Australia has a new Olympic gold contender after star did the unthinkable in race that shocked the athletics world

• e-mail

Australian runner Jessica Hull has smashed her Oceanian 1500 metres record with a stunning performance and stamped herself as a contender for the Olympic title.

Hull beat her own mark in the Diamond League meeting at Stade Charlety on Sunday but was no match for Kenyan great Faith Kipyegon, who set a new landmark of three minutes 49.04 seconds.

Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh also soared to a world high jump record at a remarkable meet, providing both a pre-Olympic warning and inspiration to her Australian rivals Nicola Olyslagers and Eleanor Patterson.

The two landmarks were shattered within an hour of each other, with double Olympic champion Kipyegon improving her own mark by 0.07sec after world champion Mahuchikh eclipsed one of the oldest women's marks by clearing 2.10 metres in the high jump.

In the metric mile, Hull was left celebrating her runner's up spot in 3:50.83, remarkably eclipsing her own Australian and Oceanian mark of 3:55.97 by more than five seconds to leap to fifth on the world all-time list.

'To see my name in fifth is nuts! The whole point of the way I have trained this year is to put myself in a position to medal in Paris,' said the 27-year-old.

'That goal doesn't change, I just have to stay healthy and do it on the day that matters – August 10.

'I was a little kid with an Olympic dream and I grew up wanting to go to the Olympics. I didn't think 3:55 would ever be possible, so to be thinking about breaking 3:50 now is insane.'

Jessica Hull is the fifth fastest 1500m runner in history after an astonishing performance in Paris lifted her into medal contention for the Games

Hull (pictured, right) smashed her national record by an incredible five seconds to claim second at the Paris Diamond League

Kipyegon kicked at the bell to open up a gap over Hull, striding clear to better the world record she set last year in Florence.

Hull was second in the first-ever race to feature 12 women finishing inside four minutes, including compatriot Linden Hall, fourth in a lifetime best 3:56.40.

Earlier, Mahuchikh surpassed by one centimetre the 2.09m jumped by Bulgarian Stefka Kostadinova at the 1987 Rome world championships 37 years ago.

World indoor champion Olyslagers, impressing after a month out with injury, challenged the Ukrainian as they both went over 2.01m at the second attempt.

But the 27-year-old NSW jumper failed three times at 2.03m, while Mahuchikh cleared at the second attempt to win the competition.

She then cleared 2.07m for a Ukrainian record, had the bar raised to a world record 2.10m and succeeded at her first attempt.

'Finally I signed Ukraine to the history of world athletics,' said the 22-year-old Mahuchikh.

'My coach told me that maybe I should stop because I have the Olympic Games coming up - and, of course, that is more important - but I felt inside I could do it, and, to be honest, I wanted to try for the world record.'

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted: 'Thank you, Yaroslava, for raising the Ukrainian flag so high and achieving this victory for our country and people.

'Each such victory is incredibly important for our strength and unity.'

Hull has now joined the list of Australian track and field stars who could stand on the dais when the Olympics begin in less than a month’s time

Patterson, the 2022 world champion, could only finish fifth with a 1.95m leap.

'It wasn't just Yaroslava's victory, it was women's high jump history which is all of our victory. Once you see somebody do it once, it opens the door,' Olyslagers said.

'She is an amazing competitor and friend, and to see her do that, she has given me the key to aim for.'

There was a promising outing from Australia's Stewie McSweyn in the 3000m, as he finished second behind Kenyan Jacob Krop in 7:28.83.

Pole vault hope Kurtis Marschall cleared 5.75m for sixth place in a competition won, inevitably, by Armand Duplantis.