TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA, January 10 — The Aussies pulled off a clutch win in the mixed relay, dethroning the defending champ Kenyans. Since the event came on board for the ’17 edition, the Kenyans had won three titles, the Ethiopians one. No non-African team had broken into the top 2.
The Australians put together a particularly tough foursome here, leading off with two Olympic 1500 finalists: 3:47 miler Olli Hoare and 4:19 miler Linden Hall, then 3:51 miler Jack Anstey, before Olympic silver medalist Jessica Hull wrapped it up.
Even so, it was the United States who led the first leg in the person of Ethan Strand (5:12 for 2K), with Ethiopia’s Wegene Adisu on his heels, followed by France and the Aussies. Hall then delivered a big lead to her team with her 5:57, finishing the second leg with a substantial 6-second gap ahead of the French. The Ethiopians slipped to 4th, barely ahead of the Kenyans and the U.S.’s Sage Hurta-Klecker (6:10).
France’s Antoine Senard (5:14) reeled in the Australians on Leg 3, and Wes Porter (5:18) brought the Americans into the medal picture, though Ethiopia and Kenya remained in the hunt.
On the final leg, Hull (5:50) stormed to the front and pulled away over the technically challenging and muddy back 40, delivering a 3-second win over the 8K course in 22:23, as France got silver in 22:26 and Ethiopia bronze in 22:34. The Kenyans went without a medal for the first time, finishing 4th in 22:42. Gracie Morris (6:03) anchored the U.S. squad to 5th in 22:43.
Said Hull, “There’s been a belief that we can not just medal, but we can probably win it, and we all carried that into today because we weren’t afraid to try and run to win. From the moment that Olli popped up from the mud pit just a few steps behind Reynold Cheruiyot, I just thought we are so on.
“Linden had a blinder, she was so measured and calculated, and Jack held his own off 10 days notice – I’m really proud of him.”
MIXED RELAY RESULTS
1. Australia 22:23 (Oli Hoare, Linden Hall, Jack Anstey, Jessica Hull); 2. France 22:26 (Alexis Miellet, Sarah Madeleine, Antoine Senard, Agathe Guillemot); 3. Ethiopia 22:34 (Wegene Addisu, Gela Hambese, Milkesa Fikadu, Hirut Meshesha); 4. Kenya 22:42 (Reynold Kipkorir, Winfred Mbithe, Daniel Munguti, Purity Chepkirui); 5. United States 22:43 (Ethan Strand, Sage Hurta-Klecker, Wes Porter, Gracie Morris); 6. South Africa 23:04; 7. Great Britain 23:11; 8. Uganda 23:43; 9. Canada 23:43; 10. Japan 24:08.
