Ten years after winning the London Marathon, Basildon's Eamonn Martin is still waiting to see another Englishman take the biggest title in endurance racing.

And he's not impressed with the changes in coaching and organisation of long-distance events which he believes makes it harder for young athletes to succeed.

The 44-year-old, who won Commonwealth and European Cup gold over 10,000m, admits there is little chance of seeing a British man celebrate in London on Sunday.

"The British team won't be anywhere in the marathon, which is a shame," said Martin.

"We are in a bit of a fallow period at the moment but there is a group of very good youngsters aged 22 downwards who are a couple of years away from their best."

But circumstances could make it harder for these youngsters to develop into a new generation of champions.

Aside from the perceived inferiority complex when European runners take on their African counterparts, the programme of events is making success harder to come by.

"On the commercial side the focus is going to shorter events," said Martin. "I don't know why it is, but instead of running 10k or 12k cross countries, we're seeing five-mile races.

"The emphasis is on shorter distances so athletes are missing out on the endurance."

Martin is still involved in the sport, training some of the most talented athletes from the Southern region and working closely with Basildon AC.

Indeed, his commitments with the GB Cross Country team mean he will miss Sunday's race altogether as he takes a group of seven athletes to Athens for a European 10k event.

Published Friday, April 11, 2003

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