Catriona Bisset has broken the second oldest record in Australian athletics, running 1:58.78 for second place to break Charlene Rendina’s 1976 mark at the Anniversary Games, London’s leg of the Diamond League.

Bisset, in her Diamond League debut, quickly tucked in behind race favourite Lynsey Sharp and Natoya Goule, the fastest woman in the field. The top three were through the bell in exactly 57 seconds, already separated from the rest of the field.  Bisset and Sharp swept past Goule on the final bend, battling all the way to the line. Sharp got the win but Bisset broke Charlene Rendina’s longstanding national record of 1:59.0. The record was set in 1976 and is the second oldest Australian record, behind Peter Norman’s 1968 200m record.

Bisset, talking about the race said “I think I even kicked a little early. Lynsey (Sharp) felt me coming round and pushed me out onto lane two but, that was great. I felt so strong, coming down the back straight I feel like I still had a lot in me and it was nice to push it all the way, that was so good,”.

Bisset has had a sparkling 2019 going a large stretch without defeat including:

• Victorian Milers Club – 800m 1st 2:03.03 (21 March, 2019)
• Australian Track & Field Championships –  800m 1st 2:00.48 (7 April, 2019)
• UniSport National Championships  – 800m 1st 1:59.78 (14 April, 2019)
• Oceania Championships – 800m 1st 2:02.16 (27 June, 2019)
• World University Games – 800m 1st 2:01.20 (10 July, 2019)

Bisset, under the tutelage of Peter Fortune, said she knew there was more to come “I knew I had that kind of race in me just because of the winning streak. I knew if I had a quick pace maker I could take some time off some my PB and I took exactly a second off.”

Bisset’s time is a Tokyo 2020 qualifier and improves her own MUAC record.  Exactly one year (366 days) after the MUAC men’s 800m record was surpassed as the Australian record, MUAC’s 800m record now sits as the Australian record again, this time for women.