Classy Craig cruises home

CRAIG MOTTRAM may have failed narrowly to break his 3,000m Australian record at the BUPA Cork City Sports but his 7:38.15 ­ an Irish all-comers record - was the performance of the meet on a wet Saturday afternoon at the Mardyke.

While for the home fans there was little to cheer about, Ireland’s long jump record holder, Ciaran McDonagh could have marked his return to competitive jumping with a new national record ­ he jumped 8.09 on his first attempt ­ were it not for the prevailing wind ruled out ratification.

And there was disappointment also for Sonia O’Sullivan, as she trailed Australian star, Benita Johnson, across the line in sixth position in the women’s 3,000m.

However it was the men’s 3,000m that produced the outstanding performance of the day.

Once Craig Mottram dispensed with the early pacemaker, David Kiplak of Kenya, to take control of the race before the half way point, the result was never in doubt.

A 60 second first lap had sent six athletes clear of the field in a group that included Mottram, Dan Lincoln, the US steeplechase champion, Collins Kosgei from Kenya and Michael Kipsiro from Uganda.

Up front, Mottram stamped his authority on the proceedings with every step to win in 7:38.15 ­ not terribly short of the national record he set at 7:37.37. Kipsiro settled into second position ­ 7:55.22, while Lincoln, who was most affected by the biting wind on the back straight, conceded third position to Kosgei who was crossed the line in 7:59.42. Mark Carroll finished fifth in 8:02.53 with Martin Fagan sixth in 8:04.19.

“I think I am ready to break 7:30 now,” Mottram declared after the victory. “Conditions were not quite what would you would like and the early pace was not quite what I wanted. But it is always good to run in those type of conditions and I felt strong. It was always going to be difficult out in front on your own.”

Olympic long jump champion, Dwight Phillips, predicted that Ireland’s Ciaran McDonagh will make the qualifying standard for Helsinki over the coming weeks.

On Saturday the Meath man jumped a wind-assisted 8.09 on his second visit to the pit, to lead the competition momentarily and the mark was good enough to give him second place behind the Olympic champion who jumped 8.17 to claim victory.

McDonagh had a number of notables behind him ­ Gable Garenamotse (Botswana), third with 7.92 Nikolay Antanasov of Bulgaria and Martin McLintock from South Africa.

“Today he fouled a couple of really big jumps,” Phillips enthused. “I think he is going to perform very well after one or two more competitions.

“We have trained together in Atlanta this year and he has made progress throughout the year. He got a lot stronger and faster so I think this year he is going to have some pretty great performances. I know he is going to break the Irish record and I think he can qualify for the world championships.”

Sonia O’Sullivan was using the women’s 3,000m as a marker in her bid to make the world championships in Helsinki but the race left her plans in turmoil as her training partner, Benita Johnson, made light of the conditions to outclass the field for an 8:55.72 victory over the US 5,000m champion, Shalene Flanagan, 8:57.92, and Kim Smith from New Zealand, 8:57.93.

Maria McCambridge was fourth in 8:59.08 with cross-country champion, Jolene Byrne, next in 9:02.29 and Sonia O’Sullivan sixth in 9:05.54.

Said O’Sullivan: “I just was not there today,” she said. “The head was not at the races. This was my first race so it is a kind of hard when you have not run. I just did a few track sessions so I did not really know what to expect.

“I will run the 5,000m at the national championships but I don’t know what my decision will be vis a vis the world championships. I just don’t have any plans at the moment. I am not really aiming for anything so I am at a bit of a loose end from that point of view. I don’t have a season plan. The main thing was to run here and then decide. Training has been pretty good. I have been training quite hard and getting things done but I have not turned the corner yet.”

Derval O’Rourke was another Cork athlete in the spotlight. with a 13.99 run for fourth place in the 100m hurdles behind the former world champion, Anjanette Kirkland from USA who won in 12.81 secs from Nadine Faustin (Haiti) 12.88 secs, and another American, Danielle Carruthers, 12.90.

Marlon Devonish, a member of the Great Britain 4 x 100m relay team that snatched the gold medals from the USA in dramatic fashion at the Olympic Games in Athens last year, had a spectacular sprint double. He won the 100m in 10.16 from Jaysuma Saidy Ndure (Gambia), 10.18 and the Olympic 200m silver medallist, Bernard Williams and he had the Gambian in second place, also, when he won the 200m in 20.34 secs, both performances wind assisted.