Cragg warms-up for Euro gold with personal best

ALISTAIR CRAGG took another big step towards European gold this summer with a personal best in a historic 5,000 metres in New York.

The European Indoor 3,000m champion, who is solely focused on winning the outdoor 5,000m in Gothenburg in August, ran 13 minutes 8.97 seconds for fifth place at the Reebok Grand Prix meet on Randall’s Island on Saturday. It was nearly four seconds faster than his previous PB of 13:12.74 set at Crystal Palace in July 2004 and came in a race that produced the fastest men’s 5,000m on US soil.

Kenya’s Abraham Chebii ran the all-comers record, having produced an astonishing kick down the back straight to charge home in 13:04.56, more than a full second faster than Said Aouita’s 13:05.59 run at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.