Athletics: Blistering 1500m by Hodgkinson sets Aust record

MELBOURNE - Toni Hodgkinson has run a scorching 1500m in Melbourne, breaking both the New Zealand national and Australian all-comers records.

The 28-year-old 800m specialist, who has been toying with the idea of moving up to the 1500m, clocked 4min 06.23sec on Thursday night, compared with her Olympic Games qualifying time of 4min 07.33sec, which she set in Wanganui on January 22. The games qualifying time for the distance is 4min 08.00sec.

An Olympic finalist four years ago over 800m in Atlanta, Hodgkinson also beat the Australian all-comers record of 4min 6.77sec with a great run against the best-quality field of the evening in the Melbourne Track Classic.

Kenya's Naomi Mugo was second in 4min 06.93sec with Victorian teenager Georgie Clarke, who had the old all-comers mark, third in 4min 06.97sec, ahead of another Australian Benita Willis and the great Irish woman Sonia O'Sullivan.

It was the first time Clarke, rated as one of Australia's best young athletic talents, had raced against O'Sullivan, but the race belonged to the front-running Hodgkinson.

"I'm delighted with the way I ran it ... it was a personal best for me," Hodgkinson said.

Hodgkinson also finished second to Australian Tamsyn Lewis last week at the Australian national titles over 800m and said that at this stage she would still concentrate on the shorter event for the Olympics.

Beatrice Faumuina was second in the discus, throwing 63m, and Shaun Farrell third in the 800m in 1min 46.73sec.

- NZPA