Whanganui runner Brad Mathas finished seventh in his 800m heat in Oregon. Photo / NZME
Whanganui runner Brad Mathas finished seventh in his 800m heat in Oregon. Photo / NZME
Former Whanganui Collegiate student Geordie Beamish alongside compatriot Hamish Carson both produced gutsy efforts in hot weather but missed out on the men's 5000m final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Competing in a first heat containing 21 athletes, including the Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champions Joshua Cheptegeiof Uganda and Ethiopia's Selemon Barega, was always going to be a tough assignment for Beamish, who was raised in Hawke's Bay before later studying at Whanganui Collegiate.
In a slow first half of the race, Beamish, who posted a national indoor 5000m record to move second on the all-time New Zealand rankings (indoor and outdoor) last December with a blistering 13 minutes 12.53 seconds, was happy to sit five from the back for much of the first half of the race before closing the gap through the middle phase of the race.
However, as the large lead group started to splinter in the final mile, Beamish, who is based in Boulder, Colorado, lost contact and his chances of advancing to Monday's final started to slip.
He hit the bell in 15th before producing a sub-60-second final lap to move up to 12th, posting a time of 13m 36.86s.
The heat victory was snared by Oscar Chelimo of Uganda in a time of 13m 24.24s.
On Thursday, Whanganui-raised runner Brad Mathas gave qualification a good crack in heat four of the men's 800m, but ultimately finished seventh in 1m 47.70s and was eliminated from the competition.
Mathas, who now resides in Melbourne, attacked the race with great intent, hitting the front on the first lap and taking the field through the bell in 54.46s.
The eight-time New Zealand champion then kicked from the front, opening up a small but significant gap entering the back straight, to raise hopes of a potential qualification spot.
However, Mathas started to fade as the field rounded the final bend and despite battling to the finish he exited the competition in seventh in a heat won by Djamel Sedjadi of Algeria in 1m 46.39s.
Running in the 5000m with Beamish but in heat two, fellow New Zealander Hamish Carson also missed out on the final.
Carson always faced a formidable challenge in a stacked heat, which included stellar talent in Norway's Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and double World Indoor 3000m champion Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia.
Carson made a move from midfield up into the top six just before 2km to give himself every chance of qualifying for one of the five automatic spots.
However, following a pace injection from first Luis Grijalva of Guatemala then Kenyan Daniel Ebenyo, the field quickly split, and Carson lost contact with the lead group.
In boiling hot conditions, the 33-year-old, who hails from the Kāpiti Coast, plugged on gamely to cross the line 12th in 13m 37.62s.
Beamish finished 23rd overall out of the 41 starters, while Carson was 25th.
