On July 26, the Paris Olympic Games begin. In some disciplines it is still possible to qualify for the event. This is the case of the marathon where, in the province of Liège, an amateur athlete is 2h08 and 9 seconds away from his dream.
This Sunday, it is in the streets of Hamburg, Germany, that Amaury Paquet will try to win a place for the Paris Olympics. But for this, he must go below the time of the current 3rd qualified Belgian athlete, 2 hours 8 minutes and 9 seconds.
A few months ago, he realized that this performance was within his reach. “So it’s after the Valencia marathon, I achieved 2:08:44, so it’s only 36 seconds from the minimum for Paris in a marathon. It’s not huge. I put all the odds on my side, so for 3 months, I worked hard to try to obtain this qualification,” says the marathon runner.
In good form, Amaury knows that he will have to face a slightly more complex course. He will be able to count on the support of other runners who will help him maintain the pace. “The organization is providing us with 3 hares who will run a half-marathon, or even more, to help us respect the pace times which will be 3 minutes 2 per kilometer and we will try to hold out as long as possible” , he explains.
Amateur athlete, Amaury Paquet won his first victory in a jogging race 10 years ago. Since then, he has won the 20 kilometers of Brussels 3 times in a row. Getting a ticket to Paris is like making a dream come true. “It’s a bit of a crazy bet, after all it would really be the culmination of a career“.
Employed in a sports store, Amaury has significantly reduced his working hours in recent weeks to devote himself fully to his preparation.
