Posted: July 1, 2004

Athletics: East Aiming To Qualify For Olympic Middle Distance Double

By Bob Ramsak, Track Profile

(c) 2004 Track Profile all rights reserved TrackProfile.com

Commonwealth 1500m champion Michael East will contest both the 800m and his specialty at next weekend's Norwich Union Olympic Trials in an attempt to become the first Briton to compete in both events since the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

East, who lowered his personal best in the 1500m to 3:34.85 in Bergen, Norway on June 11, rarely competes in the shorter race, but is approaching the task with a realistic outlook.

"The Olympic 800m comes after the 1500m so I reckoned it was worth having a stab at it as well," the 26-year-old said. His personal best is 1:46.65, just shy of the Olympic 'A' standard of 1:46.00. "I don't think I will get the standard at the Trials, but if I finished in the top two there then the next target would be to set up a couple of races to try and get the qualifying time."

During Britain's middle distance heydey of the 1970s and 80s, Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett would regularly take on double duty at major competitions. But the last Britons to attempt the Olympic middle distance double were Steve Cram and Peter Elliott in Seoul. Elliott claimed the silver medal that year in the 1500m.

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