Marathon runner Sinéad Diver from Erris near Belmullet, in Co Mayo has been selected to represent Australia at the IAAF World Championships, in London next August (4-13).
Diver’s run of 2:31.37 run for tenth place at Nagoya, Japan last March put her in contention for a place. Her finish time knocked almost three minutes off her previous personal best of 2:34.154 which she ran in her debut marathon in Melbourne in October 2014. She first represented Australia at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing where she finished a strong 21st in 2:36.38.
Diver, a late comer to athletics, only began competing in her early thirties after she moved to Australia and joined South Melbourne AC where she’s coached by Tim Crosby.
Although, in her own words, “oblivious to athletics” while living in Ireland, she played basketball, and studied physical education in the University of Limerick later switching to information technology as a career. She emigrated to Australia fourteen years ago, and she and husband Colin, from Limerick, have two young sons, Eddie “Beag” and Dara.
Her Nagoya time puts Diver 11th on the Australian all-time women’s marathon list, and fifth on the Irish all-time list behind Catherina McKiernan 2:22.23 (1998), Carey May 2:28.07 (1985), Sonia O’Sullivan 2:29.01(2005), and Fionnuala McCormack 2:31.22 (Rio 2016). A mother of two, she’s is also the fastest marathon woman over 40 in both Australia and Ireland.
Both men and women’s marathon will take place on the same day at the London World Championships, starting and finishing on Tower Bridge and run over a course of four 10k laps.
*Thanks to Tom Hunt for passing on this info.
No comments yet.