Alberto Garcia (Spain) wins the IAAF World Cup 5000m in Madrid (© Getty Images)
Spain’s Alberto García has completed an awesome 2002 season, conquering every major track major competition he has contested. After placing fourth at the 2001 Edmonton World Championships (following Algeria’s Saidi Sïef disqualification), the Spaniard has confirmed his status as Europe's strongest 5000m runner by winning both the continental title in Munich, and the IAAF World Cup race on home soil in Madrid.
“All my sights were set on the Europeans, I could not fail," remarks García about his European 5000m victory. Six weeks later he made history by becoming the first Spanish athlete to win an individual event at the World Cup, taking an overwhelming victory over Kenya’s Paul Kosgei with a drive for home from some 170m out.
García, who will turn 32-years-old in February 2003, also claimed the European indoor 3000m title in Vienna earlier this year and happily concludes “I can’t complain as I succeeded in winter and also in summer”.
Why after a long career has García finally managed to start winning major championships titles?
“If your mind is OK your legs also go well. Now, I believe in myself and it makes all the difference. In 1998 I had already run 13:04.64 for a Spanish record but when it really mattered, at the major championships I got nervous and was unable to face the competition properly.”
The turning point came after the Sydney Olympics. “It was such a disappointment (finished 16th in his heat in 14:11.65) but I decided to put it behind me, take things less strictly and try to be relaxed and enjoy more.”
The tactic paid off. At the next big challenge, the World Indoors in Lisbon, “I was dying to compete and took the bronze medal behind El Guerrouj and Moroccan-born Belgium’s Mohammed Mourhit”.
García, the Spanish 5000m record holder with a 13:02.54 clocking (8th place Rome Golden Gala in 2001), looks forward to more successes in the major title chases to come.
“Next year I still will be focused on the 5000 event. I proved to be nearly at the same level as the Africans in the 2001 Worlds, so the next step forward is to take a medal in Paris”.
However, the 1.65m tall European champion also has the target of “winning a medal at the World Indoors to be held in Birmingham in mid-March and to set a new 3000m European record indoors” (which currently belongs to fellow countryman Fermín Cacho, with a 7:36.61 clocking in 1996). This year, Garcia missed the record by just 52 hundredths of a second (7:37.13) in Seville because the pacemaker failed to do his job well enough, leaving García to do the work alone after a slow opening kilometre was covered in 2:34.
Thinking of Birmingham, the World Cup winner says: “I am sure that El Guerrouj and Gebrselassie will not have a clash over 3000m there. As I already faced El Guerrouj in Lisbon, I would now prefer ‘Gebre’ in the starting list”.
Yet Garcia is fully aware the task will be hard and that the Ethiopian’s recent experience as a marathoner won’t be a handicap at 3000m. “We have Paula Radcliffe’s example and she ran again a very fast 3000 on the track (lowering her PB to 8:22.20) after her marathon debut. I believe Gebre is capable of matching Paula’s achievement”.
García, who has a four year contract with the clothing company Adidas, reflecting on the long distance outlook in the forthcoming years continued, “now, there is huge rivalry (at 5000m) but there is not a megastar as Gebrselassie used to be. The next could be Hicham El Guerrouj when he turns to the 5000m or Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele within a couple of years.” Speaking of his own future, Garcia confirms that “after Athens Olympics I will be building up for the 10,000m and I would like to take gold at the next Europeans in Gothenburg in 2006”.
García has raced at a wide range of distances throughout his athletics career, from the 1500m (PB 3:35.69) to the 10,000m when winning the European Challenge on his debut in 27:46.12, back in 1999.
“I have preference for the 3000m indoors. I enjoy running at a 2:30 pace because I don't get the feeling that's fast. I left the 1500m event some years ago because after clocking 3:40 I felt that there was no room for improvement due to my short height, but I feel now capable of running 3:34 (indoors)”.
Analysing his European 5000m victory, Garcia confirms, “the pressure in Munich did not overwhelm me but I was fully aware of my position as hot favourite and only the gold medal was good enough for me.”
Amazingly, García only arrived in Munich 48 hours before taking part in the straight final; there were two main reasons: “my father was in hospital and I wanted to stay with him. In addition, the accommodation did not seem the best so I decided to remain at home to train and rest more comfortably”.
Unlike in March, when he took the European Indoor 3000m gold in Vienna, breaking away from the field before halfway, in Munich García made his move with some 250m to go,. “I had worked on my speed in the weeks prior to Munich and was confident of my final kick.”
García launched his sprint fractionally sooner than Ukraine’s Sergey Lebid. “I saw on the video score board that Lebid was stepping up the pace so my reaction was to pull away immediately not to be overtaken by the Ukrainian”. Covering the final 200m in 27 seconds there was no catching him and García romped home 15m clear of silver medallist France’s Ismail Sghyr.
The European champion entered athletics in 1988, aged 17, “I came first at a race in my area and a friend encouraged me to join his athletics club.”
Considering the length of time Garcia has been in the sport, he is quite clear as to why has he suddenly, at the age of 31 become a big time winner.
“It’s just because of the everyday hard work. Besides, I have been injury-free for the last four years; it means that I have been training non-stop and that’s absolutely crucial to be at the top. My coach Arturo Martín and physiotherapist Juan del Riego are also vital for me. My late success proves that I was not a gifted prodigy and there were so many athletes more promising than me. Even so, I always thought of going far...but not as far as this,” he says proudly.
Breaking the 13:00 barrier is still an aim but “in both 2001 and 2002 I was ready to accomplish that task, but you have to find the right race. When I beat the Kenyans at DN Galan in Stockholm 2001 there were prize money at intermediate points so the pace was uneven. Hopefully, I will be able run under 13:00 a few weeks prior to the Worlds in Paris, but I don’t want to become obsessed with that, anyway”.
Emeterio Valiente of the IAAF
