Cragg craves to rule the world
Cragg was presented with his gold medal yesterday at the Palacio de Departes Communidad de Madrid by Carl-Olaf Homen, EAA Honorary Life President, who was accompanied by Juan Antonio Samaranch, the International Olympic Committee’s Honorary President for Life.
It was the most prestigious medal ceremony of the championships but Cragg, who beat Bekele in a sensational indoor race in Boston a month ago, is already plotting another shock for the talented Ethiopian. However, in Boston, Bekele was mourning the sudden death of his girlfriend and also miscounted the laps.
Two weeks later on his home track in Fayetteville he beat Marko Geneti, another Ethiopian, who beat Bekele during a failed world record attempt in Birmingham.
Cragg may have his sights on the World track and field championships in Helsinki next August but he also wants a medal at the world cross-country championships, claiming it would be a huge psychological boost in advance of that assignment.
“The world cross is probably the hardest medal to win in distance running,” he said. “If I am talking about medaling in the world cross-country championships it is serious stuff. But I would not be going if I did not think I could win a medal.”
He will return to Arkansas today to meet with his coach, John McDonnell, and get in a couple of hard training sessions as well as some study at college before his next assignment.
Cragg no longer fears Bekele although he still remembers the fear that overwhelmed him in in Athens before he went out for the final of the Olympic 5,000m when Bekele was sitting beside him and then Hicham el Guerrouj walked in.
“It was the kind of feeling I don’t ever want to experience again,” he recalled yesterday. “It kind of puts you off the sport. You just fear everything and you are too scared to go into a race.”
“It is not just the fact that I beat Bekele indoors that’s important,” he insisted. “It is the fact that I stood on the start line and I knew I could beat him.”
While he savoured his two big wins back in the US, Cragg admitted that victory in the European indoors was the highlight of his career to date.
“It was such a feeling of relief when I knew I had that race won,” he said as he recalled how proud he was to have the opportunity of doing his lap of honour with the Irish flag draped around his shoulders.
“My mom and dad were up on the second tier with Irish flags around them and there was David Gillick on the podium being presented with his gold medal. It was a very emotional moment and I am very grateful to Athletics Ireland for giving me the opportunity and to the Irish people for accepting me and supporting me,” he said.
He paid tribute to Mark Carroll for his support in the race and in the lead-up to the championships.
And Carroll shared in the victory, recalling how, back in 1998, the two Spaniards in the final of the 5,000m at the European championships in Budapest had worked him over. He eventually settled for the bronze medal that day after a heroic display.
“I looked on this as payback time,” he said. “I knew it was going to be difficult if not impossible for me to match strides with Alistair but I was glad to be able to help him for as long as possible.
“I got some looks from Estevez when we were warming down afterwards. If looks could kill then I’d be dead. I enjoyed it.”
“I wanted Mark to win a medal. I looked back just before a mile and saw Mark back in fourth and I tried to slow it up to see if he would get his legs back and we could start the final onslaught,” Cragg recalled.
John Mayock, who relinquished this particular title to Carroll back in 2000 and has strong Irish roots, came through to take the silver medal from Reyes Estevez as Gunther Weidlinger faded.
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