18.02.2008

Dent's running brave

If Martin Dent doesn’t make this year’s Olympic team, it won’t be through lack of effort.

The 29 year-old turned in a bold performance at Saturday night’s Sydney Grand Prix, winning in a B-qualifying time of 8:27.00 after maintaining his lead for most of the race.

Hot on his tail was Collins Kosgei, a man with a personal best of 8:14.32.

The Kenyan threatened to break from Dent in stages of the race but had to settle for second in 8:30.15.

“You don’t know with the Kenyans,” Dent said post-race. “They might have run 8:14 but you don’t know if they’re out here in shape or they’ve just been training hard or haven’t been doing anything.

“It was good to have Collins go past me but it probably didn’t really stretch me enough in that middle bit.”

Dent was disappointed to miss the A-qualifying mark of 8:24.60, dropping his pace in a gruelling final lap.

“The opportunity was there and I didn’t do it,” he said. “I had high expectations for myself.”

To get it, he would have needed to run as good as a personal best - similar to his 8:24.54 effort seen at last year’s Sydney meet. Still, that wasn’t enough to earn him World Championships selection.

“If I ran a qualifying time tonight and I wasn’t picked for the Olympics, it would have been devastating but I don’t think the B will be enough,” he said. “I’ll go to nationals and try to win that.

“I think I’ve just got no kick on that pace. I slowed down a little bit in the last lap and it’s harder in a steeple than in 3k or 5k where you can run all out and your body can nearly collapse on the track, but you keep running.

“It’s harder when you’ve got to jump 91 centimetres every (150 metres).”

Third in the field was reigning national champion Peter Nowill, followed by Osaka representative Youcef Abdi and national cross country champion Jeff Hunt.

It was Abdi who led home Dent in Sydney in 2007; he and Nowill will now look to Brisbane for reply where the race for the title promises to be a cracker.

Dent’s first and only crown over the distance came as a 20 year-old in 1999, though he’ll be doing everything to add to that in search of selection for his first Olympic Games.

He finished second at the 2006 Australian Championships ahead of the Commonwealth Games, where he placed a very good fourth.

The Canberran was second at last year’s nationals too.

To be automatically selected for Beijing, athletes need two A-qualifiers and to win the Australian title.

But the race for A’s in domestic competition is almost at its end, with Brisbane offering the only remaining steeplechase.

“If I get another B and win, it might put some pressure on the selectors,” Dent suggested.

Subject to that result, Dent is undecided on whether he’ll compete at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh, Scotland - which would be his fifth appearance at the meet.

“If I’m in the Olympic team, I’ll definitely go, but if I’m not I might save my overseas trip for a crack at qualifying,” he said.

Due to become a father for the first time in May, Dent also plans to run a marathon within the next calendar year.

He finished second to Collis Birmingham in December’s 10,000m championships and, on Thursday night, will complement a great field in the men’s 5000m - the national title for that distance.

It seems there’s little that Dent won’t try, which makes one think he’s all the more deserving.

By Steven Lavell

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