FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oceania flavour adds extra spice to Gold Coast Marathon
Melbourne apprentice electrician Liam Adams can't wait to feel the heat of
a crack Gold Coast Marathon field, which he hopes will spark a successful
Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid.
This week Adams was working atop an icy shed roof in two degrees in
Melbourne, so the lure of a sunny Gold Coast is strong. Even stronger is
his desire to utilise the fact that the Gold Coast Marathon, on Sunday 7
July, is also host of the IAAF Oceania Area Marathon Championships, which
has its own added bonus.
This year these championships offer elite athletes based in the region the
ideal opportunity to boost their performance score to enhance their chances
of earning a place on the Tokyo Olympic marathon start line.
"That was one of the main reasons why I originally decided to come to the
Gold Coast - the new points system as an Oceania Championships race gives
you good points," Adams said.
"Tokyo is most definitely my focus and I see the Gold Coast as the race
where I will try to qualify."
The Gold Coast Marathon has doubled as the Oceania Championship race since
2008 and is locked in to that format through to at least next year.
The ASICS Half Marathon also comes under the same championship banner.
The Tokyo factor and the Oceania Championship appeal have resulted in a
powerful regional turnout for the marathon.
"There are a lot of Australian and New Zealand runners who are trying to
make the Olympics through this race," Adams said.
"The automatic qualifier is 2:11:30 (for men). There are a couple of
Australians who have already run under that time so I am coming to the Gold
Coast to chase a fast time.
"My PB for the marathon is not that quick (2:12:52). I know I can go a lot
quicker than that."
Adams loves running on the Gold Coast. Although this will be his first Gold
Coast Marathon, he has a first and two seconds in the ASICS Half Marathon
and was fifth in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Marathon last year.
His main rivals from the Oceania pool include fellow Aussies Scott Westcott
(PB 2:11:36), last year's Oceania winner Jack Colreavy (PB 2:17:48), David
Criniti (PB 2:17:57), Australian 10,000m record holder Ben St Lawrence and
marathon debutants Dejen Gebreselassie (half PB 1:02:39) and Nic Harman
(half PB 1:03:46) who both set their half marathon personal bests
representing Australia at the inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon
Championships in Cardiff last October.
The major New Zealand threats are likely to come from 2016 Oceania Champion
Paul Martelletti (PB 2:16:49), Daniel Jones (PB 2:18:40), Daniel Wallis (PB
2:19:24), 2017 Oceania Champion Dave Ridley (PB 2:20:06) and 'wildcard'
Zane Robertson.
Robertson and his twin brother Jake moved to Kenya at age 17 to immerse
themselves in the culture that produces the world's best distance runners.
Now, aged 29, Zane is aiming to complete his first marathon … and win.
"First and foremost, I always target the win. I want to run as fast as the
pacemakers allow and once they step off the road anything can be possible.
Perhaps a new Oceania record?" Robertson said.
In the women's marathon, Aussie Milly Clark (PB 2:29:07) is on a similar
path as Adams, hoping to not only finish on top of the Oceania podium, but
to also book her ticket to Tokyo.
Clark, first Australian woman home in the Rio 2016 Olympic marathon, is the
top-seeded Oceania female in the race ahead of the Sunshine Coast's Melanie
Panayiotou (PB 2:34:35), who finished eighth in the Glasgow 2014
Commonwealth Games marathon, followed by New Zealand's Lydia O'Donnell (PB
2:39:01) and Marnie Ponton (PB 2:40:32), New South Wales, also in the hunt
for an Oceania podium finish.
The race for Oceania glory in the ASICS Half Marathon is just as tight.
Aussie Jack Rayner has already run a Tokyo Olympics marathon qualifier and
is back on the Gold Coast to defend his ASICS Half Marathon title. A trio
of fellow-Aussies - Joel Tobin-White, Michael Roeger and Andrew Buchanan
are likely to be in the Oceania medal hunt.
In the women's ASICS Half Marathon, Australians Sinead Diver and Ellie
Pashley have already posted Olympic marathon qualifiers this year and are
likely to race for overall and Oceania honours with three-time race winner
and race record holder Lisa Weightman.
The Gold Coast Marathon is the first in Australia to hold an IAAF Road Race
Gold Label and is expecting 28,000 participants in eight races on Saturday
6 and Sunday 7 July.
The event will feature the Gold Coast Marathon, Wheelchair Marathon, ASICS
Half Marathon, Wheelchair 15km, Southern Cross University 10km Run, Gold
Coast Airport Fun Run, Garmin 4km Junior Dash and Garmin 2km Junior Dash.
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