Craig Mottram Has Gone From Being the Chaser to Being Chased By Bob Ramsak (c) 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved June 29, 2007
OSTRAVA,
CZECH REPUBLIC By all indications, Craig Mottram passed the first
major 5000m test of the summer with flying colors. The 27-year-old
Australian out-maneuvered and ultimately out-kicked the finest field
assembled yet this season to take a significant 13:04.97
victory at the
46th running of the Golden Spike Meeting on Wednesday night, a major
stepping stone on this year's road to the World Championships in Osaka.
"It's
great to be able to compete against that field, which is pretty much
what I'm going to face at the World Championships, barring a few people
who didn't run tonight," said, Mottram, the reigning world bronze
medallist. "And I was able to control it from the front for the last
four or five laps. I wasn't expecting to do that, but to be able to
stay relaxed over the last two laps like I did tonight is something
that I've probably gained through a bit more experience more than
anything else. I probably wouldn't have been able to do that two years
ago. That's just one added bonus for me now."
Mottram and others
were hoping for a 7:40 pace through 3000m, but when they came through
in just under 7:55, the Aussie decided to step up the tempo.
"Once
(pace setter Bernard Kiplagat) got out of the way, lane one opened up
and (Tariku) Bekele sort of said, you go,' and I didn't want it to
become a walk," Mottram explained. "I'm happy to roll 65s from the
front. It's no harder for me to do it from the front than it is
following."
After Moses Masai briefly took the lead, Mottram
made a decisive move, similar to the one which brought him victory over
Kenenisa Bekele in last September's IAAF World Cup, with a little more
than a lap-and-a-half remaining
"And I felt (Tariku) Bekele come
up with 650 to go I thought, Ok, let's get it on.'" Smiling, he added,
"I dropped his brother doing the same thing last year and figured he's
not quite that good yet, I'll smash him too. I held him out. I didn't
run great, and Bekele probably didn't run his best race either. But the
world championship race might be like that. And you just have to make
the most of the situation."
Mottram was particularly pleased with his strong finish, covering the last lap in about 53 seconds.
"That's
good. I just wound up faster, faster, faster," he said. "Two years ago
I probably would have tightened up in all honesty, and they would have
rolled over top of me, but this year I just was able to go harder and I
held them out."
Although he hoped for a faster performance, he was ultimately satisfied.
"It's
not the fastest time, and we were hoping to go out a little quicker
tonight but the race just didn't pan out that way. In hindsight, 13:04
is what I did in Seville in 2005 when I won there at the beginning of
the season in my first 5k. So if that's anything to go by, things are
as good as in 2005."
"I don't think I ran out of my skin
tonight," he continued. "I just ran to what the race put in front of me
and I dealt with it better than the others."
With recent success
and added experience, Mottram welcomes the characterization that he's
made the switch from being a chaser to being the chased.
"It
might add a little more pressure, but I think I'm ready for that now,
I'm due for it. The last few years I've been chasing and it's about
time that I got to the front and have people chase me. I've got a few
years hopefully of leading the pack and I'll do my best."
In the
spring, Mottram said that if his Ostrava race went well, he probably
wouldn't contest another 5000 prior to the World Championships. And
he's probably going to stick to that initial plan.
"I really
wanted to run fast and get that out of my way and not really worry
about it. But I'm not worried about the time now. I showed I can win
fast and I showed I can win in a bit more of a tactical race. So we'll
play it by ear, go back to London and do a bit more training. I doubt
there will be another 5k but there will be a few more races."