Kenyans in control as Rotich wins in style
“A couple of weeks ago I got a little bit ill but I came back, had a couple of great work-outs an on Tuesday I went to say goodbye to coach and he said ‘look, we got to rethink this 3k’,” Cragg explained. “He just did not want me to come over and run it and be disappointed. So, thanks to the management of this meet, I got a late change and it was great.
“Before I got the bug I was feeling good but when I ran 13:08 I actually felt bad in training. Training had not gone well before. I ran three weeks before that and I was really bad — I came second but there was no heart in it. It was pretty scary.”
Cragg appeared poised to win at one stage, until the three Kenyans moved up to take him on.
“Coach told me to go at 700m but you could not afford to get into a kicking situation with two guys who have medalled at major championships,” Cragg said.
Rotich proved best in the finishing straight, winning in 3:39.98, from Paul Korir, 3:40.46, and Cragg, 3:70.71.
Of the other Irish runners, Mark Christie was eighth in 3:44.02, while 800m schools champion David McCarthy, from West Waterford, was just 0.46-of-a-second outside the qualifying standard for the World Junior Championships when he finished 14th in 3:48.46.
“I will go back to London for a couple of days now and just probably do one work out, rest up totally and then go and throw myself on the line in Paris on Friday night,” Cragg explained. “It’s a long shot to run fast, but I’ll put my nose in there knowing that I won’t have another chance.
“After that I will just train through Irish Nationals. I don’t know what I’ll do in the Nationals. I don’t know how much the 5k is going to take out of me. Originally my coach did not want me to do a 5k at all. His only goal is Gothenburg. I convinced him, said I felt good, so I convinced him.
“After Gothenburg I expect to be pretty fried because it’s a championship. I am keen to get into some good races, maybe a 3,000m or 10,000m. I’ll try and get into the World Cup and the World Athletics final.”
It was an emotional day for Mark Carroll in the 3,000m. He finished eighth behind Kevin Sullivan (Canada), who won in 7:43.89.
“I got another chance to run here but it was tough,” said Carroll. “After two years of marathon work I don’t have the zip I used to have but it is okay. Hopefully it will bring me along and I can run a half decent 10k by Gothenburg.
“I am not expecting to set the world alight over shorter distances anymore. I am just hoping I can lock in there at 66-67 pace at the Europeans and hopefully be placed respectably.
“I will do the 5k at the AAA championships in two weeks and then back to the Nationals for the 10k. I just want to cover the distance before Gothenburg. I have to qualify anyway. I have no choice but to do the 10,000m at the Nationals.
“All week I said that this will be my last Cork City Sports and that is likely to be the case but people have been putting me out to pasture this week. We will reassess everything at the end of the summer and go from there.
“There was a brilliant reception for me here. It is almost embarrassing. I thought that when the time came to retire I would just slip out the back door. There have been great moments and memories for me when I ran really well and won and then there were the disappointments where I ran poorly.”
