Mottram: 'I'll be back'

Having claimed a fourth successive victory at the BUPA Great Ireland Run, Craig Mottram has hinted he will be back for more.

Last month’s Commonwealth Games 10,000m silver medallist won in 28 minutes and 51seconds at Dublin’s Phoenix Park yesterday.

The strongest field assembled for the event could not deny Mottram, who sees the event as the perfect build-up to the track season.

Mottram picked off his opponents in the final four kilometres. Only Dublin athlete Mark Kennealy managed to react to the Australian’s injection of pace after six kilometres, but fell away a kilometre later.

“This is a great race for me and just what I need before turning my attention to the track season,” said Mottram, setting up reappearances in up-coming years.

“The last four kilometres is the toughest stretch of the course and that’s where I allowed the hills do the damage to my rivals.

“Mentally I knew I was up for a big challenge and physically, because of the training I had put in before the Games, I knew I had plenty of strength. I was confident of victory,” said Mottram.

Behind him Kennealy of Clonliffe Harriers was a surprise runner-up, the Irish international cross country runner finishing in 29:17.

On a good day for Ireland, his more experienced team-mate Mark Carroll was given third ahead of six-time European cross country champion Sergiy Lebid. They shared the same time, two seconds behind Kennealy.

Meselech Melkamu, a late replacement for the injured Sonia O’Sullivan, shattered the course record by 35secs when capturing the women’s title in 31:41.

The 20-year-old Ethiopian finished ahead of Fernanda Ribeiro, the former Olympic 10,000m champion who clocked 31:56, with Hungarian Aniko Kalovics a distant third in 32:44.

American Amy Rudolph, who set the course record and married Carroll last autumn, finished fourth in 33:05.