SHAUN MURPHY will miss his partner running this weekend’s London Marathon as he focuses on his own marathon efforts at the snooker.
The Magician, 42, enjoyed his biggest first-round win for six years as he battered debutant Daniel Wells 10-4, scoring breaks of 100, 138 and 133.
PAShaun Murphy’s girlfriend Jo is running the London marathon[/caption]
INSTAGRAM @shaunmurphy147The 2005 champ will be unable to watch as he’s in action at the Crucible[/caption]
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Two of his three second-round sessions are on Sunday, the first starting at 10am.
And it means he cannot come down to London to watch girlfriend Jo cover 26.2miles in the capital.
Jo is a world-renowned pianist and is running on behalf of the Stroke Association, which is something “very close to the family”.
Murphy – who needs to win 61 more frames to become world champion – said: “I’d have loved to have been down there supporting her.
“She has trained so hard, she has been working so hard, raising money as well for the Stroke Association.
“She is a musician. She is off touring the country. She will be here later in the tournament, if I can keep going through.
“She’s incredible. I have been really inspired by how hard she has worked for the marathon. She is dead excited.
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“She was supposed to do it last year but had to pull out through injury.”
Murphy – who battled food and booze addictions – had £11,000 gastric-sleeve stomach surgery in 2022 but wants to shed more weight this summer.
Once the Worlds are over, he will make a proper effort to get rid of the pounds on the scales.
The 2005 world champion – who plays Judd Trump or Zhou Yuelong next – joked: “I’m not sure about doing a marathon – I prefer a Snickers.
“Jo has inspired me. I’ve been doing a bit of running with her.
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There will be a new champion this year after reigning champ Kyren Wilson crashed out in the first round after a stunning performance from Lei Peifan.
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The likes of Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and John Higgins are also expected to be contenders.
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“Not like the three-hour training sessions that she does.
“It has inspired me. Once this tournament gets out of the way, I will really think about some personal fitness goals, to get in the gym.
“I have been doing a bit of that in the lead-up to here and trying to do a bit more. Hopefully 42 is the new 22.”
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