Misses bronze by less than a second
The race was won by Koen Naert of Belgium in a personal best of 2 hrs 9 mins 51 secs.
An elated Seaward said: “It was hot out there in the second half but there were five guys to spur each other on for the team.
“I knew that if I held strong in the second half I would do OK .
“There were shades of the Gold Coast here but I respect the weather. I took time off after Australia to prepare for this.
“I am happy with that but want to run quicker, perhaps in the autumn when I would like to break 2 hrs 14 mins. I feel really strong at the moment and have been injury free for a long time.”
Holywood’s Pollock, only back after 11 weeks serious injury, felt he could help out if a medal was in the offing. He said that unfortunately, the last six miles were a real grind but he was determined to get back with a possible marathon in the autumn.
The Women’s Marathon was won by Volha Mazuronak of Belarus in 2 hrs 26 mins 22 secs. The Irish team included two Northern Ireland girls.
Leevale’s Lizzie Lee was 29th in 2.40.12 followed by City of Derry’s Breege Connolly (31st in 2.41.53) and North Belfast’s Gladys Ganiel (33rd in 2.42.42) .
Lee commented: “I broke a toenail which stuck in my foot. This obviously caused problems, along with the temperatures, especially in the last six miles, which were tough.”
Earlier in the 20k walk, Leevale’s Alex Wright received two warnings before finishing a commendable 10th in a season’s best time of 1hr 22mins 18secs.