Commonwealth 1500m champion Olli Hoare and fellow Australian runner Rose Davies have claimed major international wins with significant implications for the Paris Olympics.
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Hoare threw down the guantlet a week out from the famed Bowerman Mile by winning the 1500m at the Los Angeles grand prix meet.
The 27-year-old Australian stopped the clock at three minutes 34.73 seconds on Saturday (Sunday AEST), edging out second-placed Kenyan Reynold Cheruiyot (3:34.83).
American Matt Centrowitz, the 2016 Olympic champion, was third in 3:35.16.
The race to claim the three Australian spots in the men's 1500m for the Paris Olympics is an intriguing one.
Jesse Hunt (fifth in the LA race in 3:35.38) and teen sensation Cameron Myers (eighth in 3:35.59) again showcased their credentials.
But the standout performance came from Hoare, who is one of the headline acts in the stacked field for next weekend's Bowerman Mile in Eugene, Oregon.
That line-up will also include Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Jakob Ingebrigtsen, British world champions Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman and US star Yared Nuguse, along with Cheruiyot and Myers.
"I didn't get on the pace, I expected more people to push forward for it and then the last lap felt very slow for me, which is a good sign," said Hoare, who had hoped to dip under the Olympic qualifying standard of 3:33.50.
"So I came through on the outside just so I could win the race."
The New South Welshman missed last year's world titles in Budapest with a groin injury but is now back to full fitness.
He was a close second behind Adam Spencer at the Australian titles last month in Adelaide.
Several hours later in Japan, Davies stripped more than two seconds off Jessica Hull's Australian 5000m record while claiming victory at the Seiko Golden grand prix meet in 14:41.65.
Davies, 24, slashed six seconds off her previous personal best and is now in great shape to challenge for a place in the final at the Paris Olympics.
She was run out in the 5000m heats on her Olympic debut in Tokyo but has taken giant strides forward in the intervening three years.
In another impressive display by the Australian middle-distance cohort in Japan on Sunday, Sarah Billings (4:04.66) led home second-placed countrywoman Georgia Griffiths in in the 1500m.
Other Australian winners at the GP meet were high jumper Yual Reath (2.30m) and javelin thrower Cameron McEntyre (82.01m).
New Zealander Zoe Hobbs won the women's 100m in 11.17, with Australians Bree Masters (11.31) and Torrie Lewis (11.54) finishing second and fourth respectively.
From a Paris Olympics qualifying perspective, the most signifcant Australian results on day one of the two-day LA meet on Friday (Saturday AEST) came from middle-distance runners Stewart McSweyn and Morgan McDonald.
They finished 10th and 12th in the men's 5000m, but both dipped under the Olympic qualifying mark of 13:05.00.
Australian Associated Press
