Olympics: Ian Stewart confident Brits can go the distance

THE countdown to the London Olympics, which began seven years ago when the city was awarded the Games, now stands at just 100 days to go. It has been a long, slow build-up, but at last we are in the home straight.

For Ian Stewart, UK Athletics’ head of endurance, the next three months may produce some anxious moments, but they also promise to be a time of increasing confidence. Having won the Commonwealth Games 5,000 metres in 1970 and taken bronze in the same event at the Munich Olympics two years later, the Scot knows what it takes to succeed in distance running. He is convinced that a growing number of this generation of British athletes also have that knowledge, and that they will prove it when the heat is on.

“I think we’ve got some great prospects on the track in both the men’s and women’s events,” Stewart says. “There’s [world 5,000m champion] Mo Farah obviously, who has trained really hard and could do fantastic things for British running.

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“Hannah England, who got a 1,500m silver medal at last year’s world championships, has had a very good winter. The determination she showed in that race epitomises the attitude we want all of our runners to have.

“Once you’re in the final you’re in with a chance. You’ve got to be there and take that opportunity, which is exactly what Hannah did. I think we’re much better prepared to do that than we have ever been. There’s a big effort gone into preparing our endurance runners for the Olympics, and it has made a big difference.” No-one has put in a bigger effort over the course of their career than Paula Radcliffe, the world record-holder in the marathon. When fully fit, the 38-year-old is peerless, but doubts were raised over her ability to recover her best form in time for London when she ran the slowest half-marathon of her career in Vienna on Sunday.

Radcliffe had been suffering from bronchitis and pleurisy, but Stewart feels that, as long as she regains complete health by the Games, she cannot be discounted. “We all want Paula to get to the line fit and healthy,” he says. “As long as she can do that, she’s in with a chance of a medal.

“I don’t think the Olympic marathon course is going to be much faster than 2hrs 19mins. I think Paula can run it between that time and the low 2:20s. There’s a long way to go. I’ve seen her training in Kenya, I know her very well and I have great belief in her.

“It’s still a long way off and she needed to run somewhere. I understand she was on antibiotics to treat an illness, and they can affect your Vitamin B levels. And of course being ill doesn’t help either.” Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi have already qualified for the Olympic marathon, but there is still one place to race for in the women’s event, and two in the men’s race, and this Sunday’s London Marathon is being used as the trial for the Great Britain team. The selection panel, which includes Stewart, will not be bound to choose whichever contender finishes highest, but the outcome of the race will nonetheless have a big influence.

“I don’t think selection looks cut and dried at all, especially in the women’s marathon,” Stewart said. “On paper Jo Pavey could be next after Paula and Mara, but there are a number of other contenders, such as Claire Hallissey, Louise Damen, Susan Partridge and Freya Murray.” Partridge was sixth in the 2011 British rankings, while fellow-Scot Murray has only recently moved up to the marathon. Stewart has been impressed by both, however, and thinks they are in the form to force their way into consideration.

“Susan has progressed considerably since this time last year, and Freya could be a real dark horse in the race. She’s got that very economical style which is a real asset in the marathon. If she came out and ran 2:25 I wouldn’t be surprised.

“I was at our camp in Kenya when she was there, and she was training really well. Her attitude was fantastic.” Another Scots athlete in Kenya was Steph Twell, the 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist at 1,500m. That performance in Delhi proved Twell capable of competing on a world stage, but a severe ankle injury early in 2011 ruled her out of action for most of the year. Twell is steadily returning to the form she showed before that injury, but it is touch and go whether she will have enough time to do her talent justice and claim a place in the Great Britain team.

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“One thing you cannot doubt is her application and dedication,” Stewart said. “The way she got over that dreadful injury was awesome – particularly the way she competed in cross-country races, having known that was where her injury occurred.

“So I’m fairly optimistic for Steph. To get into the Olympics would be a big ask because of the time out she had because of her injury, but she is a very dedicated athlete and she has impressed me greatly.” Stewart, it should be said, has never been easily impressed, so the fact that he feels able to speak highly of so many British athletes is a reassuring sign in itself.

• Watch the world’s best athletes in action this summer at the 2012 Aviva Series. For tickets visit uka.org.uk/aviva-series

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