EUROPEAN SEASON REVIEW – STEWART MCSWEYN

EUROPEAN SEASON REVIEW | STEWART MCSWEYN

Three Word Analysis: Medal hopes rising

In 2019 McSweyn proved that he was not far off the pace when it came to the best athletes in the world; yet in 2020 the Australian is showing that he is one of them.

For an athlete of his calibre, reaping a haul of two personal bests in the space of a month should be considered an outstanding season.

But running a 6.77 second personal best that eclipses Craig Mottram’s Australian record by 4.17 seconds? Madness.

When the King Islander’s season started with a 13:13.22 for 5000m in Monaco and not many bat an eyelid, it was clear the expectations of McSweyn had been raised for 2020.

Just over a week later he proved why when throwing down the gauntlet to Timothy Cheruiyot and Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Stockholm over 1500m, which in itself is a commendable achievement, enhanced by recording a new personal best of 3:31.48 to finish in 3rd placing.

Returning to the action in Gothenburg over 5000m, the world championships representative proved a class above when running 13:09.83 to claim a new stadium record and storm away from the field.

Racing with supreme confidence, the 25-year-old continued his rampage over 1500m in both Ostrava (3:34.25) and Zagreb (3:32.17), where he finished 3rd and 1st respectively.

But the biggest bombshell came in the form of a 7:28.02 3000m at the Rome Diamond League to become the fastest Australian ever over the distance, but more impressively move into 17th on the all-time list.

It’s a telling stat for McSweyn, who is determined to find an extra 5% ahead of Tokyo in 2021 and land himself on the podium.

McSweyn headlines a strong 1500m at the Doha Diamond League on September 26, where he will compete for the win again.

By: Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 22 September 2020