ALISHA LOVRICH/ATHLETICS NZ via stuff.co.nz
Perago Trust recipient Camille Buscomb qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games after setting a new personal best in the 10,000m at the world track and field championships in Doha.
The 29-year-old Waikato runner recorded 31min 13.20 sec to finish 12th overall on Saturday (Sunday NZ time).
Buscomb said the race felt good, "Conditions were really good. I could feel the air con every now and then, but then other periods of time felt nothing. So it was a good combination. You'd get a whiff of cool breeze and then you'd heat up again."
"I'm really pleased how I finished the race because I felt like I was dropping off a bit with five laps to go and I really tried to hang on because you can also gain and lose a lot of time in three or four laps.
"I really wanted to get the Tokyo time but I didn't have any idea where I was at."
Buscomb said she "tried to just keep the girls in front of me in sight".
"Then I was really excited to see the time. That's way higher than I've ever placed before in a senior champs."
She said qualifying for Tokyo was always her goal.
"I had to basically run a qualifier tonight because there's just not many 10,000m and so the goal was always to try and run a qualifier. But obviously it's hard to think about in the race because you've got to try and just give your best performance."
Buscomb will compete in the 5000m later this week. -stuff.co.nz