Athletics Australia
28 April 2000 - Australia's leading long distance runners have a final opportunity to vie for Olympic selection at The Host City Marathon in Sydney this Sunday 30 April.
The men's and women's marathons over the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games course will double as Australian Championships and the final selection race for the Australian Olympic team.
Currently five Australian men have attained the Olympic A Standard in the marathon including Steve Moneghetti (2:10:00), Pat Carroll (2:11:39), Lee Troop (2:11:21), Ray Boyd (2:13:26) and Rod de Highden (2:13:53).
Of the five, Carroll, Troop, Boyd and de Highden have entered The Host City Marathon for a final chance to press for selection.
The 38-year-old Carroll has the experience of three Commonwealth Games ('90, '94, '98) and the 1999 World Championships. He won the Beppu Marathon in 1995 in a personal best time of 2:09:39. He is also a two-time winner of the Australian Marathon Championships.
Troop's, Boyd's and de Highden's p.b's are their Olympic qualifying times which have each been set since January 1999.
Speaking at Wednesday's media launch, Boyd said both the Australian and international competition will be tough.
"I know Sean Quilty will go out fast to try to run a qualifier. Pat Carroll will go with him and then of course there are the international runners. I will try to stay in the front pack and if I am still there at 25-30km, I will make my move. I will definitely try to win," he said.
These men will also face an Australian challenge from Magnus Michelsson (2:16:32) and Phil Sly (2:18:49) who have both run Olympic B qualifying times, and Darren Wilson who holds the Australian Best on Record for the Half Marathon of 60 minutes 2 seconds set in Tokyo in 1997.
The fastest Olympic qualifier to date and interested spectator will be Steve Moneghetti who ran his qualifying marathon in Tokyo in February. He clocked 2:10:00 in that race after being Australia's highest placed finisher (29th) in the 1999 World Championships Marathon.
In the women's race, 42-year-old Susan Hobson has a window of opportunity in her selection bid as the only current Olympic A qualifier in the race.
Australia's other three female Olympic A qualifiers had their final hit out overseas this month. Kerryn McCann clocked 2:25:59 in London in finishing fifth while Victoria's Silvana Trampuz finished 16th in 2:36:32 which was outside the Olympic A qualifying time of 2:33:00. Nicole Carroll did not finish in the Rotterdam Marathon.
Hobson clocked a personal best of 2:32:37 when 10th in the Osaka Marathon in January. She said her preparation has gone well since Osaka and hopes to run a fast time on Sunday.
"I will try to find a good pack of men. It helps to have a group to drag you along at the end of the race. I could aim to run with the next best woman and just make sure I beat her in 2.36/2.37, but running a faster race enhances my chances of selection."
On qualifying times Carroll heads the list with 2:25:51 from McCann's 2:25:59 and Hobson's 2:32:37. Trampuz qualified for the Olympic Games by finishing in the top 20 at last year's World Championships in Seville.
The main Australian focus in the female race will be with Hobson, Sherryn Rhodes who clocked a best of 2:37:56 in 1998, Nelly Marmy-Conus from Victoria whose p.b is 2:38:39 set in 1998, and 24-year-old Queenslander Julie Rose who has run 2:38:42.
Hobson holds the championship record for this race at 2:32:43 set on the Gold Coast in 1997.
The Host City Marathon will start at 6.20am with up to 20 wheelchair competitors followed at 6.30am with over 5,500 runners taking on the Olympic course.
The course will start at North Sydney Oval, head across the Harbour Bridge, over the Cahill Expressway and up Macquarie Street, Oxford Street and Anzac Parade. It will then move into Centennial Park and back onto Anzac Parade to Kingsford and then back down Anzac Parade through the city, across Darling Harbour and the Anzac Bridge and west to Sydney Olympic Park.
This information has been provided by Athletics Australia
