Catriona Bisset
Catriona Bisset (born 1 March 1994) is an Australian middle-distance runner who specialises in the 800 metres. She holds the Oceanian record for both indoors and outdoors in the event, and won the gold medal at the 2019 Universiade.
![]() Catriona Bisset in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | [1] Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia[2] | 1 March 1994||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Education | University of Melbourne[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Middle-distance running | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Ned Brophy-Williams (2021–)[4] Peter Fortune (2017–21)[5] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal bests | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Bisset took four individual Australian national titles.
Career
Early years
Born in Newcastle and raised in Canberra, Bisset participated in Little Athletics from age 6.[2][6] She displayed potential as a youth, but withdrew from competition for several years as she improved her mental health.[3][5][7] During her undergraduate studies at the University of New South Wales, she began training with University of Sydney head coach Dean Gleeson.[6][8] She resumed racing in 2016.[1] The following year, Bisset moved from Sydney to Melbourne, and Gleeson introduced her to Peter Fortune, best known as the coach of 400-metre sprinter Cathy Freeman.[8][9]
2019: Breakthrough season
Bisset rose to national prominence in 2019. After improving her personal best throughout the domestic season, she won the 800 metres at the Australian Athletics Championships in 2:00.48.[10] One week later, she ran 1:59.78 at the UniSport National Championships to become the first Australian woman in a decade to break the two-minute barrier.[9]
In May, Bisset was selected for her first national team, representing Australia at the World Relays. She and Josh Ralph placed second in the first-ever mixed 2 × 2 × 400 m relay.[11] Bisset went on to win the 800 m at both the Oceania Championships[12] and Summer Universiade.[13] She made her Diamond League debut at the Anniversary Games in London in July, where she placed second behind Lynsey Sharp.[14] Her time of 1:58.78 set a new Australian record, surpassing the 43-year-old record set by Charlene Rendina, and qualifying Bisset for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.[15] Two months later, she competed at the Doha World Championships in Qatar, but was hampered by injury and did not progress beyond the heats.[16]
2020–21
Bisset did not race internationally in 2020 due to COVID-19. However, this allowed her to continue aerobic training and fully recover from injury.[17]
In the 2021 domestic season, she performed at a high level, including a second Olympic qualifier of 1:59.12 to win at the Queensland Track Classic in March.[18] She also successfully defended her 800 m national title, officially securing her place on the Australian Olympic team.[19] On her return to the European circuit in June, Bisset improved her national record at the Janusz Kusociński Memorial with a time of 1:58.09, which also broke the Oceanian record set by Toni Hodgkinson in 1996.[20]
At the postponed Tokyo Olympics in July, Bisset ran 2:01.65 in the women's 800 m heats, narrowly missing her chance to advance.[21] She ended her season in September by competing in her first Diamond League final, running 1:59.66 for seventh at Weltklasse Zürich.[22] After the racing season, she began training with Linden Hall under the guidance of coach Ned Brophy-Williams.[4]
2022
Bisset made her indoor debut at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix in February. She ran 1:59.46 for second behind Keely Hodgkinson, setting another national and Oceanian record in the process.[23] She secured victories in the following two top-level World Indoor Tour meets, including the Copernicus Cup in Toruń, where she defeated Halimah Nakaayi.[4] Later in March, Bisset placed fifth at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade with a time of 2:01.24.[24] Two weeks later, back outdoors in Australia, she ran 1:59.83 to win her third consecutive national title.[25] On the Diamond League circuit, she ran sub-two minutes in Rome, Oslo and Stockholm, including a season's best time of 1:58.54 to finish third in Stockholm behind Mary Moraa and Hodgkinson.[26]
In the first round of the World Championships held in Eugene, Oregon in July, Bisset was knocked to the track and spiked by a competitor. Nonetheless, she completed the race and was added to the semi-final field by the race jury.[27] The following day, she ran with 11 stitches in her thigh and a swollen knee, but did not advance to the final.[28] Despite her injuries, she competed at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in August, placing fifth in a time of 1:59.41.[29]
Statistics
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time |
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2019 | World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | 2nd | 2 × 2 × 400 m relay | 3:37.61 |
Summer Universiade | Naples, Italy | 1st | 800 m | 2:01.20 | |
World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 39th (h) | 800 m | 2:05.33 | |
2021 | Olympic Games | Tokyo, Japan | 21st (h) | 800 m | 2:01.65 |
2022 | World Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 5th | 800 m i | 2:01.24 |
World Championships | Eugene, OR, United States | 26th (sf) | 800 m | 2:05.20 | |
Commonwealth Games | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 5th | 800 m | 1:59.41 | |
2023 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 12th (sf) | 800 m | 1:59.94 |
2024 | World Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 8th (sf) | 800 m | 2:00.13 |
Oceanian and National titles
- Oceania Area Championships in Athletics
- 800 metres: 2019
- Australian Athletics Championships
- 800 metres: 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
- 4 × 400 m relay: 2019, 2021
Personal life
Bisset is studying a postgraduate degree in architecture and diploma in Chinese language at the University of Melbourne.[3] Her mother was born in Nanjing, China.[6] Part of her schooling was at Melrose High School in the Woden Valley area of Canberra.[32]
References
- "Catriona Bisset". World Athletics. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- "Catriona Bisset". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- Dye, Josh (7 April 2019). "National title has rising star Bisset dreaming of Tokyo". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- Moorhouse, Lachlan (1 March 2022). "Catriona Bisset | Minding Records, Hunting Wins". Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022.
