Commonwealth Games spot for Andy
The marathon man made the qualifying mark during a brilliant 2017 that saw him fitter and faster than ever before, but his place on the plane was only confirmed this morning with the team’s official 93-member announcement.
And the sports lecturer at Newtown College Campus reacted in typical Montgomryshire fashion.
“Hellish chuffed to be selected for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Australia,” he said before thanking his coach, Steve Vernon, sponsor New Balance, and Welsh Athletics.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be selected in the Welsh team as I knew after competing at Glasgow (2014 Commonwealth Games) that I have to return to the next Games.
“Welsh Athletics set the standards so high I knew I would have to get a personal best to qualify. I imagined only three or four people would qualify for Athletics, but to see so many have got the standards is just amazing, especially in the distance events.
“There’s a lot of training still to be done and the lighter nights will make it a bit easier to train, but really looking forward to all the preparations.
“Representing my country once again will be an honour but I’m equally as proud to be flying the flag for Montgomeryshire.”
Last year, Andy clocked a personal best marathon time of two hours 15.11 seconds when finishing 16th at the London Marathon, and also finished an excellent 31st as part of the three-man Great Britain marathon team at the World Athletics Championships, also in London.
“We’re absolutely delighted with the team selection,” Helen Phillips, the chair of Commonwealth Games Wales, told BBC Sport Wales.
“We’ve got an outstanding list of superstars. So we’re really excited about the experience in the team but also the new athletes coming through who are really going to shine on the Gold Coast.”
The Commonwealth Games takes place on the Gold Coast from April 4-15.
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