Cragg can take comfort in effort

ATHLETICS: There is rarely any consolation for finishing fourth in a major championship, no matter how good you run, yet Alistair Cragg could definitely offer himself some comfort after finishing just outside the medals in yesterday's World Indoor 3,000 metres.

All he had to do was think about the runners ahead of him (and maybe the cheque for €8,000 for fourth).

Of all the events in Moscow these past three days this one was undoubtedly the most competitive. For a start there was Kenenisa Bekele. He's still only 23, but Bekele is fast running out of great things to achieve in world athletics. By winning gold yesterday the Ethiopian became the first athlete to win world titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track, and as usual he did it in breathtaking style.

Bekele may not be the biggest kicker in the sport, but when he moved to the front inside the last 400 metres he destroyed the two other main contenders - Saif Shaheen of Qatar and Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya. Those three are the most feared and capable distance runners on the planet.

So there was much to celebrate about Cragg's fourth place in a season's best of 7:46.43. Whatever doubts had developed about his form in recent months have evaporated, and as long as he stays injury free the European championships in Gothenburg next August can be another golden moment.

Cragg had to adapt his strategy yesterday when the younger Bekele brother, Tariku, declined to take up the pace as expected. So Cragg ended up leading the first half of the race, setting a steady enough pace to ensure the field didn't box up around him.

"I didn't really want to lead," he explained. "I thought the little Bekele would rabbit, but I knew I had to make the best of it. I tried to keep in quick enough that we didn't bunch, and I felt quite good up there. But I knew I was sacrificing something with those guys sitting on my back, and with five laps top go I dropped a little concentration."

He dropped his position too, and fell back to seventh with 800 metres remaining. Digging deep, he got into position for the final burn up. "Those guys still gave me a bit of a lesson with 400 metres to go . . . tactically I found myself in a position I didn't want, so to come off that and finish within those guys is not bad."

Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russia's great hope for gold in the 800 metres, had to settle for bronze in 1:47.38 behind Kenya's Wilfred Bungei (1:47.15) and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa (1:47.16).

Earlier, however, the great Maria Mutola of Mozambique turned back the clock to win the women's 800 metres in 1:58.90 at age 33, her seventh gold medal at World Indoor level.

Ireland's James Nolan also struggled a little with the big kickers in Saturday's 1,500 metres final, but his sixth place - plus a €4,000 cheque - was still satisfying. Ivan Heshko of the Ukraine took the win in 3:42.08, with Nolan coming home in 3:43.98.