Mile Sets Mottram Up For Big Tilt At His Main Event

Sun Herald

Sunday July 31, 2005

By PAUL MULVEY LONDON

CRAIG Mottram put the perfect finishing touches to his world championships build-up by breaking the 14-year-old Australian and Oceania record for the mile in Oslo.

The part-time miler finished fifth at the Bislett Games Golden League meeting in 3 minutes, 48.98 seconds, just over a second behind winner Daham Bashir from Qatar, who set the fastest time of the year to win in 3:47.97.

In his preparations for the 5000 metres at the August 6-14 world championships in Helsinki, Mottram has been working on his speed with the occasional race over the mile.

And his run in Oslo had plenty of pace. He smashed Simon Doyle's old Australian and Oceania record of 3:49.91 set at the Bislett meeting in 1991. He also cut four seconds off Mottram's personal best to give him the confidence in knowing he has the speed if the Helsinki 5000m comes down to a scramble home over the last 1000m or so.

"It was a great time, but it wasn't that surprising, we thought I could go under 3:50," Mottram said.

"It couldn't have gone any better than a PB and a national record, but the big show's in a couple of weeks and that's what I really want. It's a lot different running a mile from scratch than after eight hard laps before it, but it's good to have that ability to be strong in the last mile if it's needed.

"A lot of the guys might be thinking they'll have to get rid of me before the last kilometre.

"I knew this was always going to be a plus for me, I knew I was going to have a strong last k.

"I think I've got all the weaponry needed to race anybody but I don't think it's really going to change anyone's tactics. Anyway, you've got to get in the final first before you can think about tactics."

In a quick race in which the first seven placegetters all broke the previous fastest time of 2005, Bernard Lagat was second in 3:48.38 and Daniel Kipchirchir Komen third.

Mottram's 12:56.13 for the 5000m last week in London, where he finished second behind Ethiopian world record-holder Kenenisa Bekele by 0.58s, also proved the Victorian could compete with the world's best.

"The way I'm going and the preparation I've had, there's nobody in that race I can't beat," he said. "I haven't had any setback, I couldn't have hoped for a better preparation."

Australian Josh Ross ran 10.28s in the 100m to finish sixth.