EXCLUSIVE: Report of a rift between Jessica Hull and Australian Athletics 'fabricated', 'bizarre' and a 'shame'

The coach and father of superstar Australian runner Jessica Hull has blasted a report of a rift between their camp and the national athletics federation, describing the narrative as "fabricated", "ridiculous" and a "shame".

A report published by News Corp on Wednesday afternoon said Hull would not be running at the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne on Saturday night because of a "thawing in the relationship" between the Hull camp and Australian Athletics (AA) over the past 12 months.

The report also said AA president Jane Flemming had got in contact with the Hull camp "in an attempt to mend bridges" but was "unable to change the situation".

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Simon Hull, the coach and dad of Jessica, incinerated the report in an interview with Wide World of Sports and explained that the Olympic 1500m silver medallist would not be running at the Maurie Plant Meet because of her gruelling competition and travel schedules.

"It's just fabricated. There's no truth in it at all. The relationship with AA is 100 per cent spot on," Simon told Wide World of Sports.

"We've never had any issues with them, that's for sure.

"It's just bizarre.

"Honestly, if they [AA] were doing shonky stuff, I'd be the first to tell you.

"I don't want AA to cop heat over this. It's just wrong.

"If they're out of line, I'll call them out and I'll tell you every day of the week.

"It's just bogus.

"What they do for us, we appreciate it, let me tell you."

Simon said the report was "unfair" on AA and that its claims were "just not the case".

He went as far as saying his daughter is "the best-supported athlete in Australian athletics".

"We've had nothing but support," he said.

"It's ridiculous."

Jessica won two medals at the world athletics indoor championships in Poland last weekend, grabbing bronze in the 3000 metres and silver in the 1500 metres.

Seeing the report of a feud when she landed back in Sydney on Thursday morning left the running superstar flabbergasted. She immediately contacted AA high-performance boss Andrew Faichney to assure there was no issue.

Wide World of Sports also understands that Flemming, Faichney and AA chief executive Simon Hollingsworth all contacted the Hull camp individually to assure there was no problem on their end.

"She was shocked by it. It wasn't provided by us. Someone's telling a few fibs," Simon Hull said.

"We do have a good relationship with AA and you don't want someone fracturing things by telling non-truths.

"By the time we'd got in the car [after Jessica was collected at the airport], AA had contacted us to say, 'This is bogus'. Everyone's sort of taken a bit aback about it, to tell you the truth. We've all said, 'What the hell is this?'

"There's no way we're gonna have any gripes. The sport's heading in the right direction [in Australia]. I think they've got really good people in place there [at AA]. We have no issues with them whatsoever.

"It's a bit of a shame."

Wide World of Sports understands Hull is well supported by AA financially and with resources.

The News Corp report said the Hull camp "had concerns" about the level of support they received leading up to last year's Tokyo world championships.

Hull prepared for the September world titles on camps in Flagstaff, Arizona, and St Moritz in Switzerland. WWOS understands AA physiologist Avish Sharma joined the Hull camp in Flagstaff and that AA provided financial support for both camps.

AA held its own camp in Cairns before the world championships. Hull was invited but her team decided it was best for her to prepare at high altitude in St Moritz.

Simon Hull was an official AA coach at the world indoor championships in Poland last weekend.

In a comment provided to WWOS, attributed to AA's chief executive, the national federation spoke highly of its relationship with the Hull camp.

"Australian Athletics is immensely proud of what Jess has achieved on the world stage. She is a superstar of our sport," Hollingsworth said.

"We have a very positive working relationship with her and her team, and we will continue to do so in the future.

"Winning two medals across the 1500m and 3000m events at the world indoor championships was an extraordinary double that required racing across all days of the event.

"We are looking forward to seeing her run in our national championships in Sydney next month."

Hull was invited by AA to race in the 1500m on Saturday night at the Maurie Plant Meet — the only gold-level World Athletics event in the southern hemisphere — but her team decided accepting the offer was not in her best high-performance interests.

Other Australian athletes, including Olympic 800m finalist Peter Bol, will back up at the Maurie Plant Meet after competing at the world indoor championships, as will British middle-distance runner Georgia Hunter Bell.

But Hull competed in two events in Poland rather than just one and has opted to prioritise recovery.

She is planning to race in each of the 800m, 1500m and 5000m at the national championships in Sydney next month.

"So unfortunately it just doesn't work [running at the Maurie Plant Meet]," Simon Hull said.

"It's just the dates don't always work, and they can't work for everyone."

The absence of Hull at the Maurie Plant Meet is a blow to the national federation. She is one of the best-performing and most marketable athletes in Australian athletics.

But in Gout Gout, Lachie Kennedy, Cameron Myers, Claudia Hollingsworth, Nina Kennedy, Nicola Olyslagers and Matt Denny, AA still has a star-studded line-up of athletes ready to light up Lakeside Stadium.