'This championships has been quite dramatic': Jessica Hull shatters Aussie record as eventful week rolls on

TOKYO: In the space of three dramatic days, Jessica Hull has won a bronze medal, tripped and cut open her leg, lodged a successful appeal, and broken the Australian 800-metre record to book a spot in the final.

"I'm not one to be dramatic," Hull said with a chuckle.

"But this championships has been quite dramatic by my own standards."

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Hull's eventful campaign at the world athletics championships extended to a record-breaking run when she clocked 1:57.15 in the semi-finals at Japan National Stadium on Friday night.

In doing so, the Olympic 1500m silver medallist became the first Australian woman in history to qualify for an 800m final at a world championships.

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She finished third in her heat of the semi-finals before advancing to the final as the fastest of the two non-automatic qualifiers.

The national record she broke was Claudia Hollingsworth's 1:57.67, set only last month at the Silesia Diamond League meet in Poland.

Hollingsworth and fellow Australian Abbey Caldwell were eliminated in the semi-finals, with Hollingsworth finishing fourth in her heat in 1:59.50 and Caldwell finishing fifth in her heat in 1:58.44.

It's worth noting that the 800m is only a secondary event for Hull. The 1500m is her pet event. At the previous world championships, held in Budapest in 2023, she doubled in the 1500m and 5000m.

And while she's iron-willed about medalling in global championships in the 1500m, which she did at the Paris Olympics last year, her approach to the 800m is perhaps best described as fun.

"I think that's dangerous in a way," she said.

"Like, I don't have any pressure or any expectation on me in this event and I just get to kind of run pretty free, and that's quite dangerous when you're out there amongst the women that are expected to do things and expected to run fast in the world. I get to enjoy it and run free and have fun."

She thinks she can lower her newly minted 800m record in the final.

"I probably ran a bit safe on the rail [over] the last 120 [metres]," Hull said.

"I figured if I could just stick myself to Audrey Werro and Tsige Duguma I'd be pulled through with that little 'q' [qualifier].

"I'll just put myself in it [in the final]. [I've got] nothing to lose.

"And the 1500m strength is going to help me with 48 hours recovery now.

"I think I can go a little bit faster."

After Thursday night's heat, she walked through the media zone with her right lower leg covered in blood, having been sliced open by another runner's spikes.

She hit the deck but got up and jogged the rest of the way, before appealing and winning because she wasn't at fault.

Her leg was taped up for her heat of the semi-finals, but she assured there wasn't a problem.

"I'm good, I'm fine," Hull said.

"It's just a bit of a very superficial wound that bled a lot and looked a lot worse than it was."

The 800m final will be run on Sunday night, in the final session of the world championships.

Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson, the reigning Olympic champion, is the gold-medal favourite.

Caldwell is yet to reach a final at a major championships, in either the 800m or 1500m, but the 24-year-old Victorian said a breakthrough was imminent.

"I know I gave it my best shot and I can't really ask for more," Caldwell said.

"I gave Keely the best run for her money that I could in the first 400 [metres], and I wanted to hold onto that and just didn't quite have the legs to finish in that top two at the end. I'm happy with how I attacked it.

"I think we can move on to the next championships and I know I can get in a final. It just hasn't happened yet."