05.02.2008

Westcott runs B in Beppu

Commonwealth Games representative Scott Westcott has claimed a B-qualifier in his quest for Olympic Games selection, finishing third in Sunday’s Beppu-Oita Marathon.

The 32 year-old posted a time of 2:13.36, just 29 seconds behind second-placed Moroccan Rachid Kisri (2:13.07) with the winner Japanese debutant Tomoya Adachi (2:11.59).

Running in 7.5 degree temperatures, Westcott moved late from the chasing pack to throw his all at the A-qualifying mark of 2:12.00; he overtook Kenyan Elijah Mutai, who found himself in the lead soon after 30km once pace-setting countrymen Elias Maindi and Stephen Chelimo dropped out.

However, Adachi had pounced a little earlier, sensing Mutai was fading and took the outright lead at 38.9km. There was no catching him.

It was an impressive effort by the 22 year-old, who was not an invited competitor in this marathon.

“I did not have winning the race in my mind,” he told the IAAF. “I thought ‘I am lucky’ when I saw the leader coming back to me.

“People might think the debut marathon may be a fluke, so I am going to train hard and try to run even better in my second marathon.”

Kisri had the energy reserves to pass Westcott and snare runner-up, though the New South Welshman should be generally happy with his finish and the comfortable margin he held over fourth-placed Masahiko Takeyasu (2:14.18).

Then again, the competitive spirit in Westcott would have been gunning for déjà vu. It was in the 2005 Beppu-Oita Marathon that he finished second in a personal best of 2:11.36 to ultimately earn Commonwealth Games selection - where he finished a very good fourth at Melbourne 2006.

The school teacher finished 17th in September’s Berlin Marathon in 2:15.02, the same race that Lee Troop ran an A-qualifier of 2:10.31.

Seven Japanese runners made up the top 10 in Sunday’s marathon.

Information courtesy IAAF

Click here for the IAAF’s full report