a mighty challenge to long-time distance-running juggernauts Kenya and Ethiopia.
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The team even led the field at the halfway point, having been catapulted into the lead by an instantly iconic second leg produced by Hull, who dragged the Australians from third to first.
Speaking with a cheeky grin, McSweyn underscored the message the Australians had sent the distance-running world.
“To compete with the powerhouses of Ethiopia and Kenya hopefully puts Australia on the world map. Maybe we are part of ‘the big three’ in distance running now,” McSweyn said, drawing laughter from his teammates and reporters.
Hoare chimed in with a classic.
“Hell yeah, brother!” he said.
“I like that answer.”
The East Africans’ dominance of the sport was reflected most emphatically in the men’s senior race, in which Ugandans, Ethiopians, Kenyans, Burundians and an Eritrean swept 19 of the top 20 positions.
Rising Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo executed the greatest performance of his career yet, clinching gold in the men’s senior race as he upstaged countryman and hot favourite Joshua Cheptegei, as well as Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor.
“The Africans are just incredible at this particular sport and they always have been so dominant,” Hoare said.
“We’re very fortunate to have a real big boom in middle distance.
“Leading the charge with these three athletes next to me, who have just been incredible on the world scene and consistent, as well, (is amazing).
“Having the opportunity for the four of us to do something together for Australia hopefully inspires a lot of young kids coming out, watching, driving that long drive in the heat, waiting around, to aspire to be a part of athletics.
“Athletics and cross-country is an extremely hard sport to follow and I know that we all do our part to make it better.
“The one thing that we can do here is medal for Australia at such a massive event. That gives kids the belief that if we can do it, why can’t they do it? For me that was the most important thing going through it. I want kids to see that Australia is a dominant force in the athletic world, track-and-field world and cross-country world. That’s the goal and I think we achieved something great today.”
When Hoare passed the ribbon to Hull five minutes and 41 seconds into the relay, South Africa had the lead, Kenya sat in second and Australia was running third.
But the Australians pinched the lead when Hull made a decisive move past Kenya’s Mirriam Cherop late in the lap.
Bruce McAvaney couldn’t contain his excitement from his course-side commentary position, declaring immediately that Hull’s leg was etched in Australian athletics “folklore” and noting it gave him “goosebumps”.
“I was just trying to stay patient and not get too carried away,” Hull said.
“I think I’ve done that plenty of times in races before.
“I think chasing was probably a good way for me to run the leg because I was able to measure it out a bit more.
“The first 60 seconds was (coach) Pete (Julian) saying, ‘Don’t go out too hard, don’t go out too hard’. I was just trying to measure it like that.
“I started to realise towards the billabong I wasn’t losing any more ground, (and I was) trying to be strong on the uphills but stronger on the downhills and really, really embrace the crowd.”
Australia made its debut in the world cross-country championships mixed relay, which had only been staged on two previous occasions.
Many good judges, including World Athletics president Sebastian Coe and Australian running legend Steve Moneghetti, believe the Bathurst course was the toughest in world cross-country championships history.
The gruelling course, which featured punishing hills, a muddy billabong that put some runners on their backside, a sandy section dubbed “Bondi Beach” and a chicane formed by tyres, combined with 36-degree heat to make for a colossal test.
Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey was about 30m from the finish line in the women’s senior race when she collapsed. Kenya’s Beatrice Chebit charged past her to capture gold and, after being helped back to her feet and stumbling to the finish line, Gidey was disqualified.
Australia’s Leanne Pompeani was also in distress, slumping to the ground about 20m from the finish line. She staggered back to her feet, wobbled to the finish line and was carted to a medical tent in a wheelchair.
One competitor in the men’s under-20 race dropped to the ground about 20m from the finish line before shuffling the rest of the way on his buttocks.
Australia’s Izzi Batt-Doyle, who finished 29th in the women’s senior race, said repeatedly that she’d rather race a half-marathon than endure such a challenge over 10km.
“I think it’s just the fact that you can’t get any momentum,” Batt-Doyle told Wide World of Sports.
“Usually in a race — let’s say a half-marathon — you feel pretty good for the first 10km. Then it starts to really kick in, your legs go a bit heavy, you have to push through the last 5km.
“Every single step (in Bathurst) was hard, 500m in your heart rate’s already elevated, people are pushing, the ground’s uneven, you can never feel comfortable. The course itself has a lot to do with that, just the camber, the surfaces, obviously the really brutal hills, just every interruption, the billabong, running through the wet just really breaks your stride.”
Batt-Doyle said the most remote part of the course was a test of psychology.
“The back section’s pretty tough because you don’t have anyone supporting you through the vineyard, it goes really quiet, there’s a real pinch of a hill after that,” the Olympian said.
“You can just start to feel really sorry for yourself and wonder why you’re doing this to yourself.”
While the temperature peaked at 36 degrees, it dropped to 26 degrees by the time Kiplimo dashed across the finish line to grab gold.
The first event of the day began at 3.30pm and the last, the men’s senior race, took off at 6.10pm, after the start time was moved forward because of a vicious storm rolling in from the west.
Rain pelted down, incredible strikes of lightning lit up the sky and thunder rumbled.
Huge gusts of wind came about, causing a dust storm as runners struggled with their breathing and eye sight.
“On the first lap (of the men’s senior race), a tree probably 10m off the course just fell down,” Australia’s Brett Robinson told Wide World of Sports.
“It was just a crazy race.”
The medal ceremony was moved from Mount Panorama to Charles Sturt University.
As thousands scurried in search of shelter, a common remark was thrown around.
“Welcome to Australia.”
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