Carroll on right track for Athens glory

WITH Athens looming, Irish athletics got another much-needed boost in advance of the Olympic Games when Mark Carroll finished second in the 3,000m at the Gugi Meeting in Linz on Monday night where Freda Davoren turned in another superb performance to finish third in the women’s 1,500m.

Carroll, who won the 5,000m title and finished third in the 1,500m at the national championships a week earlier, showed that he might just be about to reap the rewards of his stint at the altitude training came in St. Moritz at just the appropriate time.

He appeared to have Monday night’s race at his mercy after taking control off a slow pace with a kilometre remaining and he held the lead until the finishing straight when he was attacked by the two Algerians who had been sitting on him earlier. Khoudir Aggoune struggled past to win in 7:47.77 with Carroll second in 7:48.03.