New Zealand middle distance runner Nick Willis has decided against chasing qualification for the 5000m at the London Olympics and will instead focus on the 1500m. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand middle distance runner Nick Willis has decided against chasing qualification for the 5000m at the London Olympics and will instead focus on the 1500m.
Willis, the silver medallist in the 1500m at the 2008 Beijing Games, had intended to race both his favoured event and the longer distance
in London but announced today on Twitter he had put that plan to bed.
"Great meeting with my coaches and wife today," he said. "The 5000m was a nice idea, but decided that we don't need to keep chasing a standard."
Willis wasn't far away from reaching that standard, as he showed when he returned to his Michigan base after winning the 5000m title at the national championships in March.
Earlier this week, he finished 10th in the 5000m at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California, running 13 minutes, 29.56 seconds - a time within reach of the 'A' qualifying standard for the Olympics of 13.20.00.
