Kevin Sullivan (CAN) (© Getty Images)
Apart from a 1994 Commonwealth Games silver medal the lengthy career of Kevin Sullivan has been marked by spirited performances that have always fallen short of the big prize, such as his fifth place in the 2000 Olympic 1500m final.
Now his optimism is renewed thanks to a stunning Canadian 3000m indoor record performance (7:44.46) in Boston last week and by the realisation that a World Indoor Championships medal might just be in reach at Budapest.
“Yes it’s exciting for me. I have always wanted to contest myself over something longer than 1,500m,” says the Canadian champion who will turn 30 next month, “but I have always been a little hesitant because I want to make sure I explore how far I can go in the 1500m before I really think about making a move to run longer distances.”
“It was funny (in Boston), I saw the clock with 800m to go and I think it must have been about 5:47 or 5:45 then I didn’t really look at the clock until I crossed the finish line. Then just after I crossed the line Nick Willis of New Zealand, who is going to the University of Michigan, realised he had broken the NCAA collegiate record. I was so excited for him that I didn’t discover, until I walked half way around the track, that I had broken the Canadian record. It wasn't something I was really looking for. I was looking to go under 7:50.”
Teenage prodigy
The holder of Canadian outdoor records at 1500m (3:31.71) and the Mile (3:50.26) Sullivan was a teenage prodigy achieving a bronze medal at the 1992 IAAF World Junior Championships. A commendable fifth place finish in the Sydney Olympic final was overlooked by the Canadian public more conditioned to react to medals whether they come in pistol shooting or synchronised swimming rather than excellence on the track, and to many Canadians Sullivan appeared to have reached the pinnacle of his career.
Move from home
Two years ago Sullivan’s wife, Karen (nee Harvey), was appointed assistant track coach at the University of Illinois in Champagne, Illinois and so the couple left the familiar and comfortable habitat of Ann Arbor, Michigan. They had attended the University of Michigan there. Sullivan left a training group that coach Ron Warhurst had assembled for uncharted territory.
“I am actually doing most of my training on my own. I train at the same time as the University of Illionis team but any intense sessions I do on my own,” Sullivan laments. “I have been commuting to Ann Arbor for periods of time to work with the group there.”
“I have had mixed emotions about the move. Initially I wasn’t really happy here but I think it’s because I had built up such a comfort level in Michigan. I had a group of friends and athletes who I could train with and hang out with on a social basis. I came here not knowing anybody, not knowing the area and so part of the challenge was just finding places to train. And I found it very frustrating for the first three months. But I am pretty comfortable training on my own.”
Budapest 3000m
Sullivan, who enjoys a comfortable Reebok contract - will run one more race, a Mile on 14 February in Fayetteville, Arkansas, before the World Indoor Championships (5 – 7 March). Prior to his 3000m record he had been convinced that the 1500m was his best event. Now he is more open to the prospect of moving up in distance and regardless of whether he breaks his Canadian indoor record (3:55) next week he will elect to chase a World 3000m medal in Budapest.
“I am not doing any real mile specific training right now so fitness-wise I think I am better suited to running a 3000m,” he confirms, “and if I ran 3:55 or faster off the training I am doing now I think that sets me up even better for running the 3000m in Budapest. I think with a little bit more sharpening a little bit more work and some running at 7:40 pace I would think I have another five or six seconds in me right now.”
