Stephen Scullion, a 35-year-old marathon runner from Belfast, acknowledged his tough day at the London Marathon, signalling an end to his ambitions of participating in his second Olympic games. Despite bearing a record of 2:09:22 from the 2020 London Marathon, Scullion ranked 13th this time, finishing in 2:16:06. This was outside the Paris automatic qualifying standard of 2:08:10.
Kenyan runner, Alexander Mutiso Munyao prevailed as the winner, narrowly outpacing the 41-year-old Ethopian, Kenenisa Bekele, in the final five kilometres. Munyao completed his race in 2:04:01, while Bekele followed close behind in 2:04:15.
Expressing his disappointment, Scullion stated, “Difficult day for me,” expressing gratitude for the overwhelming crowd support, saying, “Can’t advise people to never surrender ‘find a way’ while yourself surrender. I am disheartened but still feel a sense of pride.”
Elite contenders like Hiko Tonosa Haso and Sean Tobin also participated, though they didn’t manage to finish the race, retiring around the 35km mark. Meanwhile, the highest-placed Irish contestant in the 2022 Dublin marathon was Martin Hoare, who came 25th in 2:22:59.
Peres Jepchirchir from Kenya clinched victory in the women’s division. By finishing in 2:16:16, she shattered Mary Keitany’s world record of 2:17:01. She kept Tigist Assefa from Ethiopia, the mixed-world record holder, at bay.
On another note, Rhasidat Adeleke concluded her premier individual race of the outdoor season at California’s Mt Sac Relays in the second place. She finished the high-quality international 200 metres event in 22.61 seconds.
Despite not achieving her personal best of 22.34 which she put down in Florida in the previous year, Adeleke mainly followed her training companion, Julien Alfred from St Lucia – a recent World Indoor 60m champion – by a mere .03. The training team also includes Dina Asher-Smith, the UK’s 2019 champion, who ranked third with a finish at 22.80.
In an earlier event, Adeleke ran the second leg as part of a 4x100m international group, earning an impressive win with a time of 42.03. Looking ahead, she will prepare for the upcoming women’s 4x400m relay and the mixed 4x400m relay at next month’s World Athletics Relays. This event is planned to take place on the weekend of May 4th in Nassau, Bahamas with the prospect of qualifying for the Paris Olympics at stake.
The competition is fierce, as only the top 14 teams from each event will secure a spot for Paris. Adeleke is part of the selected 11-member Irish squad who have been chosen for this journey. Sharlene Mawdsley is another participant to watch, having anchored both relay teams at last year’s World Championships and being part of the women’s team that clinched fifth place at the World Indoor Championships held in Glasgow in March.
Meanwhile, Thomas Barr intends to back the qualification initiative, suspending his individual hurdle pursuits, a commitment similar to his dedication for Tokyo. The men’s team is rounded out by Cillin Greene, Jack Raftery and Christopher O’Donnell, while Phil Healy, Sophie Becker, Roisin Harrison, Lauren Cadden and Rachal McCann make up the rest of the women’s squad.