19.11.2007

Shelley 14th in Tokyo

Commonwealth Games representative Lauren Shelley has finished 14th in the 2007 Tokyo International Women’s Marathon in a time of 2:44.41.

Shelley, a resident of Esperance in regional Western Australia, was 23 minutes adrift of Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi, who led a field of 123 finishers to win in course record time of 2:21.37.

Noguchi became the only the second runner to win the three big Japanese women’s marathons - Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

“Because I heard my rivals are in great shape, I was scared,” Noguchi admitted after the race. “The first half of the race was quite tough because of the head wind, but it was nothing compared to my training in St Moritz and Kunming. I had planed to go fast from the gun, but because of the head wind I decided to be bit more careful.”

Shelley’s personal best of 2:33.42 was set at the 2005 edition of the Tokyo Marathon, where she finished eighth.

The 30 year-old also finished eighth at the Commonwealth Games of Melbourne 2006 while other marathon efforts have included London and Gold Coast.

Information courtesy IAAF
Read the IAAF’s full review of the race