Claire Hallissey and Dave Webb have been officially selected to compete for Team GB in the marathon event at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The pair join fellow marathon runners Scott Overall, Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi who were selected as members of Team GB for London 2012 last December.
They bring the total number of athletes officially selected to Team GB for London 2012 to 61 across four sports: athletics – marathon, boxing, sailing and swimming.
Hallissey was the highest placed British female in yesterday’s London Marathon, finishing 11th in a personal best time of 2:27.44. The 29-year-old, who concentrated much of her training in the USA, also achieved the UK Athletics (UKA) ‘A’ qualifying standard at the Chicago Marathon in October 2011 with a time of 2:29.27. Earlier this year, she finished 19th in the New York half marathon. Hallissey is a natural sciences graduate from Cambridge University with a doctorate in immunology from Bristol.
Webb did not run in yesterday’s London Marathon but his time of 2:17.31 at the 2011 event gained him qualification for the IAAF World Championships in Deagu in August 2011, where he secured an A standard top 20 place with an impressive 15th place finish, recording a personal best time of 2:15.48.
The 30-year-old started his athletics career as a track runner progressing through the distances before opting to concentrate on the marathon. In 2010, the Leeds City athlete led the UK marathon rankings prior to the European Championships in Barcelona, where he finished 16th. The athletes were formally nominated to the BOA for selection to Team GB by UK Athletics, the National Governing Body for athletics in the UK.
Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt said:
“I am delighted to welcome Claire and Dave to Team GB to make their Olympic debuts in London. The group of five Team GB marathon athletes now includes an excellent blend of up-and-coming runners with greatly experienced athletes, led by five time Olympian Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi, who finished sixth at the last Olympics.
“We saw once again yesterday the tremendously passionate and knowledgeable support of the British public for athletes striving to achieve their personal best. The marathon is among the most historic and highly anticipated events of the Games and I am sure all the Team GB marathon athletes will feed off the encouragement given by the hundreds of thousands of fans lining the route.”
Claire Hallissey said: “I’m absolutely thrilled, I think it’s still sinking in. I’m very, very happy. It’s a dream come true, it’s what you aspire to getting on to an Olympic team. I was very happy with my performance at the London Marathon, it went exactly as I was aiming for and hoping for. It was one of those races where everything clicked into place and all went according to plan. I’ve done three marathons so far and I’ve got quicker over each one so it seems like I’ve found my distance.”
Dave Webb said: “I’m delighted to be selected. I’m going to work extremely hard over the coming months to be in the best possible condition to compete well at the Games.”