Athletics NSW Athletes of the Year: Jessica Hull and Brandon Starc

Published Fri 29 May 2020

Following strong performances at the Doha World Championships, distance runner Jessica Hull (BAN) and high jumper Brandon Starc (PAR) are the Athletics NSW athletes of the year.

Starc made a late start to his 2019/20 campaign due to injury but still rallied well to place sixth at the World Championships with a height of 2.30m. It closed his shortened European/Worlds six-week international season which included 2.30m clearances in Birmingham and Zurich Diamond Leagues, both placing him on the podium. He then made a very positive start to his 2020 summer with an undefeated three-meet campaign topped by a 2.30m clearance at the Sydney Track Classic.

He claims the Richard Coombes Memorial Award, named after the founder of Athletics NSW in 1887 and considered the father of amateur athletics in Australia. Starc defeated for the award world championships semi-finalists Steve Solomon, Nick Hough and NCAA champion Morgan McDonald.

A breakthrough season sealed the R.H. North/ W. Wilson Award as the Most Outstanding Female Athlete of the year for Jessica Hull, 23. After graduating from Oregon in June, where she closed her college career with a silver in the 1500m in a personal best time of 4:06.27, she went on a barnstorming nine months across the globe where she achieved seven significant PBs, won national titles, set national records, competed in the semi-finals at the world championships, clocked five Olympic qualifiers and secured selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

Hull brought her PBs down to 4:01.80 and 15:00.32, now the fourth and third best Australian ever over 1500m and 5000m. At the world championships, she missed the 1500m final by one place, clocking the fastest ever world championships non-final qualifying mark of 4:01.80. In February in Melbourne we watched her dominate a strong 5000m field to claim the national title and secure selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

To win the award Hull had to overcome a very strong field including Nicola McDermott, who became the fourth-best high jumper in Australian history clearing three Olympic qualifiers of 1.96m and teenager Bendere Oboya who was the leading junior in the 400m field at the world championships where she made the semi-finals and placed 13th overall and recorded an Olympic qualifier of 51.21 in the heat.

Event Group Performance awards

Competition in the open performance awards was very competitive in a few disciplines. Winners were:

Sprints/Hurdles – Bendere Oboya (UTN)

Distance/XC/Road – Jessica Hull (BAN)

Walks – Beki Lee (ASW)

Jumps & Multis – Brandon Starc (PAR)

Throws – Dani Stevens (WES)

Sprints/hurdles

Bendere Oboya edged an enormous field of contenders, including world championships semi-finalists Nick Hough (SYU), Steve Solomon (RBH), and Sarah Carli (KEJ), world championship teammate Rohan Browning (SYU), World Uni Games relay medallist and 400m finalist Bella O’Grady (UTN) and strong domestic campaigns from Liz Clay (SYU) and John Gikas (UNS).

Distance/XC/Road

The distance/cross country and road running award included an international class field behind winner Jessica Hull with four world championships teammates Morgan McDonald, Carley Thomas, Paige Campbell and Georgia Winkcup also having strong seasons.

Walks

Canberra-based Asics Wests athlete Beki Lee claims the award as she continues to press for Olympic selection. She placed third in the trials in February and will be hoping to go to her second Olympics in Tokyo.

Jumps/multi-events

Brandon Starc takes this award on the strength of his sixth at the world championships, judged ahead of Nicola McDermott’s (SYU) three Olympic qualifiers.

Throws

It was a very short 2019/20 campaign for Dani Stevens, injured either side of her one appearance in November where she nailed four qualifiers in the one outing headed by a best of 65.93m, the seventh-longest throw in the world for 2019. Alex Hulley (SUT) also compiled a tremendous season, setting a near two-metre PB of 70.55m and winning the Sydney Track Classic where she defeated world number three in 2019, Gwen Berry. Mackenzie Little started the 2019/20 season very well defending her NCAA javelin crown in June.