The Albion Park talent spent the first week of the Tokyo Olympics watching from the sidelines as the Australian swim team dominated the pool.

Leading the charge was McKeon, the Wollongong star creating history with four gold medals and three bronze.

It's a performance that has inspired those at home in the Illawarra and all of the 27-year-old's teammates in Tokyo.

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Unlike McKeon, Hull has just one chance to win a medal at the Olympics Games, an opportunity that comes in the 1500 metres final on Friday night.

It's a shot she's determined to not let slip.

"Emma McKeon became our most decorated Olympian ever and she's 10 minutes from where I grew up so there's something in the water at Wollongong," Hull said.

"When you see performances like that, it just puts it in perspective of the calibre of athletes you're around.

"Everyone around us in the Aussie track and field team is PBing (posting personal bests), making finals, finishing top eight and it's contagious. It encourages you to lift to that level."

Hull will line up for the final of the 1500m in career-best form, having set an Australian record in Thursday's semi-final.

The 24-year-old benefited from a fast race, positioning herself near the front and out of trouble.

In running a time of 3:58.81, Hull became just the second Australian female to break the four-minute barrier, joining Linden Hall in achieving the feat.

The Victorian will start alongside Hull in the medal race, the pair just the third and fourth women to wear the green and gold in the Olympic final of the event.

Australia has never won a medal in the women's 1500m, Margaret Crowley finishing fifth in 1996 the country's best result.

Hull has been building towards this moment since making her senior international debut at the 2019 World Championships and she's ready to go even faster on Friday night.

"Since the 2019 world championships, we knew I was ready to do it," Hull said after her semi-final. "Probably back then it was 3.59.99, and today I skipped the 3.59s and went straight to 3.58.

"It's just exciting. I wasn't nervous today. I was just like, 'I know I'm ready for this' and I get to go out there and see what I'm capable of."

How Hull and Hall fare in Friday's final will largely depend on how the race is run.

Dutch star Sifan Hassan has a penchant for sitting at the back before surging past her rivals in the final lap.

She adopted a different strategy at the 2019 World Championships, hitting the front early and running her opponents into the ground to secure a dominant victory.

Hassan is attempting to achieve an unprecedented 1500m-5000m-10,000m treble in Tokyo. The former refugee won the 5000m and has the 10,000m to come on Saturday, making it unlikely she takes the pace.

Hall used that to her advantage in her semi-final, controlling the race to ensure she progressed in third place.

The two Australians likely don't have the ability to hang with the likes of Hassan, Kenya's Faith Kipyegon or British star Laura Muir if the pace is on early, but a more controlled tempo will have them in the mix with 400m to run.

Ian Hatfield, the man who guided Ryan Gregson to the 1500m national record in 2010, acknowledges Hassan will be hard to beat.

The Kembla Joggers head coach did, however, praise both Hull and Hall for keeping themselves out of trouble through the preliminary rounds.

Gregson contested the men's 1500m final in Rio, a historically slow race eventually won by America's Matthew Centrowitz in a time of 3:50.

The Illawarra talent later conceded he got caught in a tricky position. It's a tactical error Hatfield is confident Hull won't make on Friday night.

"Jess has run very smart, she's kept out of trouble, she's stayed with them and given herself every opportunity to get in those placings to make the final," Hatfield said.

"Anything can happen in a final. She's done well and is in great shape. She's had a lot of race practice over in college in the US where she's learnt how to handle the pushing and shoving.

"Jess has backed herself in every race and while Hassan will be hard to beat, she'll put herself in a position to be there at the finish."