Cragg lags behind in Europeans warm-up

ALISTAIR CRAGG will have to do something special if he is to convert his indoor gold medal-winning performance to the outdoor track at the European championships in Gothenburg the week after next, following last night’s run at the Norwich Union Super Grand Prix in Crystal Palace where he faded to finish seventh in what was by no means a world class 1,500m.

His time — 3:41.64 ­ was well outside his personal best for 1,500m which he set at 3:39.24 three years ago and James Nolan, running below his seasonal best which he set at 3:37.89 in Heusden last Saturday, overtook Cragg on the final lap to finish fifth in 3:40.43. More ominous for Cragg, who ran the leading time by a European this season for 5,000m at 13:08.97 in New York the first weekend in June, was the fact that Mo Farah of Great Britain finished well ahead of him in third place in 3:39.02 and Farah ran the second fastest time ever over 5,000m by a British athlete in Heusden on last Saturday night when he finished sixth in 13:09.40. Cragg will line up alongside Farah in Gothenburg in what should be an interesting duel following last night’s result.

The absence of a pacemaker ruled out a super-fast race and Nolan was up in third place with Cragg fourth when Nick McCormack took the field that included Rui Silva of Portugal, the Olympic bronze medallist in Athens, through an opening lap in 58.47 secs.

Cragg moved up to track McCormack on the second lap which took them through 800m in 1:57.95 but he was never a factor after that as Mo Farrah overtook him and went on to take the lead at the bell. With Cragg still drifting Sergio Gallardo one of two Spaniards in the field, fought off Silva and Farah in a three-man finish to win in 3:38.56. Silva was second in 3:38.75 and Farah third in 3:39.02.

Cragg, who finished second to Liam Reale of Limerick over the same distance at the national championships last weekend, was again running below his distance but would have hoped for a faster time before the European championships.

Mary Cullen from Sligo, putting the finishing touches to her preparations for the Europeans, was also running below her favourite distance when 12th in the women’s 3,000m in 9:00.61. Amy Rudolph was 11th in 9:00.35 while Kim Smith of New Zealand, who is also coached by Ray Treacy in Providence, Rhode Island, was eighth in 8:47.06. The race was won by world champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, in 8:29.55, from Berhane Adere, 8:33.17 and her older sister, Ajegayehu Dibaba, 8:35.94.

Meanwhile Derval O’Rourke, who set a new Irish 100m hurdles record at 12.85 secs in Helsinki midweek, will put the finishing touches to her preparations for the European championships in Nuremberg tomorrow. She had been hoping for just one more race before Gothenburg and she got confirmation yesterday that there is a place for her in the field.