Myers magic: Aussie prodigy scores crushing win, breaks national record
Of all the scintillating runs Cameron Myers has produced, his latest has to take top billing.
Myers, who only turned 20 this month, notched up a crushing win over 1500 metres at the Paris Diamond League on Monday (AEST) – and claimed the Australian record in the process.
Cameron Myers in Paris. Getty
Come the bell, the Canberra product had shaken off everyone in the field bar local hope Azeddine Habz.
By the time he’d hit 200m to go, the result was a foregone conclusion.
Myers powered into overdrive on the back straight to dispatch the Frenchman and charged away to win in 3:28:00, finishing comfortably clear of Habz (3:29.80) and Great Britain’s Jake Wightman (3:29.95). Wightman is a former 1500m world champion.
Myers broke the national record of 3:29.41 set by Commonwealth Games gold medallist Olli Hoare in 2023.
He also ran the fastest 1500m time in the world this year, although that was a mantle he already held.
It was a statement run less than a month out from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, beginning on July 23.
“Getting the Australian record means so much because obviously Olli and Stewy [McSweyn, the previous record holder] were athletes that I looked up to a lot growing up,” Myers said.
“It’s just mental. It’s nice to finally tick it off.
“I knew I had something good in my legs, so I’m glad I was able to show it.
“Having that exterior pressure on yourself to get a time takes away from the main part of the race, which is winning. It’s going to be huge for me going forward.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Billings broke the Australian 800m record at the Paris Diamond League.
The Melburnian finished sixth in 1:57.01 to take down the 1:57.15 run by Olympic silver medallist Jessica Hull at the Tokyo world athletics championships last year.
“The depth of middle distance in Australia is insane, so to run an Australian record when all the other girls are flying is just so exciting,” Billings said.
“When I was in my early 20s, I was doubting whether I was an 800m runner or not. It’s nice to have kept with it because it used to be a scary event for me, but now I have heaps of fun doing it.”
Hull reshared an Oceania Athletics Instagram post of Billings’ record-breaking run, congratulating her and writing: “It was only a matter of time!!!”
