Lemoncello chasing Olympic final

Steeplechaser Andrew Lemoncello has told BBC Sport of his joy at making the Olympic team heading to Beijing.

On Saturday the Fife athlete qualified at the AF Golden League meeting in Paris with a lifetime best of 8:22.95.

"I had to get that time and even then it wasn't a secure spot. I knew I just had to be focused and luckily I pulled it off," Lemoncello said.

"It wasn't until the day after that I got the call. I was in the middle of the airport screaming."

Lemoncello joins East Kilbride 110m hurdler Allan Scott, Glasgow 1500m runner Susan Scott and 400m hopeful Lee McConnell as the Scots in the GB track and field squad.

"All of us knew we had a shot and we could do ourselves justice if we went," the 3000m steeplechaser said.

"It was a massive relief that the four of us are getting to go. We all knew we were good enough so it's good news."

Lemoncello is now setting his sights on making the Olympic final.

MY SPORT: DEBATE
What impact can Lemoncello make in Beijing?

"There's one heat and a final. I'll do everything I can to get one of those spots and get into the final," he said.

"As everyone says, once you get to the final anything can happen. I know it'll be a really tough qualification. I just want to do the best that I can."

Asked to comment on a BBC investigation in which a sports drug expert suggested many medal-winning endurance athletes would be using EPO, Lemoncello said: "I don't know if I can say that's true.

"It's great news that there are all these new tests coming out. Anyone who has been cheating is going to get caught. The more tests like that, the better.

"Anyone else who goes against the grain of the sport is going to get found out and hopefully banned."

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