Carroll joins Cragg on hot 3,000m ticket

FIVE athletes have been added to the Irish team for the European Indoor Championships in Madrid next month.

Amongst them is the 2000 champion Mark Carroll, who will join world number one Alistair Cragg in the 3000m.

Last week Cragg (Clonliffe Harriers) continued his recent excellent indoor form with another victory over the distance at the Tyson Invitational meeting in Arkansas.

The Irishman, who previously defeated Olympic 10,000m champion

Kenenisa Bekele in Boston, stormed to another success on the third stage of this year’s USA Track and Field Visa Championship series.

But it was a close call for US-based Cragg, who just held off Bekele’s Ethiopian colleague Markos Geneti by 0.19 seconds.

Carroll (Leevale) ran his second 7:46 of the indoor season, finishing a strong third, confirming his and Cragg’s status as the top European 3000m runners this season.

1998 World Youth 100m/200m champion Emily Maher has been rewarded for her recent return to top form by gaining selection alongside Ailis McSweeney in the 60m.

McSweeney set the national record for the 60m at the British Indoor AAA’s in Sheffield shaving .01 from the 7.38 record held for 12 years by Michelle Carroll’s 60m mark.

Maher also showed tremendous form of late, and ran 7.42 in Budapest last month.

James Nolan (1500m) and Peter Coghlan (60m H) have been given an extension to gain the necessary standards while Gary Ryan (200m) and Adrian O’Dwyer (high jump) were both unavailable for selection.

A fortnight before the start of the 28th European Athletics Indoor Championships in Madrid (March 4th-6th) organisers report that nearly 60% of the tickets have been sold.

Meanwhile, double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes was back to her best as she comfortably won the 1,000m at the Norwich Union Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix at the weekend.

The 34-year-old, running only her second competitive race of the season, shook off the rust to win in two minutes, 35.39 seconds.

But she is still undecided about competing in Madrid.

“I’ll probably be entered and make my mind up at the last minute,” she said.

“My training hasn’t gone as well as expected but I’ve got two weeks to decide. I need to take my time and make sure I feel good about what I’m doing.

“I felt very good here but with the crowd behind you, you feel like you can do anything.”