Former Bullaburra resident Ben St Lawrence had set himself the goal of finishing inside the top five at the 10,000 metre race at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games early on Saturday morning.
But fate wasn’t on his side after he crossed the finish line in 16th in a field of 26 at Hampden Park, recording a time well outside his best.
St Lawrence was receiving treatment for an Achilles injury in the lead-up to the Games, a factor behind his decision to pull out of the 5000m and concentrate on the longer distance race.
“Shockwave therapy on the Achilles. Not the most enjoyable treatment unless you’re the guy wielding the weapon,” he tweeted on July 23.
Fellow Australian Harry Summers was 18th in the 10,000m.
The race was won by defending Games champion Moses Kipsiro of Uganda in an incredible finish that looked more like something from a sprint.
Kipsiro’s winning margin was just 0.03 seconds over Kenyan Josphat Bett and was actually less than the gap between first and second in the men’s 100m final (0.1 seconds).
The winning time was 27 minutes, 56.11 seconds, with St Lawrence finishing more than 52 seconds later. His time was 28:49.41, nearly a minute and a half behind his personal best.
Prior to the 10,000m race, St Lawrence joked that he was hoping for bad weather in the Glasgow stadium.
“I’m hoping for rain and wind. It’s not something you can think about too much because it's out of your control, but I might do a little rain dance before the race,” he told Fairfax Media.
The 32-year-old came seventh in the same event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
St Lawrence also competed in the 10,000m at the 2012 London Olympics, finishing 20th in 28:32.67 seconds.
British star Mo Farah, who was forced to pull out of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, won the Olympic gold.
