European 3000m record Birthday present for Garcia

Seville, SpainEuropean indoor 3000m champion Alberto García broke the continental indoor 3000m record at the Vodafone Grand Prix, yesterday (22 Feb), in which there were also world leading marks set in the men's 1500m (3:34.66) and Long Jump (8.43m).
 
García, who was celebrating his 32nd Birthday yesterday won the 3000m in 7:32.98 to improve the previous best indoor mark of 7:36.61 that was set by fellow Spaniard Fermin Cacho, the 1992 Olympic 1500m champion, back in Stuttgart on 4 February 1996.

The record comes just weeks (Feb 9) since García, who is the European 5000m champion and the 2002 IAAF World Cup winner, broke the 27 year-old European 5000m indoor record in Gent with a time of 13:11.39.

The new record holder’s run in Seville was his first outing over 3000m this season. Garcia now ranks as the third fastest athlete of the all-time behind Daniel Komen (7:24.90) and Haile Gebrselassie (7:26.15). Just the previous night Gebrselassie had  run the distance 17/100ths of a second faster (7:32.81) on the way to his World Two Miles best in Birmingham on Friday (21 Feb), for the current fastest 3000m time this winter.

García’s training mate Arturo Casado (6th at the Worlds Junior in Kingston in the 1500m) performed as the first perfect pacemaker, going through the 1000m point in 2:31.19. Soon afterwards it was Pedro Esteso, who took over the pace-making responsibilities.

Running majestically and in isolation from the 1800m mark, García reached 2000m in 5:02.82, and produced a courageous run in the last kilometre. Covering each lap in around 30 seconds he managed his long-standing dream of becoming European indoor record holder...by just under four seconds!

European indoor 3000m bronze medallist, Jesús España destroyed his PB in his first indoor race of the season, with a 7:43.78 clocking, while Isaac Viciosa came third in 7:47.77. Former record holder Fermín Cacho also took part in the race but he dropped out with 1000m to go.

Before the competition García had declared: “I don´t like this pre-race atmosphere as everyone takes it for granted that I am going to break the record... but I have to beat 7:36.61!”

After achieving the feat a delighted García said: “I expected to run 7:34 at most so when I saw my time on the clock I was astonished. It’s a fantastic mark. I have now set two European indoor records and my only goal remaining for this winter season is a medal at the Worlds”. Which one?  “I have always said that both Gebrselassie and El Guerrouj are nearly unreachable for me but my chances to challenge them are higher indoors.”

García had to leave the stadium in a hurry as he had to take a flight, Seville-Barcelona-Bilbao, to compete at the National Cross Country Championship today (Sunday 23 Feb).

The Seville meeting as a whole proved that many Spanish athletes were in awesome form in their build up to the World indoors in Birmingham next month. In all, world leading marks were set at the men’s 1500m and the Long Jump.

In the men’s 1500m everything seemed carefully prepared for Juan Carlos Higuero to run inside 3:35 but in the end it was 26-year-old Roberto Parra who put on an impressive show with his victorious 3:34.89, a world-leading time this season and the fastest indoor time in the world for four years.

Kenya’s David Kiptoo performed as pacemaker and on schedule passed 400m in 55:94 and 800m in 1:52:85. By then, the former (1996) European Indoor 800m champion Parra was at Higuero’s shoulder, running effortlessly.

With the 1000m point covered in 2:22.30, it seemed that Higuero was not running comfortably and Parra overtook him with 450m to go. But even more surprising at that point was Álvaro Fernández’s presence, also ahead of Higuero but 10 metres behind Parra.

There were no remarkable changes over the final two laps and so Parra clinched an unexpected and overwhelming win in 3:34.66, while Fernández finished runner-up in a massive PB of 3:35.83. A disappointed Higuero faded, and jogged across the line in 3:43.34 for fifth.

Fernández who will turn 22-years-old in April, was 10th at the 2000 World Junior 1500m, and is an absolute newcomer to the international elite (previous best of 3:38.99 at the ‘B’ race in Zurich last year ).

In the infield, Spain’s Yago Lamela produced a brilliant series with four 8.15m+ jumps, topped by a world-leading leap of 8.43 in round 5, which bettered American Savante Stringfellow’s 8.29 previous world lead. Lamela reinforced his World Indoor medal credentials with a last round effort of 8.33.

Lamela’s performance came without real challenge as the reigning European Indoor champion Raúl Fernández had to settle for 7.90 in second place. The winner’s complete series was: 8.15 – 8.07 – 8.21 – 7.82 – 8.43 – 8.33.

In a meeting of such high standards, the 8:41.14 women’s 3000m win by Marta Domínguez didn’t receive the credit it deserved. Running a perfect, even paced race with splits of 2:52.56 (1000m) and 5:46.64 (2000m), the top European at 3000 indoors and 5000 outdoors, finished just 16 hundredths of a seconds off her own national record.

Another national record missed by an even narrower margin was the women’s 800m mark. World Cup 800m silver medallist Mayte Martínez crossed the finish line in 2:00.58, just 0.05 seconds slower than she ran in Gent two weeks ago.

Other notable performances came from David Canal in the 400m (46.31), Antonio Reina (World Cup winner) who ran 1:46.68 for the 800m, and the shot putter Manuel Martínez throwing 19.99. On the women’s side Glory Alozie stopped the clock in 7.97 in the 60 Hurdles, while Carlota Castrejana was an easy winner in the Triple Jump with 14.06.

Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF

Leading results (all Spanish athletes)

Men

200m: 1. Santiago Ezquerro 21.17

400m: 1. David Canal 46.31 – 2. Salvador Rodríguez 46.93 – 3. Alberto Martínez 47.24
800m: 1. Antonio Reina 1:46.69 – 2. Juan de Dios Jurado 1:47.75 – 3. Eugenio Barrios 1:48.57

1500m: 1. Roberto Parra 3:34.66 (world leader) 2. Álvaro Fernández 3:35.83 – 3. Antonio Martínez 3.38.87 – 4. Yousef El Nasri 3:43.33 – 5. Juan Carlos Higuero 3:43.34

3000m: 1. Alberto García 7:32.98 (European record) 7:32.98 – 2. Jesús España 7:43.78 – 3. Isaac Viciosa 7:47.77- 4. Sergio Gallardo 7:51.34 – 5. José Manuel Martínez 7:54.36 – 6. Reyes Estévez 7:55.48 – 7. Manuel Ángel Penas 7:57.80.

60m Hurdles: Felipe Vivancos 7.77

Long Jump: 1. Yago Lamela 8.43 (world leader; also 8.33) – 2. Raúl Fernández 7.90

Shot Put:  1. Manuel Martínez 19.99

Women

800m: 1. Mayte Martínez 2:00.58 – 2. Esther Desviat 2:02.52

1500m: 1. Zulema Fuentes-Pila 4:14.64 – 2. Eva Arias 4:14.85

3.000m: 1. Marta Domínguez 8:41.14 – 2. Natalia Rodríguez 9:01.40 – 3. Cristina Petite 9:01.85 – 4. Iris Fuentes-Pila 9:04.21 – 5. Sonia Bejarano 9:09.55

60 Hurdles: 1. Glory Alozie 7.97 – 2. Aliuska López 8.14

Triple Jump: 1. Carlota Castrejana 14.06