Three weeks ago Elliot Giles was on a camping holiday in the Swiss Alps but on Wednesday the British athlete advanced to the semi-finals from his heat of the men’s 800m at the Paris Olympics.
Giles finished his heat strongly, coming home second behind the gold-medal favourite Djamel Sedjati, the Algerian runner with an eye on bettering the world record of 1min 40.91sec set by Kenya’s David Rudisha at London 2012, and ahead of Hobbs Kessler of the USA.
Giles’s Paris call-up came just last week following the injury suffered by Jake Wightman, when he was staying in a tent near Saint Moritz as he prepared for the Diamond League.
He posted on YouTube about receiving his unexpected call to action: “Picture this: I am in a tent on my own in the Swiss Alps having come to terms that my Olympic journey is over, my family have gone home and I am getting fit for the Diamond league final – keeping myself focused. And then out of the blue I get a phone call from the head of endurance at British Athletics – I’ve just been handed an ace!”
Commentating on the BBC, Paula Radcliffe, the former women’s marathon world record holder, said: “Elliot Giles ran extremely smartly there. It will be good for him, he’s coming in a little bit fresh and is seizing that opportunity. He can say: ‘I’m here as well and I want to advance’.”
Britons Ben Pattison and Max Burgin also made it through to the men’s 800m semi-finals after their heats.
