Hull survives disqualification drama to bag bronze and silver medals

Jessica Hull has won two medals at the World Indoor Athletics Championships, with Australia picking up a haul of five medals at the event in Poland.

Hull, now a regular on the podium at global championships, won silver in the 1500m on Monday morning (AEDT) a day after taking bronze in the 3000m, showing her range on the track.

While her rivals were well rested between Friday’s heats and Sunday’s final, Hull showed no signs of tiredness when winning silver in the 1500m.

Becoming the first Australian woman to break the four-minute barrier indoors when reclaiming her national record, Hull’s time of 3:59.45 could only be bettered by Great Britain’s Georgia Hunter Bell, who won gold in 3:58.53.

“I think we might see a few more people try the double now,” Hull said.

“I really enjoyed doing both, it takes the pressure off everything being emphasised on one race, which at this time of year, with a long year of racing ahead, is really nice.”

The silver is Hull’s seventh global medal but she is still chasing an elusive* first ever individual gold, something she has told news.com.au she wants to achieve at the Commonwealth Games and LA Olympics.

“We train for championships. I’m proud of the consistency, it’s a direct product of the work we do every day,” Hull said.

“I know the sessions Dad (Hull’s coach) builds out are also with medals in mind at the end of the day, and I think that strengthens everything we do on the track.”

The 3000m final began in dramatic fashion with some push and shove in the lead pack — Hull was bumped by Spain’s Marta Garcia around a bend.

The Australian tried to steady herself, reached forward and her arm touched the back of Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu, causing the defending champion to lose balance and fall over.

“Marta just moved up to get her position and I was just trying to get off the rail*, thinking someone was going to go,” Hull said post-race after finishing third in 8:58.18 behind Italy’s Nadia Battocletti and American Emily Mackay.

Hailu recovered to finish sixth and she avoided any penalty, with Spain’s Garcia disqualified for her push on the Australian.

“Freweyni got tapped from the side and just went straight down in front of me,” Hull said.

“I kind of knew even then when she went down that the race was going to change again because she’s a key player.

“I am just proud to add another medal to my collection. If there’s a race for medals anywhere in the world, I will be there.”

Fellow Aussie Adam Spencer flew down the final straight in the 1500m, gaining several places to finish third and win bronze, his first global medal in a time of 3:40.26.

“The plan was to stay on the rails, which is a bit risky. I just stuck to it and was super patient, and when the gap opened up, I just sent it,” Spencer said.

Adding to the middle-distance frenzy, Western Australia’s Peter Bol set a new Australian 800m short track record, clocking 1:45.14 to finish in fourth place and contend strongly for a medal.

Long Jumper Liam Adcock will head home with 11th place and a 7.92m leap to his name, while Michelle Jenneke returned to finish in sixth place of her 60m hurdles semi-final in 8.02-seconds.

Overall, team Australia had a successful campaign at the World Indoor titles in Poland as Nicola Olyslagers won silver in the high jump and Kurtis Marschall cleared 6m in the pole vault for bronze.

Australian Medallists at the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Championships
Silver – Jessica Hull (1500m – 3:59.45)

Silver – Nicola Olyslagers (High Jump – 1.99m)

Bronze – Jessica Hull (3000m – 8:58.18)

Bronze – Kurtis Marschall (Pole Vault – 6.00m)

Bronze – Adam Spencer (1500m – 3:40.26)

WATCH THE VIDEO OF HAILU’S FALL

POLL

GLOSSARY

• elusive: hard to get
• rail: the innermost lane

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Olympic heroes welcomed home

QUICK QUIZ
1. Which medals did Jessica Hull win at the World Indoor Athletics Championships?
2. In which event did Ethiopia’s Freweyni Hailu fall after being accidentally pushed by other runners?
3. Who was disqualified for the incident?
4. In which event did Nicola Olyslagers win silver?
5. How many Australians won bronze in the Championships?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Championship medals

Using the results in the Kids News article, graph the Australian medal results from the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Poland.

Your graph should be clear, easy to read and articulate.

After you’ve constructed your graph, write three questions you could ask or answer from the information given on the graph.

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: Mathematics

2. Extension
How do you think Jessica Hull and her Dad (her coach) ensure she can compete well in two events, not just one?

Write some things they might do to ensure she doesn’t get too fatigued in race day events.
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Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: Health and Physical education, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
BAB it!
Show you have read and understood the article by writing three sentences using the connectives “because’’, “and”, and “but” (BAB). Your sentences can share different facts or opinions, or the same ones but written about in different ways.