World and Olympic stars get 2026 Continental Tour Gold under way in Melbourne

Fresh from the conclusion of the indoor season, the spotlight moves outdoors with the Maurie Plant Meet in Melbourne, the first of 11 World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meetings to be held across five continental areas this year.

World and Olympic champions, medallists from last weekend’s World Indoor Championships, and a host of rising talents will be in action. A handful of events will take place on Friday (27) while the main programme is scheduled for Saturday (28).

Global stars on the field

The men’s discus is one of the standout events on the programme, featuring Olympic champion Roje Stona of Jamaica and Australia’s Matthew Denny, the Olympic bronze medallist and second-best thrower in history.

Denny will be looking to improve on his meeting record of 68.17m from last year, having thrown 68.74m in Hobart last month. Also in the field are European and Commonwealth medallist Lawrence Okoye and South American champion Claudio Romero of Chile.

Australia’s Nina Kennedy, the Olympic champion in the women’s pole vault, returns to action on home soil after missing the entirety of 2025 through injury. She faces strong competition from USA’s Amanda Moll, the 2025 world leader with 4.91m, and her twin sister Hana Moll, who leads the world list so far in 2026 with 4.88m. The meeting record of 4.71m could come under threat.

World champion and meeting record-holder Nicola Olyslagers, silver medallist at last weekend’s World Indoors, leads the women’s high jump field. 18-year-old compatriot Izobelle Louison-Roe also arrives in strong form after recently clearing 1.95m, just one centimetre shy of the Oceanian U20 record.

The men’s long jump features 2025 world indoor bronze medallist Liam Adcock, while Japan’s Tomohiro Shinno, the Asian silver medallist and recent world indoor finalist, is among the entries for the men’s high jump.

Hunter Bell looks to continue momentum

The women’s 1500m is set to be one of the leading track events of the meeting, headlined by newly crowned world indoor champion Georgia Hunter Bell of Great Britain.

The Olympic 1500m bronze medallist and world 800m silver medallist faces a deep Australian contingent including world cross country mixed relay champion Linden Hall, world leader Claudia Hollingsworth, Sarah Billings and Abbey Caldwell, as well as NCAA champion Sophie O’Sullivan.

The race includes four of the six fastest Australian women in history, all of whom have broken four minutes for the distance, and the meeting record of 4:05.97 set by Hollingsworth last year could be under pressure.

The men’s 800m is similarly deep and features six of the eight fastest Oceanian men of all time. Australia’s Peter Bol, the continental record-holder and world and Olympic finalist, leads the field fresh from his fourth-place finish at the World Indoors.

He will be joined by New Zealand record-holder James Preston, Oceanian U20 record-holder Peyton Craig, Bob Abdelrahim, 18-year-old Daniel Williams, the outdoor world U20 leader, and Luke Boyes.

In the men’s 1500m, 19-year-old Cameron Myers makes his eagerly anticipated outdoor debut following an undefeated indoor campaign that included a 3:47.57 victory in the Wanamaker Mile and a world-leading 7:27.57 clocking – an outright Oceanian record – over 3000m.

He lines up alongside recent world indoor bronze medallist Adam Spencer, Jude Thomas and Germany’s Robert Farken, all of whom have broken 3:32. The meeting record of 3:32.55, which has stood since 2000, could be on borrowed time.

Australia’s Georgia Griffith, the Oceanian record-holder, headlines the women’s 3000m alongside world 5000m finalist Rose Davies, while Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn and Ireland’s Brian Fay are among those set to contest the men’s 3000m.

Patterson and Gout headline sprints

US champion Jacory Patterson will contest his first 400m of the year. Patterson broke 44 seconds three times last season, highlighted by his PB 43.85 to win the Diamond League final. He faces world and Olympic semifinalist Reece Holder and fellow sub-45-second athletes Aidan Murphy, Cooper Sherman and Japan’s Fuga Sato. The meeting record of 44.82, set by Jeremy Wariner in 2008, could be tested.

The men’s 200m sees teenage sensation Gout Gout return to the Maurie Plant Meet, where he will look to avenge his defeat from last year. Earlier this season, the Australian reduced his 100m PB to 10.00 and clocked 20.42 for 200m into a -2.1m/s wind.

He faces compatriot Lachlan Kennedy, the 2025 world indoor 60m silver medallist, who won last year’s meeting in a PB of 20.26 to Gout’s 20.30. Ireland’s Benjamin Richardson, the fastest man in the field with a PB of 19.99, and New Zealand’s Tommy Te Puni, the quickest in the field this year with 20.35, add further depth.

Kennedy will also line up in the men’s 100m, where he brings a PB of 9.98. He will take on four-time Australian champion Rohan Browning and New Zealand champion Tiaan Whelpton in what promises to be a competitive sprint contest.