The coach who has helped nurture Eritrean asylum seeker Tsegai Tewelde today reflected on an “inspirational” tale after the Shettleston Harriers marathon runner qualified for this summer’s Olympics.

Tewelde finished as the second highest British runner in Sunday’s London Marathon and as a result booked his place in Team GB for the Rio showpiece.

Eight years ago, Tewelde, who was blasted by a land mine as an eight-year-old in his war torn homeland, and five of his compatriots competed in the World Cross Country Championship in Edinburgh.

But, fearing for their future safety and the possibility of being forced into the military after their coach threatened to throw them off the team, they sought political asylum in Scotland and travelled to Glasgow.

John Mackay, the secretary of the Shettleston Harriers athletics club, has watched Tewelde’s drive and determination over the past eight years be rewarded with a dream date in Brazil.

He said: “It was a cold, cold day at the end of March that year when they first came down and they had nothing apart from the clothes they had on their backs.

“They came to us and they started training. We helped furnish their flats and helped them with kit and with entry fees.

“Tsegai does all the hard work, we just support him. Running is a brutal sport but he’s done the toil. It’s a great human story of inspiration of someone overcoming adversity. He came from another country, from an extremely difficult background and has settled here and thrived. If you apply yourself and work hard then great opportunity can come your way. Sport is a great leveller and it gives you the chance to move on in life.”

Tewelde’s time of 2 hr 12 min 23sec was a Shettleston club record in the marathon. “It was an emotional experience watching him,” added Mackay. “We knew he was in good shape. We were just a bit worried because he went away very hard. The plan was that he was going to hang back a bit. The last couple of miles was very nerve wracking because he was slowing up a bit. His last 5k were 17 minutes compared to his first ones that were 15 minutes. But this has been the culmination of eight years of work. We’ve nursed him along. He doesn’t get any national support or lottery grants or anything. We have done this alone. It’s a big outlay but it’s worth it.”