Seaward shows true grit as heat of Sapporo takes its toll on field
KEVIN Seaward fared the best of the Irish runners in gruelling conditions in the men’s marathon in Sapporo yesterday.
A strong second-half showing saw Seaward finish in 58th position in a time of 2:21:45. His teammate Paul Pollock crossed the line in 71st, stopping the clock at 2:27:48, while there was disappointment for Stephen Scullion, who had to withdraw from the race before the halfway mark.
Conditions once again proved the toughest challenge, with 27-degree heat and over 70% humidity taking a huge toll on the field from the start. By the halfway mark, 15 men had departed, including two of the Ethiopian team, and some serious medal contenders.
The three Irish contenders started off conservatively, and sensibly so, all going through the 10km marker towards the back of the field. Scullion had to retire between the 15km20km mark, and his teammates watched as many of their competitors were forced to do the same, with 30 men in total dropping out to the conditions.
Through halfway, Seaward sat in 86th position, and went on to pick up almost 30 places through the second half of the race, with a steady charge through the field.
‘It’s probably the hardest marathon I’ve ever run,’ Seaward said afterwards. ‘I don’t think people at home can put into context quite how challenging it was out there. I learned a lot about myself there in terms of resilience and inner strength.’
Pollock was 80th through 21km, and moved up nine places to the finish, needing a huge effort to stay in the race through the final stretch, saying: ‘It’s a long way to hold on for the last 10 miles and that’s exactly what I was. It was about getting to the finish line as quickly as possible and as safely as possible.’
Meanwhile, Emily Kay finished 13th in the Women’s Omnium in her Olympic debut at the Izu Velodrome.
Kay was the last Irish rider to take to the boards, and finished the fourrace event with a total of 56 points. In the first Scratch Race, Kay was riding strong until a crash resulted in a 13th place finish.
In the Tempo Race, Kay picked up a sprint point, but dropped a lap, and finished 13th again. A strong showing in the Elimination Race followed, which resulted in 54 points, and a ninth-place finish, to set her up well for the points race, where she crossed the line in 15th place, with the total number of points gained resulting in a 13th place final position.