Craig Mottram admits hamstring trouble at world championships. Written by: Craig Mottram
September 13, 2007 12:00am
I HAVE to admit to a lie, Craig Mottram writes of his run in the 5000m final in the world championships held in Osaka, Japan.
I know everyone back home in Australia has been wanting to know what happened to me in 5000m final in the world championships. Well, here it is . . . I was injured.
I'm not hiding from the fact that I finished 13th. I have to live with that. I have to cop it on the chin and I know that is the beauty about sport, sometimes it doesn't go the way you want it to.
But what I am doing is here is admitting to a lie and providing some facts which played a part in the Osaka disaster.
The training mishap which everyone saw thanks to an SBS camera crew being present in London on the eve of the world champs wasn't just a hamstring spasm as my coach Nic Bideau said.
I actually tore my right hamstring. Within 24 hours of doing it I had flown to Ireland for treatment with renowned physiotherapist, Gerard Hartmann. He said it was a three-week injury, but with the world titles starting the next week I needed a miracle.
He worked on me for four days before I was allowed to go for a 20-minute jog. It felt sore and I stayed in Ireland for another three days before flying out to Japan on the Wednesday. The semi-finals of the 5000m were on the following Thursday.
We decided not to tell the truth about the injury because we knew it would snowball. I needed to try to move on, forget about it, focus on getting to the start line and not be answering questions about it every day.
I knew I couldn't go into the championships saying my hamstring was no good and I don't think I can win because then you actually give yourself no chance.
I still had to go in there believing I could. Nic always thinks that in every situation and he has instilled that in me.
Once at my Japanese base in Chiba we decided that D-day for the hamstring was on the Sunday when I would do my first track session since the incident in London.
Nic reported to everyone afterwards that it had gone well, but in reality well meant that I had actually got through it. There was nothing mind-blowing about it, I just made it around without doing the hamstring again.
It did give me some confidence because I didn't want to go to Osaka and start in the semi-final and have to pull up after four or five laps. All I wanted to do was race as best I could in what was a very sticky situation.
We also thought that the hit-out in the semi-final might actually bring me forward for the final which was three days after on the Sunday, the final night of the meet.
Unfortunately, I knew after the semi-final where I finished fourth that I was in trouble. I was forced to work very hard in that race when in normal circumstances I would have cruised through.
But still I tried to stay positive. When I stood on the start line for the final I was mentally ready to run the best I could and I knew that if I could do anything near that I would be in the mix.
But that didn't happen. I was embarrassed running those last couple of laps but there was nothing I could do. I was trying but I just couldn't go.
I didn't have the gears, the ammunition I would have liked to have had and it showed. The key sessions we missed had left me powerless and my fitness had dropped dramatically.
Plus my body hadn't been given the chance to adjust to the heat and humidity.
Just a couple of weeks earlier I had been wearing beanies and gloves in Ireland. Not exactly the ideal preparation so in hindsight it is no real surprise my body didn't have time to adjust.
I have always said that 99 per cent of the battle in winning these championship races is getting to the start line physically fit and mentally ready to race and I didn't do that.
I can accept that because we did everything we could.
I know I've copped criticism for it because I was one of the favourites given how I'd beaten most of those guys during the year in Europe.
That's fine, I understand that but the perception from some commentators that I am too confident, that I didn't deliver again and had been talking myself up is crazy.
To be an elite athlete you have to have confidence. I have never stood up and said I am going to win this or do this against the Africans. I am not that stupid.
I have always said I am going to try to win and try to do the best I can. That's not arrogance, that's self-belief.
The facts are I didn't get to Osaka in the condition that I wanted to. I can't be sure it won't happen again but what I am going to be doing is trying my best to be in a position in Beijing next to year to live up to my ability and we'll see what that brings.