Mark Carroll was confirmed as a prime Olympic prospect yesterday after a flamboyant finish had taken him clear of Europe's top middle-distance runners in the final of the European 3,000 metres indoor championship at Ghent.
A precious talent, which has flowered irregularly over the years, finally propelled the Cork man to a first major title in a meeting given added significance by the approaching Sydney Games in the autumn.
After tracking the pace diligently, Carroll found the gear which won him gold with a superb change of pace to draw in Rui Silva, the Portuguese winner of the 1,500-metres title two years ago, in a time of seven minutes 49.24 seconds.
More than six seconds separated the two men on seasonal performances going into the finals. But if Silva felt he held the psychological advantage he was sadly mistaken. After jumping into the lead approaching the bell, Silva glanced nervously over his shoulder for Carroll and to his horror, found him just a couple of feet to his right. Even then, he may have sensed that the game was up and with 120 metres left, he knew for sure as Carroll swept past him at pace. "I felt the title was mine at that point but I couldn't really relax until the last 20 or 30 metres when I knew for certain the others were beaten," said Carroll.
"It was a a great feeling going over the line for I knew that I had run the near-perfect race. Everyone has his own gameplan going into a race like this, the secret is being able to adapt when you have to.
"There was never much doubt in my mind that I could manage that. And yes, I was pretty confident before the race that I had what it took to win the title whatever the tactics.
"After all, I'm 28, in my prime and running well. In that situation, I had to be confident that as long as I avoided real trouble, I would win." Carroll is the first Irish athlete since Eamonn Coghlan in Vienna 21 years ago to win a European indoor title. And there to witness it in the Flanders Sports arena was a tiny knot of supporters, one of them carrying a Cliftonville flag.
Later in the evening, he was given a big reception from the crowd packed into the new stadium when, with Silva and the deposed champion, John Mayock of Britain, he stepped on to the presentation podium.
Success is not exactly new to the Cork athlete who as a teenager won the European Junior 3,000 metres championship in 1991. And two years ago he won a bronze medal in the final of the European 5000 metres outdoor championship in Budapest.
It completed a highly encouraging weekend for the Irish in Ghent. James Nolan, a student at UCD, was second to the Spaniard, Jose Redolat, in another thrilling finish to the 1500 metres final.
Coincidentally, Carroll and Nolan were rooming together, and it was the cause of some post-race banter as they savoured their achievements. "After Mick McKeon, the team manager, had allocated the rooms when we got here, I remarked `Fair play to Mick, at least he knows who's going to win the medals'. I sent James out to celebrate his medal at nine o'clock on Saturday evening. Fortunately, I didn't see him again until nine o'clock this morning."
Carroll, an articulate and dedicated athlete who has seldom reaped the rewards of either his talent or his commitment, was close to total disillusionment last season after finishing last in the world 5,000 metres championship in Seville.
In his efforts to get himself into perfect physical condition for the championships, he ran himself into the ground, eventually becoming anaemic. However, he has now changed his routine.
"In other years I came to the track with a lot of mileage in my legs but now, at last, I'm learning," he said. "This time I did the hard work early and when I went to Florida in the first week in December I concentrated solely on speed work. I like to think that all that 800-metres running paid off for me today.
"Now I was confident that I had the speed to cover any breaks and that whatever it took to win, I had it on the day. Yes, you could say it's a new me and now hopefully there are other, even bigger days on the way".
