 | THE OLYMPIC OPTICIAN Name: Tracey Morris Age: 36 Job: Contact lens fitter Lives: Leeds Previous marathon best: 3hrs 39mins |
Paula who?
The British star of this year's London Marathon was not a record-breaking household name worth millions in sponsorship deals, but a 36-year-old optician from Leeds who had to buy her own kit.
Tracey Morris's time of 2 hours 33 minutes 52 seconds made her, in Paula Radcliffe's absence, the first British woman home - and in the process won her a place in the British team for the Athens Olympics.
Morris was completely unknown to the general public before Sunday's race. But one man at least was expecting something special.
Bud Baldaro, UK Athletics' endurance coach, spotted Morris's potential at a low-key race last December, and knew straight away that he had seen an unusual talent.
"I was doing the race commentary at the adidas 10km race in Leeds, and was trying to spot most of the athletes as they came in," Baldaro told BBC Sport.
"I knew most of them, but I didn't recognise this kid (Morris) at all.
"So I hung around at the presentation afterwards and spoke to her, and said, 'Look, you've obviously got massive talent, irrespective of age - I think it would be really good if you got involved in the Great Britain squad.
"She was totally, totally naive about it all. She's a lovely kid, pretty bright, but isn't the slightest bit interested in names and reputations.
"She said she would love to come along. From that point she became a regular member of the marathon squad, and worked really hard all winter.
"I kept in touch with her through emails and texts, trying to be supportive, and I knew she would do something pretty impressive on Sunday. What none of us realised was quite how impressive it would be."
Baldaro is convinced that Morris, far from being simply a cute story for Monday's newspapers, has the ability to make a real impact.
Morris has been described as a fun-runner. But she has a pedigree, captaining the Welsh girls' running squad as a teenager and winning all six races she ran last year.
"Tracey has massive untapped potential," says Baldaro. "She can go way quicker than she did in London.
 Morris will now be training and competing alongside Paula Radcliffe |
"She only joined her local club 18 months ago because she wanted to get herself back into shape, and her training unfolded very slowly.
"This far, it's all been about maximising her performance from minimal training. It's only in the last few weeks that she has got a proper structure in place.
"I think she will go well inside 2hrs 30mins.
"Age isn't a big factor. Chronologically she might be old, but in athletics terms she's still very young. There is a whole host of women who have run very fast marathon times in their late 30s and early 40s. Her body is not worn out at all.
"She's no fun-runner. She has done 73mins 28secs for the half-marathon, and 34 mins for 10k, which is pretty useful. But they've all been achieved in the last four months.
"She still has so much to learn about nutrition. She had to see someone to make sure she was getting enough food inside her, and she'll need to do some warm-weather training and acclimatisation to get ready for Athens.
"But she is the perfect shape for marathon running. It's an exciting time for her."
Morris has been deluged with media interest since her run in London. She spent Monday morning doing television and radio interviews and followed that up with an afternoon of newspaper press conferences.
"It will be very strange for her," says Baldaro. "Her husband Paul is a smashing chap and very supportive, but she'll probably need a good week to come to terms with what she's done.
"But the publicity is good. I'm totally convinced that there are hundreds of women out there with similar talent. It just needs to be unearthed."
MMIX
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Tracey has massive untapped potential 
