Jessica Hull

BIOGRAPHY

The career of 28-year-old Jessica Hull continues to reach new levels every year. In the last five years she has set 23 Australian records, six in Olympic events and 17 in other distances and indoors (Short Track), in the last six years been selected to 11 Australian teams, undefeated at national championships since 2020 where she has claimed nine Australian titles and won three global medals on the track, indoors and outdoors, and over cross country and set a world 2000m record.

Two performances standout, her Olympic 1500m silver medal and the 3:50.83 1500m time. A time which was a five seconds PB, would have won every woman’s Olympic title by over two seconds and equal to some stunning performances like a women’s 10.64 100m.

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Jessica Hull started athletics very young. “I started running in year 2 at my primary school cross country carnival. The cross country carnival was mandatory once you got to year 2 so it was my first introduction to running and I loved it! I started Little Athletics with Albion Park Little A’s later that year when the season started.”

Her father, Simon, who in his day was a junior national level middle-distance runner, carefully guided his daughter’s development, building a foundation with meticulous planning. After school she studied at Oregon University completed a degree in Human Physiology major (Psychology and Sports Business minors). She was a surprise NCAA 1500m champion in 2018 and over the next year added podium finishes indoors, in relays and cross country. Just three weeks after she graduated in June 2019, she destroyed her 1500m PB at Stanford running 4:02.62 to become the fourth fastest in Australian in history and qualify for the Doha world championships and Tokyo Olympics. She raced a few times in Europe, including a stunning 15:00.32 5000m in Berlin – the third fastest in Australian history and fastest by an Australian for 13 years. In her senior international debut in the Doha heat at the IAAF World Championships, she was very competitive. Coasting through the 1500m heat and into the semi-final, she missed the final by one place and just 0.28 seconds. Her semi-final time of 4:01.80 was another personal best and was the fastest non-qualifying time for the final ever at a world championships or Olympics.

Her 2020 season saw her emerge as a versatile talent on the world stage. In the space of one month, Jessica shattered the 1500m (4:00.42), 3000m (8:36.03) and 5000m (14:43.80) national records and mixed it with the world’s best.

Selected for the Tokyo Olympic 5000m in early 2020, Jessica Hull would wait over a year for a preferred 1500m berth in June 2021. Unable to compete in both events, she dropped the 5000m from her program. She eased into her 2021 competition program in May before hitting her straps in July with 4:00.73. Set for the Olympics, she cruised through the heat in second place. In a quick semi-final, she qualified for the final after placing fourth, but the shock was her national record time of 3:58.81. Joining Jessica in the final was Victorian Linden Hall. Prior to the Games, only two Aussies had ever made the women’s 1500m final and now we have two at one Games. Australia was also the only country to boost two athletes in the final. Jessica placed 11th in the final in 4:02.63.

In early 2022 Jessica was in good form during a series of races, breaking the Australian Indoor records in the mile and 3000m with times of 4:24.06 and 8:39.79 respectively. They were her sixth and seventh Australian records in two years. Her form continued into the World Indoor Championships with sixth in the 3000m in 8:44.97. After winning her second National 5000m title in April, she ran well in three races over two weeks in May 2022 on the Diamond League circuit, suggesting she will be very competitive at the world championships (1500m and 5000m) and Commonwealth Games (1500m and 5000m). The races included a 3:59.31 1500m on her home track – Hayward Field and an Australian mile record of 4:19.89 in Portland on July 2.

At the World Championships, Jess was strong through the 1500m rounds with second in her heat and third in her semi-final. In the final she led a second pack for some of the race, finishing in 7th in a time of 4:01.82. After the race, she tested positive for COVID, causing her to isolate for five days and miss the 5000m. In an Instagram post, she wrote she was proud of her 1500m performance.

She recovered to compete at the Commonwealth Games, opting just for the 1500m, but was likely not at her best placing seventh in the straight 1500m final.

Domestically in 2023 she was invincible, winning the National 1500m, 3000m and 5000m titles, with the 3000m in a National record of 8:31.81. At the end of her summer down under she announced she was leaving her team based in Oregon and would train out of Australia.

In May 2023 in Doha Jessica started her international season and continued her barnstorming range of performances. In Doha she clocked 4:00.90 in the 1500m, then in Florence broke the National 1500m record running 3:57.29. She twice broke the National mile record, initially 4:18.24 in Oslo, then nearly three seconds faster with 4:15.34 in Monaco. She also just missed her own National 5000m record by less than half a second in Stockholm clocking 14:44.24. At the Budapest world championships she was seventh in the 1500m final.

Her 2024 campaign was next level. Fourth in the 3000m at the March World indoors, she then won her fourth National title in April – 1500m. She set PBs at every distance from 800m to 3000m, broke seven National records, bringing her tally to 21. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, two performances shone. At the Paris Diamond League she clocked a stunning 1500m time of 3:50.83. It will be regarded as one of the greatest single performances by an Australian ever. It removed 5.14 seconds from her own National record. Five days later at the Monaco Diamond League, she broke the 2000m world record clocking 5:19.70. She took nearly two seconds from the previous record and was the first Aussie in 18-years to set a world record.

Three weeks later she started her historic Paris Olympic Games campaign where she would win silver in the 1500m final – the first Australian woman to win an Olympic medal in distance events on the track.

In 2025 she been just as invincible. Won bronze in the 3000m at the World indoors, defeated two very good Australian fields in the 1500m and 5000m to win the national titles, clocked a 3:52 1500m and two more Australian records – 1000m (2:30.96) and mile (4:13.68). It brought her tally of Australian records to 23, of which six are in Olympic events and 17 over other distances or indoors. She closed her European season placing second in the Diamond League 1500m.

Advice to your younger self: Never place any limitations on your ability or potential outcomes. Persevere, make the most of opportunities and take ownership of your process…..Sporting ambition: Global finals then to competing for medals. “Ultimately, I want to get the most out of myself so I can look back one day and be satisfied with the effort I put into my training and preparation. No regrets!”

@ 9 Sept 2025 david.tarbotton@athletics.org.au