Olympic Marathon Preview
Published Fri 06 Aug 2021
For elite athletes of varying disciplines, training for the Olympic Games looks vastly different. Some lift hundreds of kilograms in the gym whilst others run short and sharp repetitions, but none of that baffles us mere mortals quite as much as the marathon regime of gobbling up 200-kilometres of tarmac per week.
That’s not a fixed figure but rest assured that all six of Australia’s marathon runners set to feature at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have spent years on end amassing thousands of kilometres – meticulously preparing for moments like these.
The women’s marathon will begin at 8am AEST on Saturday morning in Sapporo, with Lisa Weightman (Dick Telford), Sinead Diver (Nic Bideau) and Ellie Pashley (Julian Spence) forming a fantastic Australian trio in the event.
The occasion is set to be the fourth consecutive Olympic Games at which Weightman has run the marathon - an incredible feat in any event yet even more so when considering the taxing nature of the marathon.
Weightman’s best finish on the Olympic stage came in London where she was the 17th woman across the line, later elevated to 16th after sport integrity findings. In Beijing she was 33rd and in Rio she was 31st, with the endurance machine saying it would be a dream if she could top her career-best Olympic finish in Sapporo.
Holding a personal best of 2:25:15, Weightman sits fourth on the Australian all-time list and has established herself as a consistent competitor with several impressive times and placings to her name.
Diver will make her long awaited Olympic debut with a wealth of major marathon experience under her belt, including a top five finish at the 2019 New York Marathon and multiple other top 10 placings.
The 2019 London Marathon saw Diver surge to the lead after being unhappy with the early pace, demonstrating that she is not interested in getting caught up in tactical affairs on her way to a 2:24:11 personal best and seventh place finish.
That time has her sitting in third position on the Australian all-time list, but it is her ability to challenge some of the world’s best marathoners that should have Australians most excited ahead of tomorrow’s 42.2-kilometre bout.
Diver and Weightman have both had to leave their young families behind in Australia in order to chase their Olympic dreams - a sacrifice that will make crossing the finish line tomorrow all the more special.
Pashley has a personal best of 2:26:21 to her name and also boasts a top 10 finish at a major marathon, crossing the line in eighth place at the 2019 New York Marathon. The 32-year-old has shown the capacity to remain patient and stick to her race plan throughout marathons, a factor that will be crucial in the challenging conditions of Sapporo.
So thorough has Pashley’s preparation been that she could be sighted running around Cairns in tights and a jacket despite temperatures nearing 30℃, opting to leave the beanie in her bag on that occasion.
The trio will take on the might of East Africa with Kenya and Ethiopia fielding strong teams including world record holder Brigid Kosgei.
The men’s marathon is set to take place on the same course on Sunday at 8:00am AEST, with Liam Adams (Ken Hall), Brett Robinson (Nic Bideau) and Jack Rayner (Nic Bideau) the selected athletes for Australia.
Adams enters with the fastest personal best of the three with a time of 2:10:48, with the workhorse set to become a two-time Olympian after finishing in 31st place of the marathon in Rio.
Japan has been a happy hunting ground for Adams after he set his personal best there in March of 2020 at the Lake Biwa Marathon, shaving 48-seconds off his previous mark.
Adams has resonated with many in the public as your typical hardworking Australian, employed as an electrician around his borderline ludicrous training schedule. At the beginning of this year, Adams spent five weeks at Falls Creek training at altitude – racking up 250-kilometres per week on the mountainous terrain.
Robinson has been touted as the man who could one day take down Robert de Castella’s 2:07:51 national record that has stood for 35-years – such is the praise for the converted middle-distance man.
At the 2016 Olympic Games, Robinson finished in 14th place of the 5000m final before embarking on a marathon quest the following year. Robinson failed to complete his first two attempts at the marathon distance before the breakthrough came in the form of a 2:10:55 performance at the 2019 London Marathon.
The 30-year-old has been prone to stitch-like symptoms late in marathons but has worked tirelessly with dieticians to quell the problem ahead of the Olympic Games.
In February of 2020, Robinson became the first Australian to run under 60-minutes in the half marathon with a time of 59:57 – illustrating his potential over the full distance if he can piece it all together.
At 25-years-old, Rayner has had limited experience in the marathon – making his 2:11:06 on debut even more impressive. Rayner’s only other result over the distance stands at the 2:16:58 he ran at the 2019 New York Marathon, during which he suffered from a stress fracture in his back.
A training partner and good friend of Robinson’s, the two have spent countless kilometres and hours together throughout this season preparing for the Olympic Games – culminating in Sunday’s marathon on the streets of Sapporo.
The fastest winning time in an Olympic marathon stands at 2:06:32, with the conservative approach often taken by favourites likely to play into the hands of the Australians who will have company throughout the race. Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge shapes up as the man to beat, widely regarded as the greatest marathoner in history.
As seen in the race walking events, Sapporo has been dishing up challenging conditions for endurance athletes. That is not unexpected for this time of year, with our Australian marathoners preparing rigorously through pre-cooling and fuelling methods, along with spending a significant amount of time training in Cairns.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 6/08/2021
