• Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home IAAF

Zurich Diary: Jo Pavey wins 10,000 meters, and inspires a nation, by Alex Mills

Larry EderbyLarry Eder
August 13, 2014
0
0 0
0
SHARES
1
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

1623453_10152590601261181_6166441111962400086_n.jpg

For Alex Mills, Jo Pavey’s 10,000 meter victory was a column that had to be written,  through bad wifi connections last night from Great Britain, as he sent this to us after watching Ms. Pavey’s most inspiring race! 

RelatedPosts

The RunBlogrun Interview: Asafa Powell, Working on the Little Imperfections, (from the Archives, January 6, 2008)

Ferdinand Omanyala, 2022 Commonwealth Games Champion, 2022 African Athletics Champion, the audio interview

The Most Excellent Adventures of Des Linden


At 40 years of age Jo Pavey’s story is one of perseverance at its finest level. A journey that began with a fifth place finish in a 1500m heats of the World championships, 17 years ago, and includes 4 Olympic finals since 2000, tonight culminated into a glorious European gold in her 33 major championship appearance. In doing so Pavey became the oldest ever European champion as she capped a glorious 2 weeks for the Devon-based athlete, who recently fought the Kenyans to claim Commonwealth bronze in Glasgow.

In that race, it was all about disbelief, seeing what she could do for herself, her family, and all those ‘jogging mum’s whom she hoped to inspire. Tonight it was all for Jo.

Sticking with the slow pace throughout, Pavey played a game of deception, choosing to continuously pull out to lane 2 and bide her time within the middle of the pack. Not putting her cards on the table early, the Devon based athlete appeared initially to maybe lacking some fitness following her endeavours in Scotland, but it was not the case. After managing to stay with the huge main pack of around 15 runners as the trudged through 5k in 16.26, Pavey showed her true grit to go with the leading pack of 5 athletes as they broke away with 3 laps to go.

Despite the extra competition in her legs compared to her other European rivals, for whom Zurich is the pinnacle of their season; Pavey showed no signs of letting up. She placed herself ominously behind the medal positions and leader France’s Clemence Calvin, ready to strike in the later stages of the race.

Calvin, who has run 20 seconds faster than Pavey this season, made the first break for home, in an act that reduced 5 to 4, but she was not to have it her own way. With 800m left Pavey moved into 3rd as she began to run with a further sense of power against her less experienced competitors, soon that position improved even further as she went one better with 600m to go, she was now the French woman’s biggest rival and threat, ready to pounce.

As they headed towards the bell Pavey went for home streaking past Calvin and towards the eternal glory that would come with a first major gold. Learning her lesson from Glasgow, she cruised ahead of Calvin without applying the finishing touches too early.

200m to go she stayed strong without kicking, but still there was no response from the French 24 year-old; could it be that at the age of 40, just 11 months after giving birth, one of Britain’s most consistent, reliable, wonderful and exceptional distance runners, would finally achieve a lifetime goal and become queen of the tack for the first time?

As the nervous tension filled every corner of the stadium, sofa in the UK and mind of the other British athletes in the village, our Jo gritted her teeth and left nothing on the track. As she reproduced some of that brilliant 1500m speed which was missing all those years ago in that 1997 world championship heat in Athens, Pavey showed no signs of letting go of her crowning glory as she capped a superb 66 second, final lap in style.

The line approached and there was no stopping for our golden girl, the super mum just kept going and going, to eventually blow away her closest rival by over 20 metres. As she crossed the line, Pavey romantically showed her inexperience of winning as she momentarily raised her hands in celebration before almost instantly dropping them back down and regaining her composure, before her first ever real victory lap.

She may have had to wait a long time for this, but in many ways that’s what makes it so special. There’s definitely something more bittersweet about knowing how many near misses and minor medals this woman has had before this evening’s moment.

While she may have finally achieved one of her goals, the 40 year-old is unlikely to stop just yet, with the 5,000m on Saturday a further opportunity to write herself into the record books, as if she wasn’t already memorable enough.

I wonder how many athletes will think twice now, when they consider retiring just because they are in their thirties? After all like Jo showed championship glory could well be just around the corner or even further ahead in time!

