Welsh pair set to go the distance as they chase World marathon glory
WELSH pair Josh Griffiths and Andrew Davies compete in the men’s marathon tomorrow at the World Athletics Championships in London.
Swansea Harrier Griffiths shocked the athletics fraternity by being the first British finisher during this year’s London Marathon, clocking a time of 2hr 14min 49sec.
It was his first race over 26miles with the 23-year-old saying: “It was a bit of a dream start to my marathon career to be honest.”
Former footballer Davies, 37, was a late call-up to the British team, replacing the injured Robbie Simpson.
College sports teacher Davies. from Welshpool, spent a decade playing football for then-League of Wales side Caersws, winning the Welsh League Cup three times and playing in the InterToto Cup in Europe before switching to marathons 10 years ago.
“I was only doing it early on as a way of keeping fit but, as things started getting more serious, I’ve been trying to get my times down, getting a bit quicker and ultimately getting the bonus of going to a few major championships,” he said.
Welsh 110m hurdler David Omoregie is looking to make amends after just missing out on last year’s Olympics in Rio after running the qualification time a week after the deadline, before setting a personal best of 13.24secs in Berlin a month later.
He starts his bid for glory tomorrow while Ieuan Thomas, from Pontypool, is also in action the same day, running in the qualifying round for the 3,000m steeplechase.
MEANWHILE, Ed Warner has defended his legacy as UK Athletics chairman amid criticism from Jessica Ennis-Hill’s former coach Toni Minichiello.
Warner is stepping down from the role this year after over a decade in charge but has been accused by Minichiello of overseeing the “destruction of coaching” during his tenure.
Minichiello, who coached EnnisHill to Olympic gold in 2012 and three World Championship gold medals, claims he spoke to Warner about the future of British coaching but nothing was done to improve the programme.
Minichiello said on Thursday: “I sat with Ed Warner in a hotel in Berlin and he said to me: ‘Britain only has two world-class coaches, what are we going to do?”’
Warner, who is also the co-chair of London 2017, defended his approach to the issue by highlighting a couple of former athletes who are being nurtured into coaches.
Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, Warner said: “We’re bringing on lots of young coaches, lots of apprentice coaches, and I’ll give you two examples; Kelly Sotherton and Christian Malcolm.
“They are both former athletes who are on the programme. There’s a whole new generation coming through.
“Toni is probably the deepest thinker in coaching in athletics. He’s hugely influential, his views carry enormous weight and I respect them greatly but we’re going about it a different way than Toni would like to do it.
“Toni is forging a dual career now, he is a renaissance man for our sport, he’s going to be on the BBC commentating for the next 10 days and people should stop and listen to what he has to say.”