ATHLETICS:THEY TURNED up the heat in the old Olympic Stadium, packed it to the rafters and somehow Alistair Cragg fell asleep. That was about the best excuse he could give for his unceremonious exit in the heats of the 5,000 metres, although he did mention some health problem connected to his over-consumption of coffee. Perhaps they aren't entirely unrelated.
Not for the first time Cragg had suggested he may well make the final, holding a prime position until four laps out. Not for the first time he went rapidly downhill after that – he eventually ended up 13th in 13:46.34, some way off the heat winner Moses Kipsiro of Uganda, who led the typically African-dominated charge home in 13:22.98.
“Up until those last four laps I was feeling great,” Cragg explained, a mix of emotions in the mixed zone, though mostly anger. “Then I just fell asleep, for like a lap. Then I felt like crap once we hit the bell. I’d done everything right up to that point. But once you’re off the train like that . . .”
Indeed, Cragg fell drastically behind. If he’d come to the Olympic Stadium on the S-Bahn he’d have been two stops down the line when the winners arrived. So not for the first time the 29-year-old exits a major championships with serious question marks over his future. So?
“I don’t know. I’ve just finished the race, but my focus all year was World champs. I’d a problem in July, when my adrenal system wasn’t working too well. My coach identified that as the increased coffee intake over here in Europe. So I don’t really know where this leaves me. It’s been a new system this year, and I’ll just move forward again.”
Eileen O’Keeffe made the hammer final two years ago, finishing sixth, but fell well short this time, hitting a poor 63.20 metres with her first throw, and failing to get her final two attempts out of the cage: “My first throw hit the floor of the circle during two of the turns which threw me off altogether, and then I went for it on the second and third throw and caught the cage,” said O’Keeffe, close to tears.
Thomas Chamney had a similarly grim experience in the second of seven heats in the 800 metres, coming home fifth in 1:48.09 – well down on his best of 1:45.41, and also on the winner Nick Symmonds of the US, who ran 1:47.12.
“To go out in the first round, I’m just gutted,” he said. “It doesn’t reflect all the work I’ve done coming here. But I’ve a trapped nerve in my back, since Monday.
“It’s some sort of sciatica problem. From the minute the gun went I could feel it. I ran the whole race in fourth gear.”
Although that, he added, wasn’t making any excuses.
