Jye’s Journey through Injury to Japan

24 April 2021

Jye’s Journey through Injury to Japan

With the growing depth in Australian middle-distance running, the men’s national 1500m championship was one of the feature events at the 2021 Australian Track and Field Championships, and it lived up to expectations and more, with a surprise win by Jye Edwards as the race re-wrote the story of the event in Australia.

In what has been described as the biggest upset of the championships, Jye Edwards (BAN) won the national 1500m title, defeating Australian record holder Stewart McSweyn in a massive PB time of 3:33.99. It was an Olympic qualifier and confirming his place in the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics.

“If you told me that six months ago I’d win, I would’ve said you are nuts, absolutely crazy,” Edwards said, reflecting on his performance.

A good teenager, his 2016/17 summer campaign, as an 18-year-old was outstanding. In Sydney in February he ran 3:41.69 to become the seventh fastest Australian junior all-time. A week later in Melbourne he clocked 4:00.2. For the mile, the fourth fastest Australian junior of all time and 0.01 seconds faster than 1960 Olympic champion Herb Elliott at the same age.

But over the next few years he ran just a handful of unremarkable races as he battled injury.

“I had a major injury back in 2017 on my Achilles — I had surgery. Since then I have probably had three years where I could barely string together three or four months before getting injured again somewhere different. It has been injury after injury, frustration after frustration. It came to a point where I was wondering if it was worth it, it kept happening. There was some doubt in your mind, you start to think do I keep doing it or do I throw it away. I am glad I didn’t, that’s for sure. Now it has finally come together.”

This summer there were very promising signs for Edwards, despite another niggle in January. In November he ran a 3000m PB in the NSW Championships, then in December won the Albie Thomas mile defeating Oli Hoare, who is the Australian national indoor mile record holder.

Then after a stint at altitude early in 2021, he went on a run of four consecutive wins, where he set three PBs. After winning the Canberra Track Classic (3:37.30), he took the Melbourne Track Classic over a strong field including Rio Olympic finalist Ryan Gregson. On April 1 he ran another significant PB of 3:35.46, just outside the Olympic qualifier, in winning the Box Hill Classic. Then it was onto the nationals.

“I’ve been saying to a few people it is probably the strongest 1500m I guess as far as I can remember, there are so many guys that have Olympic potential.”

His coach Dick Telford agreed with that assessment, due to the inability of many athletes to travel overseas and compete.

"It (COVID) made everyone come out and compete. The races have been a lot more stacked, and it's just made domestic competition much better for us," Professor Telford said.

But despite a good build-up, the nationals would be new territory for Edwards.

“It was a huge race for me. Stewy was the favourite coming in. I had a rough idea what the tactics would be, but I had to commit early and so glad I did,” said Edwards about his decision just 100m into the race, to follow Stewey. Edwards and McSweyn broke away from the field and ran as a duo for the next 1300m.

"I made a split-second decision with 100m to go, I saw he had a small couple of metres gap and I thought I've either got to jump in or get second. I couldn't let him run away with it."

With 50 metres to go Edwards eased past McSweyn for an historic victory, the fastest time by an Australian at home. Historically only three athletes have ever run sub-3:40 in the national title, seven achieved that this year.

It took a while for Edwards to appreciate what he had achieved.

"Until I got interviewed and they confirmed that it was, I still wasn't 100 per cent sure even though I knew it was the qualifying time and winning equals automatic selection," he said.

"It all just happened so quickly, I got presented the (Olympic) shirt a couple of hours later. I think it was just very unexpected. It still hasn't fully sunk in and I don't think it will for a while, it's been a hell of a four months and I'm just very fortunate."

Since moving from Shellharbour to Canberra for University, he has been coached by Dick Telford.

"[Dick] is just an absolute genius, he knows everything, what to do, how to approach things and I've barely ever had more confidence in a guy,” Edwards told the Canberra Times.

"Whatever he says we just do it. When you have a guy with his knowledge and experience it's just so easy for us to do what he says."

Edwards is not just going to Tokyo to make up the numbers.

"Realistically I would like to go there and run as well as possible," he said. "I don't want to go there just to be a lane filler, I'd love to be able to make a final that would be the main goal."

NOTE: Stewart McSweyn, who has been already selected in the 5000m and 10,000m can be added to the 1500m in the early July selections. McSweyn was very gracious to Edwards, taking the time congratulating him on his win after the Olympic team announcement.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW

Images: Jye Edwards and Stewart McSweyn (courtesy of Fred Etter)