More injury woe as Cragg and Fagan fail to finish
Alistair Cragg grimaces as he speaks to the press after stepping off the track injured in Saturday's Men's 5000m Final in Beijing
IRELAND'S athletics run fizzled out badly in Beijing when Alistair Cragg drop-ped out of the 5,000m final and Martin Fagan pulled up with an Achilles problem in yesterday's marathon.
Fagan (25), running in only his second marathon ever, was up in 23rd place after 25km but his next 5km, run in 16 minutes 50, indicated he was in serious trouble and he was taken off the course by ambulance for immediate treatment.
Ethiopian distance genius Kenenisa Bekele joined the elite 5000/10,000m Olympic double club by breaking the great Said Aouita's 24-year-old record with 12:57.82 on Saturday night but Cragg dropped out of the race injured after 2,600m.
The 15-strong athletics team produced a seventh (Olive Lough-ane), eighth (Robert Heffernan) and 10th placing (Paul Hession) and two other finalists in Cragg and steeplechaser Roisin McGettigan.
But a litany of injury-hampered performances, and Cragg's surprising capitulation, again raised questions about the team's injury management and mental toughness.
With his right hamstring heavily taped beforehand, Cragg revealed that he damaged it before the 1500m preliminaries and that he was only able to do one run (easy jog) since his 5km heat.
He said that its response to treatment had convinced him to "get back in there, get involved in the racing and forget about everything," but that his hip had seized up almost immediately.
Asked if he was not motivated, in his second Olympic final, just to finish, at all costs, he said: "No I really could not have finished it. I could have been walking around still, it's seriously bad."
But that may cut little ice with those whose faith in him has been dented by his dropping out of three big championship races (the 2006 European 5000m final, this year's World Cross Countries and now the Olympics).
It was difficult to escape the feeling of a man running to stand still, who needs to urgently make some changes if he's to rekindle his massive talent.
He said as much himself, indicating that he may now look to train with some of the Americans.
They are clearly doing something right, having taken bronze in the women's 10,000m (Shalane Flanagan), got two into the top 10 in the men's equivalent, seventh in the women's 1500m, and also two women inside the top 10 in the 5000m final.
Elsewhere, a 45-strong Irish Paralympic team departed for Beijing yesterday for their Games which get under way in 13 days time.
- Cliona Foley in Beijing
