London Olympics 2012: Freya Murray’s marathon effort is all the sweeter after finishing as top Brit

Last-minute replacement Freya Murray (Edinburgh AC) did herself and Scotland proud by finishing first Briton in the Olympic women’s marathon in London yesterday.

Beginning slowly but gradually working her way up the field over the four laps, Murray, who came in for the injured icon of the sport Paula Radcliffe, finished more than three minutes clear of Claire Hallissey, the English woman who beat her for the one vacant place available in the British team from the official trial at the Virgin London Marathon last April.

Mara Yamauchi, the other pre-selected British runner along with Radcliffe, had a tragically short outing, being forced to drop out before the 10 kilometres mark with a bruised heel.

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Though Murray’s time of 2:32.14 in 44th place was over four minutes slower than the time she accomplished in her brilliant debut at the classic distance in the Virgin London event, this was not the same London course but a tougher, hillier one described as “challenging and technical” which, however, took in most of the leading London landmarks and was lined throughout by cheering crowds despite frequent heavy showers.

“That was the most amazing experience I’ve ever had, I just went out there to get the experience and I was so excited. I enjoyed every bit of it, even the hard parts,” gasped a mud-spattered Murray at the finish.

“The crowds were absolutely fantastic and for them to come out in this weather was just amazing. I didn’t know what to expect as I only had a week’s notice that I was definitely in the team. It wasn’t till I had a call from Paula a week last Thursday that it really dawned on me that maybe I might be in the Olympics,” said the Scottish deputy for the world’s fastest ever female marathon runner who was forced to withdraw due to osteoarthritis of a leg joint.

A big contingent of Murray’s family and friends made the journey south.

Thanking them all for their support, the 28-year-old Beeslack High former pupil paid special tribute to her coach, former London Marathon winner Steve Jones, who flew over specially from the USA to watch the race.

“Steve’s a great coach,” said Murray who has clearly benefitted from the altitude training she has undergone in the past at his Colorado base.

In fact she was due to fly to Colorado for another stint when the call came through that she was in the team.

Murray revealed that she had been sharing a room with Yamauchi and had known of her potential problem. “It’s a horrible way to go out of the Games – I really feel for her.

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“After hearing I was in I was so terrified that I tip-toed around thinking ‘what if I 
trip!’

“I was so gutted after the trial that I didn’t want anything else to go wrong.”

Yamauchi, who was sixth in the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, explained her problem: “I had a heel bruise which I was able to run on and I was managing it.

“It’s not the best situation to be in going into the Olympic marathon but I was more than confident I could give it a good go, but it started to hurt after the second corner.”

Murray’s former coach Ian Whyte, who also travelled to London from Sunderland specially to watch the race, praised her performance.

“She started steadily, looked positive but relaxed and ran the type of race the occasion demanded, careful and paced.”

“I hope it encourages younger Scottish athletes to believe that diligence, patience and perseverance against adversity, such as injuries, can be rewarded.”

Meanwhile, on the tack, there was no fairytale ending to Lee McConnell’s last outing of a trio of Olympics, the 33-year-old long-striding Glaswegian finishing seventh in the third semi-final of the 400 metres in 52.44 seconds.

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Worryingly for British 4x400m relay hopes fellow Brit Shana Cox was only marginally quicker and also went out.

Pitreavie 400m hurdler Eilidh Child had a shaky start to her Olympic campaign, appearing to get her stride pattern wrong in the early stages of the race before eventually coming home strongly to finish third in the first heat of the first round in a modest 56.14secs.

That compared to the 54.62 clocked by her team-mate Perri Shakes-Drayton who beat the defending Olympic champion Melaine Walker (Jamaica) in her heat.

“I’ve probably given my whole family and coach a heart attack watching that to be honest,” said Child.

“Maybe I got too nervous at the start and maybe let the 
occasion get to me a bit but hopefully I can just focus on the next race.”

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