Jo Pavey to run London Marathon this weekend aiming to book place in World Championships AGED 43
43-year old is set to run in Sunday's London Marathon as she looks to book her place at summer's World Championships
Jo Pavey will run in the London Marathon this weekend- aiming to book her place for this summer's World Championships at the age of 43.
Mum-of-two Pavey, is already guaranteed a medal at the World Championships in London with athletics chiefs planning to present her with an upgraded bronze after she finished fourth a DECADE ago in Osaka in 2007.
She was last month finally awarded 10,000m bronze when Turkish athlete Evan Abeylegesse failed a drugs test after samples were re-tested and she was stripped of silver.
It will be Pavey's first global major medal although she famously won European 10,000m gold in Zurich in 2014 months after giving birth to her second child Emily.
Friday August 11 has been pencilled in for the medal presentation at the Olympic Stadium in London- with the women's marathon event five days earlier in the capital.
First though she will turn her attention on Sunday to booking her place in the British team for this summer- 20 years after she first pulled on a senior vest at the World Championships in Athens in 1997.
She has competed for her country at every distance from 1500m upwards apart from the marathon and at the Rio Olympics last summer, her fifth, became Britain's oldest track athlete at a Games when she did the 10,000m.
Pavey, who has done two marathons in her career in London 2011 and New York later that year when she set a personal best of 2:28:24 admitted: "I'll be thrilled to receive the medal on home soil. It will be a massive honour and I'm grateful to everyone who has made it happen from the people who caught the athlete in question to those who are trying to arrange a medal ceremony.
"As far as getting a medal 10 years late it's bitter sweet.When I think back to that day I remember lying on the track on my back- it was 37℃ and the most adverse conditions I'd ever competed in, and I felt like I had let everyone down because I couldn't hold onto a medal position.
"I'd given my all and trying to summon the energy to get up and meet my husband, Gav while feeling so gutted. I felt so much disappointment. To think I had just missed out because I was in a medal position right up to the line. It was really frustrating.
"I questioned myself afterwards, should I have trained differently...? It affects the way you train and race. I was always trying to run the sprint out of her because I knew how robotic she was at the end. Looking back she was so doped up I would have been better off jogging around, keeping as fresh as possible and then sprinted. She was given her endurance on a plate with a drug."
Pavey said: "If I get the place for the World Championships on Sunday it will be another chance.
"That's my main goal, to try and qualify for the World Championships. I know its tough with the other British girls running, Susan Partridge, Charlotte Purdue, Alyson Dixon are all very good athletes.
"I learned a lot when I did my first marathon in London. I ran it really wrong. I ran too fast the first half and then died a death. Then when I ran in New York I ran sensibly. The memories I have from London in 2011, running down the Mall with everyone trying for personal goals will last forever and I'm so excited to take part again."
Olympics champion Jemima Sumgong will not line up alongside Pavey to defend her London Marathon after testing positive for the banned blood-booster EPO in an out-of-competition test in February.
The Kenyan now faces a LIFETIME ban for competing at the money-spinning World Marathon Majors in London, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, Tokyo and New York who have a zero tolerance policy for drug cheats.
She had topped the leader board of the World Marathon Majors Series and was in line for a £200,000 cheque as well as being among the favourites to win London again and pick up at least £100,000 in prize money and bonuses.
Pavey said: I agree with that (lifetime ban) definitely. It's horrendous. You want to look at performances like that last year in London and Rio and feel you can admire them. Unfortunately it makes you feel again like if you see a good performance can you believe it? That's not fair on clean athletes who do a good performance.
"I'm also pleased she was caught in an out-of-competition test. That feels like a massive step forward so I'm chuffed about that."