What does it take for an athlete to make it to elite world level? For Ieuan Thomas it has required guts, determination, perseverance, and good health just to get him to the start line for the World Championships, as he told Owen Morgan.

 

 

The 3,000 metre steeplechase is all about overcoming obstacles and going the distance, which makes Welsh athlete Ieuan Thomas the ideal exponent of the discipline. 

The 28-year-old has experienced a rollercoaster ride of highs and lows over the past three years. From the disappointment of missing out on the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and suffering a series of persistent injuries, to the elation of last week’s selection for the Great Britain team at the World Athletics Championships, the Cardiff AAC athlete has seen it all. 

Even his selection for London wasn’t straightforward. After coming agonisingly close to achieving the automatic qualifying time on a number of occasions this season, Thomas thought he had once again missed out on competing at a major championships when he wasn’t named in the original British team. 

His only hope was an invitation from the IAAF, issued by the sport’s governing body to a limited number of  top-ranked athletes who have failed to achieve the qualifying standard in their particular event.  

But as the days passed without a call, the former Cardiff Metropolitan University and Western State Colorado University athlete started to resign himself to the fact he wasn’t going to London. 

Then, out of the blue, the IAAF invitation was issued and British Athletics accepted, adding a delighted Thomas to the GB team. 

He took time out from preparations for this Sunday’s steeplechase first round at the London Stadium to explain how much selection means to him. 

“Every young athlete grows up wanting to compete for Great Britain,” said Thomas before a training session at Cardiff Metropolitan College’s new athletics track.   

“It’s certainly always been a goal and a dream of mine to do so. Being given the opportunity to do that, I feel very fortunate.

“To be able to do that in front of a home crowd is even more amazing. You couldn’t ask for more.” 

Ieuan Thomas pictured in training this week at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s new athletics track. Pic: Owen Morgan.

A full-time employee at Treforest-based company Sporttape, who help him accommodate his 65 to 95 mile-per-week training regime, Thomas was in work with fellow Welsh international middle distance athlete Tom Marshall when he got the call to say he was going to the World Championships. 

“It was just me and Tom in the office when the call came in.

“When we both realised what it meant, Tom was just leaping around the room for me and when I hung up we were leaping around together!  It was just a huge buzz and it probably wasn’t the most productive afternoon in work we’ve had.” 

Thomas describes the days since hearing the news as “a little bit crazy”. 

“The amount of messages of support have been incredible and the amount of people who have told me they have now got tickets and they’re coming down to watch, it really blows my mind. There’s going to be a lot of Welsh flags in the crowd which is going to be pretty special.  

“It’s just really been about it sinking in, letting it settle, appreciating what I’ve achieved, but also keeping a major focus on the race itself. It feels like I’m prepping for any other race and it’s really nice to be able to do it here in Cardiff because then it makes it feel a little more normal  and takes a little bit of that pressure off as well, with it being my first British vest.” 

However, just a couple of weeks ago, Thomas was resigned to the fact that he may have missed out on competing at a major championship for the second time in just three years. 

Having narrowly failed to gain the qualifying time for Glasgow in 2014, his initial focus for this season was gaining the standard for next year’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast. 

After achieving the Commonwealth mark early on in the season, Thomas realised the World Championship standard was also within reach. 

Ieuan Thomas and coach James Thie during a training session at Cardiff Metropolitan University in Cardiff this week. Pic: Owen Morgan.

He addded: “At the start of the year the main goal was go out and hit the Commonwealth Games time, try and book myself on that plane to Australia.

“Then, when you realise how close the World’s standard is to the Commonwealth standard, that starts to creep into your mind a little as well. Then, of course, the goals change, you think maybe I can go for the World’s as well.” 

Time and again this season he came close to achieving the 3000m steeplechase standard of 8.32.00, clocking 8.33.68 in Belgium, 8.33.68 in California and 8.34.93 in Holland. 

What he describes as his “last chance saloon” for gaining automatic qualification seemed to be a British Athletics League Division 1 race in Bedford just over two weeks ago. 

Thomas seemed on course to achieve a new personal best and the world qualifying time before hitting the penultimate barrier.

Despite picking himself up from the track, and winning the race comfortably, the chance to gain the qualifying time had once again eluded him. 

He admits he thought the opportunity had gone, even to the extent of starting to set new training goals with coach James Thie, himself a former international athlete, who, Thomas says, was an inspiration and role model for him as a youngster, long before he became his coach. 

“I don’t really like allowing my fate to be in other people’s hands and we were just waiting for that IAAF invite.  

“By the time the call came I’d given up, I thought that it was too late and all the invites had come out. 

“James and I were chatting about what we were going to do now. ‘Are we going to change our training planning? Are we going to change what we’re going to do over the next couple of weeks?’

“And then the call came out of the blue and it was it was just an amazing feeling.” 

The invitation was a fitting reward for the athlete’s perseverance, not only this season but in overcoming the disappointment of Glasgow. He admits that was a difficult time:

“When I missed out on Glasgow it hit hard and it took a little bit of reflection and a little bit of a talking to from a lot of different people to convince me to carry, on really. It did definitely hit me hard because I was so close.  

“When you miss out you just know that there is something there that hasn’t quite hit home yet, there’s something that you’ve still got to achieve and I didn’t feel satisfied that I’d achieved everything that I wanted to. That’s why I came back and I trained harder than ever before.” 

Even then, there were also a number of other obstacles to overcome.

“There’s been a lot of injuries over the last few years. It all started with my back, I put a disc out in 2014, in 2013 I had also put a disc out.

“Then, after that, there’s been small tears and I hit a barrier last year that tore a quad.  

“I think from my perspective, when you’re coming back from an injury it’s just really about knowing that you haven’t reached your full potential yet and there’s still a lot more there. 

“I was very lucky to have such great support from the Welsh athletics medical team and they’ve put me back together more times than I can count really. 

“So it’s just about knowing that there’s more there, believing that there’s more there, and doing all the rehab exercise you know you need to do and maintaining that focus.

“Throughout all the injuries that I’ve had I’ve always stayed determined because I know  there’s something there that hasn’t quite given yet and I’m not ready yet to give that up.  

“So, I do the exercises and I do the rehab and I come back stronger.

Ieuan Thomas pictured in training this week at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s new athletics track. Pic: Owen Morgan.

“This year I’ve just been able to have a good solid year of consistent training with nothing stopping that and no injuries blocking it. And it’s shown that things can happen when you’ve got that block of training.” 

Now, all Thomas’s focus is on looking ahead to London and the 3,000m steeplechase first round this Sunday. 

“The number one goal for me going into the championships is to go there and make the final.

“I’m definitely not expected to, based on my ranking, but as we know with championships, rankings mean nothing.  

“So when it comes down to it, anything can happen. I’m going there to make the final and once that happens we’ll set another goal and I’ll place as high as I possibly can.  

“When it comes to championships, PBs don’t matter, times don’t matter, placings matter. So I’m going to go there to place as high as I possibly can.” 

You can watch Thomas in action at the World Championships this Sunday morning on the BBC. The first round of the steeplechase starts at 10.05am. 

It will be a busy day for Welsh athletes as four of the five selected for Great Britain will be in action.

Josh Griffiths and Andrew Davies take part in the men’s marathon at 10.55am and David Omoregie features in the 110 metres hurdles heats, which start at 20.10. 

Wales’ fifth athlete at the games, Bethan Davies, takes part in the women’s 20km race walk on Sunday, August 13 at 12.20pm.