Cragg determined to give it everything in pursuit of medal

ALISTAIR CRAGG has endured 12 months of injury and illness since he won the European indoor title over 3,000 metres in Madrid but, half a continent away from his greatest success, he showed in Moscow yesterday he was back to something approaching his best.

The South African-born and US-based runner was mature enough to recover from a mid-race stumble in the heats of the 3,000 metres at the World Indoor Championships and finished fourth in his race to qualify automatically for tomorrow’s final.

Cragg has run significantly faster than the 7 minutes 53.74 seconds he clocked when he crossed the line in the Russian capital but the result was enough to give him a modicum of confidence that he can become Ireland’s first medal winner in the event since Frank O’Mara got the second of his world indoor victories in 1991.

“It’s a stacked field. To get a medal here I’ll have to run the best race of my life and hopefully they’ll run the worst race of their lives. But you can’t pass up what opportunities come your way,” said Cragg, running the rule over a field that includes the likes of Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele and Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge.

The Africans won the two heats over 15 laps of the Olympiyskiy Sport Arena yesterday and are two of the modern legends of long distance running.

“I know I’m going to have to run the race of my life but I’m prepared to do it.

“I qualified comfortably and well under control. It’s my first world championships and to be in a situation where I can tell what’s happening is very exciting.

“I didn’t get a good feeling out there but I never feel good in heats. People think it’s easy, but it’s never easy, but I can focus now. I’m happy making the final but a medal is what I came here for.”

Cragg admitted that he nearly lost his cool when he ran into the back of Uganda’s meandering Issac Kiprop six laps from home.

“I panicked a little when I stumbled but I didn’t want to close the gap too quickly, I just wanted to get back into the race.

“Sometimes when you stumble your legs turn to jelly but then I looked up after two or three laps and saw that they hadn’t pulled anything on me. I got into the top six and then I thought ‘I’m going to get that fourth place.’” James Nolan was also an impressive qualifier, winning his heat of the 1,500m to go through to the final later today.

“I’ll be in there mixing it up. I’m not going in there looking for sixth, I’ve got nothing to lose,” said Nolan after sprinting home in 3:44.67 to grab victory in the slowest of the three heats.

“I surprised myself. At this level you can go out as easily as stay in and today was my day. I raced the race to win. I looked at the guys who were in there and knew I had to beat at least one of them,” added Nolan.

Emily Maher and Allis McSweeney both made the semi-finals of the women’s 60m but neither sprinter could find the speed that would make them the first Irishwoman to make the final of the shortest event on the track.

Maher finished fifth in 7.37 seconds, just one-hundredth off the Irish record she ran last month in Belfast. McSweeney, who Maher overtook as Ireland’s top indoor sprinter, finished seventh in her semi in 7.42 seconds. American sprinter Me’Lisa Barber went on to win the final.

David McCarthy, a member of Ireland’s bronze medal winning 4x400m relay team from the last Championships in 2004, edged into the men’s 400m semis, finishing second in his heat in a season’s best 46.68 seconds.

Less fortunate was David Gillick, a team mate of McCarthy’s in Budapest two years ago, who never recovered from a poor start and could only come seventh in his race in 47.61 seconds.