Athletics: Costley cautious about prospects at Edmonton

Canterbury's Phil Costley was yesterday added to the New Zealand team to compete at the world athletic championships in Canada in August, but the distance runner was unsure if he could recover sufficiently after winning the Gold Coast marathon last weekend.

Costley won in a personal best time of 2h 13m 48s - 12s inside the qualifying time.

Costley would normally undertake a 26-day recovery after a marathon and then start from scratch, but he will have to contend with a 41-day turnaround.

"I don't think I did too much damage [winning at Gold Coast] but I'll have another race to test things out," the 31-year-old Costley said.

The decision to hold the marathon in conjunction with the opening ceremony on August 3 is another impediment.

"The marathon is usually at the end, so this gives me a week less than expected," he said.

"It's a big mission to get there and perform to the best level. I have to see whether I can do myself and the country justice."

Costley, a three-time New Zealand cross-country representative, said he would have a clearer idea if he could justify the trip after competing in the South Island cross-country championships in Christchurch on July 7.

Although he suffered a blistered toe during the Gold Coast triumph, he was running the day after with fellow Kiwi Jonathan Wyatt, who won the Gold Coast half-marathon.

Costley's win convinced Athletics New Zealand selectors he was a worthy addition, despite his qualifying time coming outside the selection cut-off period of May 30.

"Phil has a remarkable power to recover," ANZ road selector John Bowden said.

"Last year he did Rotorua [marathon] in April and got second at Gold Coast eight weeks later.

"He has a thirst for work and seems to recover pretty well."

Costley's inclusion increases the Kiwi contingent to seven. Five athletes were initially selected in April and Olympian Craig Barrett was added last week after producing a personal best for the 50km walk in New Plymouth.

The team assemble in Calgary on July 21, with the championships running from August 3-12.

New Zealand team: Jane Arnott (North Harbour) 400m, Chantal Brunner (Auckland) long jump, Jenni Dryburgh (North Harbour) pole vault, John Henwood (Auckland) 5km or 10km, Tasha Williams (Canterbury) hammer throw, Craig Barrett (Waikato) 50km walk, Phil Costley (Canterbury) marathon.

- NZPA