No late Games runs by marathon prospect

Press, 18 December 1985, Page 44

No late Games runs by marathon prospect

By

ROD DEW

There is even more an even chance that the gritty Canterbury long distance runner, Mary O’Connor (University), will play a prominent part in the first Commonwealth Games marathon for women at

Edinburgh on August 1 — provided she does not have to drain her physical resources with eleventh-hour

qualifying runs. Her run in the Chicago marathon in October, of 2hr 33min 41s was just inside the Games qualifying time of 2hr 34min, and she is happy enough to leave the rest up to the selectors. “I can’t see me doing a backup performance,” she said after a solid 3000 m run at Queen Elizabeth II Park last Saturday. The selectors have, however, indicated that they will consider all performances in the marathon in the 12 months leading up to the qualifying deadline date of March 30. This means that her fine run of 2hr 32min 35s in the London marathon last April can. substitute as her backup performance. She also has a rather special place in marathon running in New Zealand, being the second-fastest on the all-time list. Her brilliant 2hr 28min 20s performance for second place behind Greta Waitz (Norway) in the London Marathon two years ago is an indication of her true capabilities. Only Alison Roe, plagued by injury for several seasons, has run faster among New Zealand athletes.

This is a background which the selectors cannot ignore. Miss O’Connor is still upset at the decision of the New Zealand selectors to make a late extension to the qualifying time for the Los Angeles Olympic marathon, giving her rivals a late

qualifying chance and putting pressure on her to try and improve on her earlier qualifying time. “I felt I was pushed into doing too much,” she said. “By the time the Olympics came around I was exhausted. I have qualified for the marathon at the Edinburgh Games, and I am not doing anything more.” She is now devoting all her attention to winning a place in the New Zealand cross-country team for the world championships in Switzerland next March. Her 3000 m run of 9min 47.6 s last Saturday earned her the New Zealand Permanent Building Society “Athlete of the Week” award, but she left no doubt that she would have liked the time to be much faster — in spite of the handicap of the grass surface. Next Saturday will bring a return to the all-weather surface in the main stadium at Queen Elizabeth II Park and Miss O’Connor will race in the invitation 3000 m in the Technical club’s open meeting. She will be hoping to clip another 20s off her time last Saturday. Miss O’Connor is the current holder of both the New Zealand women’s road championship and the New Zealand 10,000 m track championship. At least one of these, the track event, is likely to go undefended this season because of the likely clash with the world crosscountry championships. Instead, she will run in the national 5000 m track championship, which is being held outside the national track meeting this season.