Abbey Caldwell

After a stellar junior career, in 2022, the then 20-year-old Abbey Caldwell started to make significant progression, and over the next couple of years and has become one of Australia’s finest middle-distance runners.

Growing up in Melbourne, Abbey followed her brothers into every sport possible. But aged 5 she found athletics was the most enjoyable. She particularly enjoyed the social aspect of athletics and considers it the reason she continued to be involved in the sport until she began having success.

In her teenage years she was winning medals at the Australian championships in middle-distance events. In 2018 she chased selection for the World U20 Championships and after initially missing 3000m selection, she was named in the 1500m, going on to compete in the heats at the global junior event in Finland. She again wore the green and gold in 2019 at the world cross country championships.

Abbey had been making steady progress each year but found transitioning from juniors to seniors, particularly throughout COVID, as a big challenge. But a performance in 2021, her first year in seniors, was critical and gave her hope. She placed second to Linden Hall in the National 1500m title, a performance which gave her the belief in her ability and that she was good enough to mix with the best. In 2022 that started to happen. She won a bronze medal in the 1500m at the Commonwealth Games, then in March another bronze medal in the 4x2km mixed gender relay for the 2023 World Athletics Cross Country Championships held in Bathurst.  

On the track she was smashing all her PBs and throughout 2023 would lower her best in the 800m, 1000m, 1500m and mile – all-in world-class times. Also domestically in 2023 she was second in the National 1500m to Jessica Hull and just missed the National 800m record clocking 1:58.62. 

In August 2023 she was named in the Australian team in the 800m and 1500m for the Budapest World Championships, becoming just the second Australian women to compete in that double at the world championships. In Budapest she made both semi-finals. In the 800m she was Australia’s best, just one place and 0.06 seconds short of qualification for the final. In the 1500m she ran another PB 3:59.79 in the semi-final.

Abbey compiled a strong 2024 domestic season, placing second at Nationals in the 800m and at the end of the championships named in the Australian team to make her Olympic debut in Paris.