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Bernard Lagat to Face Craig Mottram in Wanamaker Mile at 100th Millrose Games
By David Monti
(c) 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved


NEW YORK (04-Jan-2007) -- Two-time Olympic 1500m medalist, Bernard Lagat of Tucson, Ariz., is looking to celebrate the 100th edition of the Millrose Games with his fifth victory in meet's signature event, the Wanamaker Mile.  But to get to the finish line first on the small, 11 lap-to-the-mile track at Madison Square Garden he's going to have to get past --or stay in front of-- the 6 foot, 2 inch frame of Craig Mottram, the 2005 IAAF World Championships bronze medalist at 5000m from Australia.

"He's an athlete who can intimidate people, but I shouldn't let that get me down," said Lagat in a telephone interview from Tucson.  "I have to be myself.  It's my event."

Indeed, the 32 year-old Lagat has made the Wanamaker Mile his own by winning it in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006 (he was second in 2002).  In 2005 he set the Wanamaker record of 3:52.87 in a mostly solo run, and was named the top athlete of the meet.  Along the way, he's beaten the likes of Laban Rotich (three times), Alan Webb, and most recently, Kenenisa Bekele, whom Lagat bested by some five seconds at last year's event.

"I've always been welcomed by the people in New York so much," said Lagat.  He added, "If I win, it will be really good for me and set me up for outdoors."

Like Lagat, Mottram, 26, has an enviable competitive record in New York City, but not on the track (yet).  He's won three road races organized by the New York Road Runners: the Healthy Kidney 10-K in 2005 and 2006 and the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile in 2005.  Mottram is incredibly versatile, holding Australian records for the mile, 2000m, 3000m, two miles, and 5000m.  His best time for the mile is 3:48.98, set in 2005, vs. 3:47.28 by Lagat, set in 2001.

"I think it's a meeting of the titans, each champions in their own right," said Mary Wittenberg, president and CEO of the New York Road Runners.  "It's a credit to him to face America's best on a track which may not suit him best.  He's putting himself in the lion's den racing Lagat at Millrose."

A fifth victory by Lagat would tie him with Marcus O’Sullivan at #3 on the all-time Wanamaker Mile list, behind only Eamonn Coghlan (7 victories) and Glenn Cunningham (6).

The 100th Millrose Games is the second stop on the USA Track & Field Visa Championship series, and will be held on Friday, Feb. 2 beginning at 6:00 p.m.  The official event website is http://www.Millrose-Games.com which has the complete event schedule.


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