Reigning Diamond League champion Jacory Patterson has vowed to run his season-opening 400m like his last when he hits the track at the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne, with Australia’s Reece Holder the first to put his hand up to take on the US champion.
The March 28 contest at Lakeside Stadium will see Holder (QLD) lead a two-headed Australian monster alongside Cooper Sherman (VIC), but the duo will have to be at their very best to take down the world number three Patterson (USA).
The 2026 Diamond League champion owns an imposing personal best of 43.85-seconds and has no intentions of cruising through his first Australian tour, throwing down the gauntlet ahead of the World Athletics Continental Tour – Gold meet.
“I’m not going to underestimate anybody. I’m going to come there with even ground because one year can change your life. I just want to have fun and meet new people,” Patterson said.
“People should come watch me run because I like to run every race like it’s my last. It will be my opener for the 400m, but I won’t run it that way because I like to give the crowd a reason to come to the meet.”
Formerly working through the night for the United Parcel Service to fund his athletics career, Patterson emerged as one of the feel-good stories of global athletics in 2025, now joining a star-studded cast for the Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne to launch his 2026 campaign.
“I looked up pictures of the city and saw how nice the scenery was, but my only concern is the insects and the bugs. I have heard a lot about them, but other than that I’m excited!” Patterson said.
Sitting second on the Australian all-time list at 44.53-seconds, Holder is welcoming the challenge of hosting one of the world’s premier 400m men along with Japanese champion Fuga Sato, firing an ominous warning ahead of the March 28 showdown.
“The boys have started to heat up, but it’s about to get a whole lot hotter,” Holder said.
Becoming the 11th Australian man in history to shatter 45-seconds in the event, Sherman has already joined Holder as a qualifier for the 2026 Commonwealth Games with his 44.85-second win at the Perth Track Classic, with another sub 45-second man also waiting in the wings.
The 2026 Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne is the first of 12 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meets for 2026, sitting just under the Diamond League in status. Oceania’s only Gold Level meet is supported by the Victorian Government through its Significant Sporting Events Program.
The 2025 Maurie Plant Meet – Melbourne was sold out, attracting 10,000 fans to Lakeside Stadium.
Tickets are available for purchase HERE as part of the Chemist Warehouse Summer Series.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 25/2/2026