Author

  • Larry Eder
    Larry Eder

    Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

    View all posts

Previous Post

Saucony 500 Mile Challenge, Week Nine, Day Three, by RunBlogRun

Next Post

Matthew Centrowitz Knows Where To Be, Middle Distance Specialist Is Unflappable by Dave Hunter

Larry Eder

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

Similar Post

Five things that did not surprise me in Florence
News

Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, Stadio Luigi Ridolfi, Florence, Italy, 2 June 2023, results from World Athletics Results Services

June 4, 2023
Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

June 4, 2023
Faith Kipyegon smashes World Record 1500m in Florence
News

Faith Kipyegon smashes World Record 1500m in Florence

June 4, 2023
World Record in the Women’s 1,500 meters by Faith Kipyegon! (3:49.11 WR) at Florence Diamond League
News

Faith Kipyegon breaks the women’s 1500m world record in an evening of world leading performances in Florence, Italy!

June 4, 2023
Coffee with Larry, Florence Diamond League showcases global athletics, FBK Hengelo
News

Coffee with Larry, Florence Diamond League showcases global athletics, FBK Hengelo

June 4, 2023
2023 RunBlogRun Spring Training for the Middle Distances, 800m to 5,000m, Week Twelve, Day 1, Monday is an easy day…
Training Tips

2023 RunBlogRun Spring Training for the Middle Distances, 800m to 5,000m, Week Twelve, Day 6…a day of racing!

June 3, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Subscribe to RunBlogRun's Global News Feed

Wake up to RunBlogRun’s news in your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll keep you informed about the Sport you love.

*we hate spam as much as you do

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
USATF / Day Four:  USA’s Assembled Team Is Ready!

Abby Steiner replies via twitter, on the curiosity about her new professional running contract

July 5, 2022
What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

July 17, 2022
2022 USATF Outdoor Champs: Melissa Jefferson takes the Women’s 100m title in windy 10.69!

The curious case of Sha’Carri Richardson: How can the sprinter turn around her career?

February 8, 2023

(RBR Archives) Coaching 101: Warm Up & Cool Down for the Jumps, by Roy Stevenson, note by Larry Eder

April 1, 2022
What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

6
Asafa Powell, Considering Longevity in Sprinting

The RunBlogrun Interview: Asafa Powell

5
2022 Munich Diary, Day Five, a Great Friday Night

2023 European Athletics Indoor Champs, The Women’s 60m, who will win the final tonight?

5
TCS New York City Marathon Broadcast to be Available in More Than 530 Million Homes Around the World on Sunday, November 6

RunblogRun Editorial: The Sorry State of Running Television Coverage, by Peter Abraham, note by Larry Eder

4
Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, Stadio Luigi Ridolfi, Florence, Italy, 2 June 2023, results from World Athletics Results Services

June 4, 2023
Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

Five things that did not surprise me in Florence

June 4, 2023
Faith Kipyegon smashes World Record 1500m in Florence

Faith Kipyegon smashes World Record 1500m in Florence

June 4, 2023
World Record in the Women’s 1,500 meters by Faith Kipyegon! (3:49.11 WR) at Florence Diamond League

Faith Kipyegon breaks the women’s 1500m world record in an evening of world leading performances in Florence, Italy!

June 4, 2023

Popular Stories

  • USATF / Day Four:  USA’s Assembled Team Is Ready!

    Abby Steiner replies via twitter, on the curiosity about her new professional running contract

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What happened to the crowd at Eugene?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The curious case of Sha’Carri Richardson: How can the sprinter turn around her career?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • (RBR Archives) Coaching 101: Warm Up & Cool Down for the Jumps, by Roy Stevenson, note by Larry Eder

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Oregon 22 World Athletics Champs: False Starts reconsidered

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent Tweets

Next Post

Matthew Centrowitz Knows Where To Be, Middle Distance Specialist Is Unflappable by Dave Hunter

runblogrun

RunBlogRun comments on the global world of athletics, sports & ethics, and the Olympic movement. @runblogrun

Browse by Category

Newsletter

Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

  • Home
  • Archive
  • Contact Us

© 2022 Run Blog Run - All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Archive
  • Contact Us
  • Home page
  • My Account
  • Sample Page

© 2022 Run Blog Run - All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

Select a password for yourself. (minimum length of 8)

Paste here the user biography.

Provide here the twitter screen name. i.e. @RunBlogRun

Provide here the instagram screen name. i.e. @RunBlogRun

Provide here the facebook profile URL. i.e. http://www.facebook.com/RunBlogRun

Provide here the linkedin profile URL. i.e. https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-eder-5497253

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist