Georgia Griffith, a two-time Australian Olympian, made history at the Box Hill Burn event in Melbourne by setting a new national record in the women’s 1000 metres. Her impressive time of 2:34.50 surpassed the previous record of 2:34.63 held by Abbey Caldwell. Griffith took control of the race early on, overtaking Scotland’s Olivia Vareille just 400 metres in and maintaining a strong lead to finish over six seconds ahead of her competitors. American Eleanor Fulton finished second with a time of 2:41.17, while Ireland’s Nadia Power claimed third in 2:44.11.
With this achievement, Griffith now holds two national records, having previously set the 3000m mark at 8:24.20 in Norway prior to the Paris Olympics. Her coach, Nic Bideau from the Melbourne Track Club, highlighted Griffith’s remarkable development in recent years and her enhanced training capabilities alongside her training partner, Sarah Billings. Bideau expressed confidence in Griffith’s potential, emphasizing her improved endurance and speed.
In the men’s 1000m race, fellow Olympian Peter Bol narrowly missed breaking the national record, finishing at 2:16.29, just two-tenths of a second shy of Jeff Riseley’s 2:16.09 set in 2014. Riseley acknowledged Bol’s impressive performance, suggesting that his record might soon be in jeopardy.
Griffith is now focused on competing in the 1500m at both the upcoming world indoor championships in China and the world championships in September, as well as aiming to secure the national 3000m title at the Sydney Track Classic next week. With her record-breaking run, Griffith has solidified her position as one of Australia’s top track and field athletes as she continues her journey toward further success.