Carroll comfort for Cragg

IRISH MEDAL hope Alistair Cragg believes his chances of glory at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Madrid this weekend will be greatly enhanced by the presence of team-mate Mark Carroll beside him on the starting line.

Cragg begins his bid for Irish gold today, trying hard to play down his status as favourite in the 3,000 metres but talking up the potential of his partnership in the event with Irish team-mate Carroll.

Cragg, 24, has posted the top two fastest times indoors for the distance in the world this year and is almost four seconds faster on current form than the next man on the list, Spain’s Reyes Estevez.