Cragg to start his pro career in Boston

ALISTAIR Cragg will begin his first indoor track season as a professional athlete against a quality field in Boston later this month.

The Irishman, top European finisher in the Olympic 5,000m final last August, will line-up in the 3,000m at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on January 29.

Cragg turned pro last summer following a glittering student career on the track at the University of Arkansas where he was coached by Irishman John McDonnell to seven NCAA titles.

He raced in Europe on the grand prix circuit before moving on to Athens and a creditable 12th place in the 5,000m final. The Boston meeting will mark a renewal of acquaintances with Kenenisa Bekele, the Ethiopian who won gold in Athens at 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m behind Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco having set world records at both distances earlier in the summer.

Also in the Boston field will be Cragg’s former Arkansas team-mate Daniel Lincoln, both of whom are still based at the university in Fayetteville, remaining under the watchful eye of coach McDonnell.