Jess Hull's Family Coaching Fuels Olympic Dream After Paris Silver
Australia's middle-distance running sensation Jess Hull has experienced a remarkable surge in form on the global stage following her silver medal performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The 29-year-old athlete's decision to return to being coached by her father, Simon Hull, has proven transformative, binding her Olympic aspirations with deep family ties.
A Bold Return to Roots
In 2023, Hull made what she describes as a career-defining move: leaving her previous coaching setup to return home to Australia and work with her dad. This represented a full-circle moment for the runner, as Simon Hull first coached his daughter during her early teenage years. The dynamic has evolved significantly since those early days, with the pair now collaborating closely on training plans and strategy.
"He's like, 'you're driving this, and I'm supporting it in every way I can. But these are your goals, these are your dreams,'" Hull explains, highlighting the partnership approach that has developed between them.
Consistent Success on Global Stage
Since her coaching transition, Hull has compiled an impressive collection of achievements. Beyond her Olympic silver in the 1500m, she has secured three world championships bronze medals and set multiple national records. Her breakthrough 1500m time of 3:50.83 at the Paris Diamond League in 2024 stands as a testament to her development.
The start of 2026 has been particularly productive, with Hull claiming silver in the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games and winning her first gold medal at the World Athletics Cross-Country Championships in Florida. There, she anchored Australia's mixed relay team to victory, an experience she believes could foreshadow individual success.
"I think you have to crack in somewhere, but I definitely want one individually," Hull states regarding her gold medal ambitions. "You've got to make things a habit, and winning gold is definitely a nice habit to have."
Record-Breaking Performances
Hull's technical achievements have been equally remarkable. She broke the world record in the 2000m with a time of 5:19.70 at the Monaco Diamond League and plans to attempt the indoor 2000m record this month. Despite being relatively new to the distance, she also set an Australian record in the 800m with 1:57.15 at last year's Tokyo world championships.
In total, she has established eight national records during this period of exceptional form, which she directly attributes to her return home and the coaching partnership with her father.
Intuitive Coaching Connection
Hull describes her relationship with her father-coach as profoundly intuitive, bordering on mind reading at times. She recounts instances where she would imagine a particular workout, only to receive a text from her dad outlining that exact session. During races, she can typically identify his voice among the crowd noise.
"It's bigger than just coach and athlete," she emphasises. "We probably know each other better than anyone else in the world."
Simon Hull, a former national-level middle-distance runner himself, brings what his daughter describes as an "extremely positive" and "very Australian" approach to their collaboration. She fondly recalls his struggles with ordering coffee in Italian during overseas competitions, noting how staff would react with bemused recognition.
Professional Training Environment
The Hulls have methodically developed a professional training setup in Newcastle. This includes regular physiotherapy and massage treatments, altitude training sessions, and the strategic inclusion of male athletes in their early twenties to provide fast training partners. When preparing for major championships, Hull brings her pacers abroad, creating what she describes as a transformational experience for young athletes with their own ambitions.
Her husband, Daniel Jolliffe, has joined the circuit full-time for the past year, providing crucial support. "You need your support person around you," Hull notes. "And I think now he embraces it – he's on the bike helping with pacing or biking next to me on an easy run."
Managing Increased Expectations
Having her inner circle close has helped Hull navigate the significant increase in public expectation that followed her personal best in the 1500m and her 2000m world record just before Paris 2024. The spotlight intensified when she became the first Australian woman in history to win an Olympic medal in the 1500m.
"You've obviously got a little bit more of a spotlight, so if you fail it feels really bright, but it also makes you a better athlete, because you're exploring what's possible," she reflects.
Evolving Competitive Landscape
The increased attention has brought new sponsorship and partnership opportunities, but Hull has also noticed that her competitors now expect her to set the pace in races. This newly earned status has deepened her respect for athletes like Kenya's Faith Kipyegon, the 1500m world record-holder and three-time Olympic gold medallist, who has operated under such expectations for years.
While Kipyegon remains the athlete to beat – and could potentially face Hull at this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow – the Australian runner is less focused on defeating specific rivals and more interested in maximising her own potential.
"I'm focused on just 'being one better' than I was in Paris," she explains. "It's a simple way of not screaming from the rooftops, 'I want to win the Olympic gold medal!' Because I do. But when you say it like that, it's really intimidating."
Inspiring the Next Generation
Hull's impact on Australian athletics extends beyond her personal achievements. As running participation increases across the country, she recognises her responsibility to inspire the next generation of athletes. She warmly recalls her own childhood experiences collecting autographs at local track meets and now finds herself in the position of showing her Olympic medal to young participants.
During a visit to Little Athletics participants in Gladstone, she realised the full significance of her journey – that it had taken twenty years of dedicated commitment to reach her current position.
"Having a lot of ownership over my career in the last couple of years has definitely made that even sweeter," Hull concludes. "It's like, I did that ... I made the changes that I needed to make to give myself a chance."
With her family-based coaching structure firmly established and her competitive momentum building, Jess Hull continues to pursue her Olympic dream while simultaneously shaping the future of Australian middle-distance running.
