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Athletics: Aussie women shine in Stockholm

Catriona Bisset. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
1st July, 2022
1

Exciting news out of Sweden overnight as three Australian women secured wins at the Stockholm Diamond League Meet.

Leongatha local Eleanor Patterson, locked in her debut Diamond League victory in the Women’s High Jump, clearing a bar of 1.96m on her second attempt.

Patterson defeated a competitive field that included the likes of the World Indoor Champion, Yaroslava Mahuchikh from Ukraine.

Australian 800m Record Holder Catriona Bisset, also impressed with a season best time of 1:58:54. Bisset placed third in the race and coincidently, this was the third fastest run of her career.

The 28-year old is fresh of the back of a public campaign with Beyond Blue where she talks candidly about her relationship with ‘trauma, self-acceptance and dumplings’.

In the video, the typically private Bisset invites us into her home, and more importantly… the kitchen! Viewers watch on as she enjoys a cooking lesson with her mother, Xiaojing.

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The imagery is beautiful, as is the exploration of Bisset’s Chinese heritage. What she has achieved on track in such a small window of time is quite frankly, remarkable. Following a shock win at the Australian Nationals in 2019, Bisset bounced onto the international stage and has racked up an notable CV.

She can now call herself an Olympian and has secured Commonwealth Games selection for Birmingham 2022, beginning later this month.

Yet perhaps what is most striking about Catriona Bisset is the space she has made for her story outside of Athletics.

The opening line of the campaign starts with Bisset talking to the camera and stating, “I remember a photo of a relay team I was part of… we’re all wearing crop tops..”.

There are so many young women, athletes or not, who would have a similar story to tell with an opening line just like Bisset’s. But for now we will wait in anticipation to see what she does next. 





In the first of three non-Diamond League races of the meet, Linden Hall was also too strong for her competitors in the 1500m. She finished in 4:02:65, ahead of fellow Aussie, Georgia Griffith. Placing on the podium in third with a time of 4:04.75 was no mean feat for Griffith, who was returning to competition following a positive test for COVID-19.

Liz Clay rounded out the night, winning the 100m Hurdles (also a non-Diamond League race), clocking a swift time of 13.03. Coached by Sharon Hannan, former coach of Sally Pearson, Clay’s form on track looked clinical.

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