Former Dunedin man running for Thailand in bid to qualify for Olympics
DOHA: A Dunedin distance runner is living his dream at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, but in unfamiliar colours.
Tony Payne will represent Thailand in the men’s marathon tomorrow morning New Zealand time, having set the Thai national record of 2hr 16.56min in Frankfurt 12 months ago.
Payne (30) won the New Zealand marathon title in 2012 and competed in the black singlet at the Oceania Championships in 2013, but last year switched allegiances to Thailand, his mother’s country of birth, in a bid to qualify for the world championships and Olympic Games.
‘‘I’m at a world championships. That’s a dream come true. The Olympics are a lot harder to qualify for, but it’s possible,’’ Payne said.
‘‘About two years ago I started to explore the possibility of representing Thailand, because Athletics New Zealand sets the standards a bit harder than the international body requires.
‘‘Even if I did get into shape where I meet the standards that the International Athletics Federation set, the New Zealand standards have an overarching top 16 requirement and I would never have met that.’’
The Athletics Association of Thailand (AAT) has been happy to have him.
‘‘I was a little bit worried going into the team that there might be a bit of contempt towards me, but on the most part they’ve been very welcoming.
‘‘I have taken someone’s spot on the team and he wasn’t happy initially, but he’s moved on to a coaching role now.’’
Payne ‘‘donned the Thai singlet’’ for the first time at the Asian Games in Jakarta last year and finished a creditable eighth.
He has since put his career as a lawyer on hold to become a fulltime marathon runner, with the help from the AAT and a few commercial partners.
‘‘One of the advantages of doing this is the Thai market.
‘‘In terms of marketing power, you’ve just got a larger population base so I’ve been able to actually generate enough income to pay the bills at least.’’
And he has seen the benefits of focusing entirely on his running.
‘‘My time since I joined the team has come down about four minutes and that’s with some weather that hasn’t been favourable, so I think next year when I’m targeting an Olympic qualifier I should be able to get down another two or three minutes.’’
Payne lives in London but is embracing his Thai heritage and trying to give back to the country’s running community.
‘‘My Thai is very rusty. I learnt a little bit as a child, but I really didn’t embrace the Thai culture very much at all.’’
That is not to say he has forgotten his roots. He is a proud Otago rugby fan and is perhaps more anxious about Otago’s Ranfurly Shield defence against Canterbury today than competing at the world championships.
‘‘I can’t believe that the Otago boys have held on to it to the last defence and, of course, the last defence is against Canterbury.
‘‘I’m very nervous, but hopefully we can lock it up for the offseason again.’’