Australian marathoners take on London 2017

Olympians Jessica Trengove (SA), Milly Clark (NSW) and Jeff Hunt (NSW) will headline a six-strong marathon contingent at the IAAF World Championships, with Athletics Australia Selectors today confirming starters for the 42.195km race at London 2017.

To be joined by Beijing 2015 starter Sinead Diver (Vic) and world championships debutants Brad Milosevic (NSW) and Josh Harris (Tas), the selected team ensures a full quota of green and gold runners on the streets of the English capital.

“Team Australia now stands at 26 athletes after we today confirmed the selection of six marathoners for London 2017. The marathon is one of the most hotly contested events in Australia, with six men and 15 women eligible for consideration. I congratulate those that will have the chance to don the national uniform in August,” Dion Russell, Athletics Australia Chairman of Selectors, said.

Trengove and Clark were among the top-25 in the women’s marathon at Rio 2016, while Hunt, an IT professional and father, returns to the green and gold squad for the first time since his start in the men’s marathon at the 2012 London Olympics five years ago.

Competing at the London Marathon last month, 29-year-old Trengove stopped the clock at 2:27:01 to improve her personal best after what was a challenging outing at the Olympic Games last year.

“It’s always very exciting to get the call to say you’ve made an Australian team. It is still as good as when I got my first call to confirm my selection for the World Half Marathon Championships seven years ago. The athletics team now is so great to be a part of, and I am excited to head over there and join them later this year,” Trengove said.

 â€œLondon is great. I’ve run there a few times and the crowd is always big, loud and very supportive. It just has a special feel, the course is iconic, and you run past history. To finish on the Mall at the Olympics in 2012 and at the marathon earlier this year was amazing, and I’m now looking forward to crossing the line at Tower Bridge, a landmark I won’t have visited until race day this year.

“Last year in Rio I had done as much work as I could under the circumstances, but it was hard. It will be good to arrive on the start line knowing that I’ve done the long runs and completed the mileage. I’ll be lining up optimistic.”

The Marathon is as much a team event as any other sport I've played. I would like to thank my family, Dylan, Adam & Team Tempo, SASI, the team of health professionals who go above & beyond, my workplace - Physio Smart, Athletics Australia, the SA/AUS community, my friends and incredible sponsors for helping me to capitalise on opportunities like this one. With every Marathon I run, I hear of more people who have set their own running goals - it's exciting to be a part of a flourishing era for distance running in Australia! 🇦🇺 @londonmarathon 📷 Keith McClure

A post shared by Jessica Trengove (@jess_tren) on Apr 26, 2017 at 2:18pm PDT

Diver, a mother-of-two, debuted for Australia at the IAAF World Championships two years ago after taking up long distance running when she migrated to Melbourne from Belmullet (IRL) with her young family.

Milosevic has previously won the City2Surf and staked his claim for selection at the Hamburg Marathon, while Harris ran a personal best 2:17:08 at the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon in Japan in March. A teacher from Launceston, Harris’ training program is eye-watering with an average of 240-kilometres clocked each week.

READ MORE: Mileage man Josh Harris looks to London

Literally the only pic I've seen of the Marathon. Body has recovered very well after this one #runhappy pic.twitter.com/4WRXcO6Fu0

— Josh Harris (@_JoshHarris) March 14, 2017

Team Australia for the IAAF World Championships now stands at 26 athletes, with the Final Selectors Meeting to be held on 24 July 2017.

To view the Selection Policy, please click here.

To be held from 4-13 August, the IAAF World Championships follow the World Para-Athletics Championships on 14-23 July. Both events will be held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, marking a return of global competition to the same venue as the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For more information on the summer of athletics descending on London (GBR), please click here.

IAAF World Championships

London (GBR)

4-13 August 2017

WOMEN (13):

200m: Ella Nelson (NSW)

400m: Morgan Mitchell (Vic)

10,000m: Eloise Wellings (NSW)

100m hurdles: Sally Pearson (Qld)

400m hurdles: Lauren Wells (ACT)

Pole Vault: Nina Kennedy (WA)

Discus Throw: Dani Stevens (NSW, nee Samuels)

Javelin: Kelsey-Lee Roberts (ACT)

20km walk: Regan Lamble (Vic), Beki Smith (NSW)

Marathon*^: Milly Clark (NSW), Sinead Diver (Vic), Jessica Trengove (SA)

MEN (13):

10,000m: Patrick Tiernan (Qld)

Long Jump: Fabrice Lapierre (NSW)

Pole Vault: Kurtis Marschall (SA)

Shot Put: Damien Birkinhead (Vic)

Javelin: Hamish Peacock (Tas)

Decathlon: Cedric Dubler (Qld)

20km Walk: Dane Bird-Smith (Qld), Rhydian Cowley (Vic)

50km walk: Chris Erickson (Vic), Jared Tallent (SA)

Marathon*^: Josh Harris (Tas), Jeff Hunt (NSW), Brad Milosevic (NSW)

*Please note that Cassie Fien (Qld) and Jack Colreavy (NSW) have been named as reserves for the marathon, replacing a selected athlete in the event of their withdrawal.

^Lisa Weightman (Vic), Liam Adams (Vic) and Michael Shelley (Qld) advised that they are not seeking selection in the marathon for London 2017, instead focusing on preparation for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.