
In the past, with three places on offer, the National
Championships acted as an Olympic trial, with the winner guaranteed a place,
providing they made the qualifying time. If several athletes came home under
the qualifying mark, then the fastest two got picked.
Under those guidelines, Linda Byrne, winner of the
national title last October in Dublin, would have been sure of her place.
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Ava Hutchinson |
One woman learning a hard lesson in Dublin was Ava
Hutchinson; she finished in
a disappointing 2:42.50. All was forgotten last Saturday when Hutchinson, fully fit this time,
emulated Byrne's Dublin tactics in
Houston. She started slow, and then stuck to an even pace she could manage until she reached the finish. Her time
of 2:35.33 put her comfortably inside the Olympics A standard of 2:37.
While Hutchinson and Byrne are likely to make the London
2012 team, all could change radically over the next few weeks. Maria
McCambridge ran 2:35.29 in Paris two years ago, but could manage only 2:40.26
in Dublin last October - only months after the birth of son Dylan.
At the age of 36, McCambridge knows time is running out.
She will run a marathon in the next few weeks - Seville on February 19 or
Barcelona a month later on March 17 are two options - and if she gets her
pacing right, could nail down the third place.
There are others who fancy their chances. The 2010
national marathon champion Barbara Sanchez ran her first race after a long
break last week, and could join Caitriona Jennings, Lorraine Manning, Annette
Kealy, Lizzie Lee, Breege Connolly, and Rosemary Ryan at the Rotterdam Marathon
on April 15. Then there's Gladys Ganiel, who may line out in London after
clocking 2:40.56 in Houston.