Canberra 1500m runner Jye Edwards has overcome persistent injury and a middle-distance superstar to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
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Edwards powered past Australian record-holder Stewart McSweyn to win the men's 1500m final at the Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney on Sunday.
The 23-year-old won gold in a time of three minutes and 33.99 seconds at Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre, booking his spot for the starting line at Tokyo in July.
McSweyn had surged away from the pack from the starters' gun. But Edwards went with the 2018 Commonwealth Games runner and stayed on his shoulder, before surging to the front in the final straight.
"I knew Stewy wouldn't want to leave it up to a tactical finish," said Edwards, who stripped almost one and a half seconds off his PB.
"I made a split-second decision with 100m to go, I saw he had a small couple of metres gap and I thought I've either got to jump in or get second. I couldn't let him run away with it."
Edwards was in such shock after the race that he did not initially believe he had qualified for the Olympic team.
"Until I got interviewed and they confirmed that it was I still wasn't 100 per cent sure even though I knew it was the qualifying time and winning equals automatic selection," he said.
"It all just happened so quickly, I got presented the shirt a couple of hours later. I think it was just how unexpected and sudden it all was.
"It still hasn't fully sunk in and I don't think it will for a while, it's been a hell of a four months and I'm just very fortunate."
Edwards, who underwent Achilles surgery in late 2017, has been plagued constant injuries until only recently. He credited coach Dick Telford's influence in helping put him back on track.
"The past four years I had a lot of interruptions with injury," he said. "Unfortunately, I'd barely been able to string three-to-four months of training together at a time. This time around I've got in a lot more uninterrupted training sessions.
"[Dick] is just an absolute genius, he knows everything, what to do, how to approach things and I've barely ever had more confidence in a guy.
"Whatever he says we just do it. When you have a guy with his knowledge and experience it's just so easy for us to do what he says."
A fully-fit Edwards now has his sights set on making the final in his Games debut.
"Realistically I would like to go there and run as well as possible," he said. "I don't want to go there just to be a lane filler, I'd love to be able to make a final that would be the main goal."
Edwards was among 15 Australians included on Sunday in an Australian track and field team for Tokyo that could eventually number more than 70. Dani Stevens will head to her fourth Games seeking an elusive first Olympic medal after winning a record 14th national discus title. Other athletes to guarantee their selection were Riley Day (women's 200m), Liz Clay (100m hurdles), Catriona Bisset (women's 800m), Brooke Stratton (women's long jump) and Genevieve Gregson (women's 3000m steeplechase).
- With AAP