- Gleeson, Michael (3 August 2019). "Australia's accidental track star". The Age. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- Landells, Steve (6 March 2020). "Winning her battles off the track, Bisset's rise continues on the track". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 7 March 2020.
- Buratti, Liana (12 September 2019). "Catriona Bisset - Running my own race". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- "From the Clouds – Catriona Bisset Interview". Runner's Tribe. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
- Lisson, Ben (1 June 2019). "Catriona Bisset, Australia's fastest woman to run 800m in a decade, reveals hurdles off the track". ABC News. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- "Bisset claims shock victory in 800m". SBS. 7 April 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- Himmer, Alastair (12 May 2019). "First blood for USA at action-packed World Relays". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- "Bisset, Ralph win Oceania 800m titles". SBS. 27 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- Salvado, John (22 July 2019). "Bisset smashes Australian 800m record". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- MacInnes, Paul (21 July 2019). "Dina Asher-Smith proud to finish second in 100m final at London Stadium". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- "Australian record for Catriona Bisset leads the way for Australia at the London Diamond League". Athletics Australia. 22 July 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
- Salvado, John (28 September 2019). "McSweyn charges into world 5000m final". Seven News. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019.
- Johnson, Len (21 March 2020). "With competitions on hold, flexibility is key as athletes continue to pursue their 2020 ambitions". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020.
- Gleeson, Michael (28 March 2021). "Browning quickest man ever in Australia, now for 100m in Tokyo". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021.
- Houston, Michael (19 April 2021). "Stevens, Hall and Bisset among Australian athletics additions to Tokyo 2020 team". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021.
- "Australia's Catriona Bisset breaks national 800m record ahead of Tokyo Olympics". ABC News. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- "Athletics - Round 1 - Heat 5 Results". IOC. 30 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021.
- Chadband, Ian (10 September 2021). "Barber, McSweyn shine in Diamond finale". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021.
- Rowbottom, Mike (19 February 2022). "Duplantis misses world record by whisker in Birmingham as Hodgkinson smashes British 800m indoor record". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022.
- Turnbull, Simon (21 March 2022). "Wilson brings her A game to claim global 800m gold in devastating fashion". World Athletics. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022.
- Ryner, Sascha; Moorhouse, Lachlan (2 April 2022). "Seven track and field champions added to the Australian team for Worlds". Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022.
- Govender, Mohen (1 July 2022). "Patterson leaps to victory in Stockholm". Seven News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022.
- Salvado, John (22 July 2022). "Bisset's big reprieve after big fall, Bol squeaks into final". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022.
- Gates, Zachary (1 August 2022). "'Freak accident' fuelling Catriona Bisset's hunger in bid for Commonwealth Games medal". Nine's Wide World of Sports. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022.
- Ryner, Sascha; Stevens, Jake (7 August 2022). "Golden day for Marschall, Montag & Hoare in Birmingham". Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022.
- Stannard, Damien (25 March 2023). "Bisset stars, Browning beaten in Brisbane Track Classic". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023.
- Moorhouse, Lachlan; Ryner, Sascha (2 April 2023). "World Class Best for Last". Athletics Australia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2023.
- "Past Students - Where are they now?". Melrose High School. Retrieved 22 April 2022.