Athletics: Last chance to qualify

Tomorrow's Gold Coast marathon is Shireen Crumpton's last chance to make the Commonwealth Games team for New Delhi.

Crumpton (39), a Dunedin nurse, has won the event twice before, in 2003 and 2008, and has the ability to reach the qualifying standard of 2hr 37min.

In 2003, Crumpton ran 2hr 40min 10sec, and her time two years ago was 2hr 38min 16sec.

The race record of 2hr 29min 29sec was run by Japan's Erico Asai in 1993.

The fastest time this century of 2hr 33min 22sec was run by another Japanese, Ayumi Hayashi, in 2007.

Crumpton's best time over the past 12 months is the 2hr 41min 31sec she ran at the World Cup in Berlin last year.

She was hampered in that race by a thigh injury that troubled her for the next nine months, but she has recovered, and proved it by winning the women's half-marathon in Christchurch at Queen's Birthday weekend.

Crumpton has a best time of 2hr 37min 03sec, which she ran at the World Cup in Helsinki in 2005.

"I'm confident that I'm over my injuries," she said. "It is not too bad in training."

Crumpton finished third in the Gold Coast half-marathon, in 1hr 14min 05sec, last year.