Osaka is dream come true for marathon runner
Welsh marathon runner Tracey Morris says to compete in Osaka will be a dream come true.
The 39-year-old has been named alongside Tim Benjamin in the first wave of selection for the Norwich Union Great Britain & Northern Ireland team that will compete at the IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan next month:
“It’s an absolute dream for me – three years ago, I didn’t even have a GB vest. Since then I’ve been to the Europeans, the Commonwealths, the Olympics and now the Worlds. Now I’m able to complete all the four major competitions which is not bad going between the ages of 36 and 40. I’m no spring chicken so I’m just thoroughly pleased to have been given this second chance.”
Morris – who hails from Holyhead but is now Leeds-based - jetted back from warm weather training in Club La Santa, Lanzarote to race in last weekend’s Great Wales Run. The optician, who turns 40 in September, finished 20 seconds off her best:
“My main target has been Osaka so I didn’t ease down last weekend - I was pretty pleased with the result. I wasn’t sure I’d make the Worlds because I wasn’t able to do the London Marathon – I’d bashed my knees when I was warming up for the Great South Run which took ages to heal. “It meant I wasn’t able to do the London Marathon. But they looked at my Commonwealth Games results and told me to prove my fitness,” added Morris.
The women’s marathon is scheduled for the final day of the Worlds (2 September 2007). The route starts out at Nagai Stadium and takes in the sights of Osaka Castle Park and other major areas of Japan’s third largest city including Nakanoshima and Midosuji Boulevard.
Meanwhile, Tim Benjamin has earned a relay spot in the 4 x 400m. Benjamin was forced to withdraw from the Norwich Union UK Championships and World Trials in Manchester last weekend through injury. In Helsinki 2005, he helped push the British relay team into fourth position. Hampered by injury, he has not yet been issued an individual berth in Osaka but may secure one if he delivers the goods at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix on Friday. The 25-year-old finished fifth in the Helsinki 400m final running 44.93 in 2005.
David Greene is now busy finding a race in Europe in an attempt at securing the A standard before the selectors decide on its second and final wave announcements. It would mean the 21-year-old would need to find the form to push to a new personal best. A tendon injury forced the Llanelli 400m hurdler to make a last minute withdrawal from the trials in Manchester. Only one 400m hurdles spot has so far been filled and that has been taken by Dale Garland.
Likewise, Newport’s Stephen Davies is hoping that he will receive a call up next Tuesday. Andy Baddeley, who took gold in Manchester, is the only 1500m runner to have been named. UK:Athletics can take up to two more so Davies will be playing the waiting game. He needs to show continued and consistent form at Crystal Palace next Friday to impress selectors with his development potential.
Tim Abeyie is also on tenterhooks. Currently, all slots for the 200m remain vacant. The Fulham footballer-turned sprinter, who recently made an allegiance switch to Wales, crossed the line in fourth in Manchester. Abeyie is also looking to gain the A standard at a race in Europe prior to selection next Tuesday.
Christian Malcolm remains upbeat despite an achilles injury which has laid him out of action for last eight weeks. He made it to the final of the 100m but decided not to run in the 200m on the final day of action in Manchester.
He is still hopeful of making it to Osaka and may be selected for the 4 x 100m relay squad, though Marlon Devonish, Tyrone Edgar, Mark Lewis Francis and Craig Pickering have already been given the nod. Malcolm’s last chance saloon to qualify arrives in the form of Crystal Palace having secured a lane.
Philippa Roles clinched gold in Manchester ahead of Emma Carpenter and Eden Francis. She is eligible for selection but must also play the waiting game to see if she gets the Osaka nod.
For more information, please contact Jane Williams at Welsh Athletics on 029 2033 8274
