“I move better when there are strong rhythms. When it goes slow, it is very complicated for me, ”admits the Muleño before the Gallur appointment
Muleño Mohamed Katir wants to make history today at the meeting in Madrid. The brand new European ‘record man’ of the 3,000 meter sprint did not yet know what distance he would run today in the prestigious World Indoor Tour event, something like the Winter Diamond League. But he announced yesterday that he will take the start in the 1,500 metres: «If he starts the race to run in 3:30.00, he will be able to beat the Spanish record, but why not try the world record too? I move better when there are strong rhythms than slow ones. When it’s slow, it’s very complicated for me, but when it’s on the rhythm of a rally, I work better,” said the athlete from Mula yesterday.
His rivals are Yared Nuguse, Grant Fisher, Mario García Romo, Adel Mechaal, Ignacio Fontes and Jesús Gómez. The race will take place at 21:18 (Teledeporte). Katir herself broke the Spanish indoor record of 1,500. It was two years ago in Monaco. The 3:28.95 that Fermín Cacho, Olympic champion in Barcelona 92 and runner-up in Atlanta 96, ran in the already legendary 1997 Zurich race went down in history that night in Monaco. The Muleño crossed the finish line with a time of 3:28.76.
The current world record of 1,500 indoors is held by Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:30.60), who will not be in Madrid today. The athlete from Mula, recent European record holder in the 3,000 meters, has renounced the continental championship and is setting himself the challenge of playing the World Cup outdoors in the summer.
“I would like to beat Jakob in the summer,” Katir admitted. “It’s one of my goals. I would like to improve my outdoor times, which are not easy, and the most complicated one is the 1,500, which if I improve it will be close to 3:27. And if I go under 3:28 go, I’m in shape for the World Cup.” Because Katir still prefers brands and records over championships and podiums. “I will continue with that thought, but ever since I won the bronze in the Eugene World Cup I saw that a medal is more beautiful than a world record. Still, the records are there to be broken and you have to think of it that way,” said the mule.
Nor will the European and world champion in the 800 meters miss today’s meeting in Gallur, a Mariano García who confirmed yesterday that he will not be at next month’s European Indoor Championships in Istanbul to focus on next summer’s World Cup. “It’s not that I’m the European smaller, but I have to achieve something big outside. If we want to go flat out, my bike is not so ready for that. Last week I had to go through the physios more than on the track, I was exhausted and melted. I would like to go to all the championships, but I am human, not a machine, if I were a robot…”, joked that of Cuevas de Reyllo, who insisted that he cannot shoot “always dead”.
Today may be his “last game” of the indoor track season. He runs at 8:27 PM and his main rivals are Andreas Kramer, Amel Tuka and Saúl Ordóñez.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
