Craig Mottram (born 18 June 1980) is a former Australian
long
Long may refer to:
Measurement
* Long, characteristic of something of great duration
* Long, characteristic of something of great length
* Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate
* Longa (music), note value in early music mensu ...
and
middle-distance runner
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
who specialised in the
5000 meter event.
Early years
Mottram was born on 18 June 1980 in
Frankston, Victoria
Frankston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Frankston local government area. Frankston recorded a population of 37,331 at the 2021 census.
Due to ...
. He attended
Geelong Grammar School
, motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom)
, city = Corio, Victoria
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, ty ...
.
Career
At 6 feet 2 inches, Mottram is unusually tall for a distance runner. He competed in his first
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
at only 20 years of age, in the 5000 metre event at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in Sydney: he did not qualify from his heat, but finished in 8th place with a respectable time of 13 minutes, 31.06 seconds. He fared better in his next Olympic competition: with four additional years of experience and athletic maturity, Mottram qualified for the final of the 5000 metre event and finished 8th with a time of 13:25.70 in
Athens.
In 2005, he set a course record to win the
Great Ireland Run
The Great Ireland Run is an annual 10-kilometre road running competition which is held in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland in mid-April. It is part of the Great Run series of athletics competitions. It is sponsored by SPAR and features both an eli ...
in a third consecutive win at the competition. On 14 August 2005, he reached a career highlight, coming third in the 5000 m event at the
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...
in Helsinki, running the event in 13 minutes, 32.96 seconds. He is the only non-African born runner to receive a medal in that event since 1987.
On 9 March 2006 in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metrop ...
, in his final warmup event before the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
, Mottram took ten seconds off the 12-year-old Australian record for the
2000 metres
The 2000 metres or 2000-metre run is a track running event where five laps are completed around an outdoor 400 m track, or ten laps around a 200 m indoor track - the distance is 11.68 meters short of 1¼ miles.
The global governing body World Ath ...
. This distance, not often run at
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
events, was scheduled specifically to suit Mottram's Games preparation.
On 20 March 2006 at the Commonwealth Games, Mottram came second in the 5000 m event with a time of 12 minutes, 58.19 seconds, beaten narrowly by Kenyan runner
Augustine Choge. This race was only the second time that this event was won in under 13 minutes at a championship competition (first one being 2003 World Athletics Championships.) Mottram also ran in the 1500 m event in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metrop ...
on 25 March 2006, entering the competition as favourite to win. Having worked his way into third position during the race, Mottram was accidentally tripped at the 800-metre mark when English athlete
Andrew Baddeley fell behind him, clipping Mottram's heel. Mottram lost 20 metres on the field due to the incident and finished in ninth position.
In June 2006 Mottram set the
Parkrun
Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across six continents. Junior Parkrun (stylised as junior parkrun) ...
5 km world record time with 14 minutes and 0 seconds at
Bushy Parkrun, he held the record until 2012.
He is a supporter of
English Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
club
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the historic county of Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on the River Wear's mouth to the North Sea. The ri ...
and ran in the
Great North Run
The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South ...
2006, wearing a Sunderland shirt.
On 21 December 2006, Mottram set the record for
the Tan in a time of 10:08:00. The Tan is
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metrop ...
's most iconic running track, located around the
Royal Botanic Gardens. Mottram beat the previous best time of 10:12, also his own, during a
Richmond Tigers Football Club trial.
In 2007 Mottram started the year on a high, dominating "the Kenyan Hope" of Boniface Songkok at the Telstra A series in Melbourne. The race was a conservative one before Craig tore the field open with a quick 7th lap before a devastating final 400 m run in 53 seconds. At the
Prefontaine Classic
The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the University o ...
In
Eugene (
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. ...
), Craig ran the 5th fastest 2-mile of all time in 8:03.50 leaving in his wake the likes
Alan Webb,
Tariku Bekele
Tariku Bekele (Amharic: ታሪኩ በቀለ; born 28 February 1987) is an Ethiopian professional long-distance runner, who specializes in the 5000 metres and has moved up to 10000 metres as well. He is the younger brother of Kenenisa Bekele. He ...
, Matt Tegenkemp,
Dathan Ritzenhein
Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of On Athletics Club. He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009-2010, when it was broken by Bernard ...
and other American hopefuls. "It comes down to the size of your balls," Mottram said of his ability to pick up the pace and shake off his rivals in Oregon. After a good start to the season Craig suffered a hamstring strain. This affected his training for the World Championships, where he finished 11th.
2008 was an up-and-down season for Mottram. He won the Melbourne Grand Prix 5000 m and the National Championship 5000 m and 3000 m. He then competed at the 2008 Indoor Championships in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...
, where he placed 5th in the final. He then contested the Boston Indoor Grand Prix where he won the 3000 m and broke the meet record of
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champion ...
. He hit form after he won the
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropolita ...
Grand Prix 3000 m and placed 4th in the 1 Mile. He also ran a 3:57.90-mile finishing 2nd to Bernard Lagat at the prestigious Millrose games in February 2008.
At the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
in Beijing, Mottram placed 5th in the first heat of the 5000 m in 13min 44.39sec and did not advance to the final. Following this disappointment, Mottram split from coach Nick Bideau, choosing to self-coach.
Due to injuries, he did not compete in the
2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. That year, after having run for
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
for all of his professional career, Mottram signed a contract with
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
. He also accepted a coaching offer from Australian distance running coach Chris Wardlaw, who has coached marathon runner
Steve Moneghetti
Stephen James "Steve" Moneghetti, (born 26 September 1962), is an Australian long-distance runner and physical health consultant, represented Australia on many occasions. Moneghetti has a degree in civil engineering, a graduate diploma in educ ...
among others.
In late November 2009 Craig Mottram made a return from his 12-month absence from racing, clocking 13 minutes and 23 seconds in the opening 5 km leg of the
Chiba Ekiden Relay in Japan. This performance put his Australian team in first place, before they dropped to 7th. His time of 13:23 was just outside the event record.
In the 2010 season he won the
Great Yorkshire Run in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and ...
, beating home favourite
Chris Thompson to the line by just one second. He beat
Chris Thompson again on 18 September 2010 by one second in a close finish at the Great North City Games 2-mile event in 8.31.
In August 2012 Craig Mottram competed in the
London Olympics 5000m for Australia. He was the fastest Australian at those Olympics, with a 13.40, but was unable to make it into the final.
Personal best times
* 1500 metres 3:33.97 (Zurich, Switzerland, 18 August 2006)
* Mile 3:48.98 (Oslo, Norway, 29 July 2005)
* 2000 metres 4:50.76 (Melbourne, Australia, 3 September 2006, Oceanic Record)
* 3000 metres 7:32.19 (Athens, Greece, 17 September 2006, Oceanic Record)
* 2 miles 8:03.50 (Eugene, Oregon, 6 October 2007, Oceanic Record)
* 5000 metres 12:55.76 (London, England, 30 July 2004, Oceanic Record)
* 10,000 metres 27:34.48 (Palo Alto, United States, 5 April 2008)
* 10 km (road) 27:54 (Manchester, England, 23 May 2004, Oceanic Record)
* Parkrun 14:00 (
Bushy Parkrun, London, 2006, World Record)
References
External links
*
Athletics Australia profile*
ttp://www.alltime-athletics.com Listings of all-time performances in events* https://web.archive.org/web/20171210005852/http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/index.php?showtopic=10887
* http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Tan-time-trial-puts-all-comers-to-the-test/2005/01/27/1106415731901.html
Flotrack.com Video interviews of Craig Mottram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mottram, Craig
1980 births
Living people
Australian male long-distance runners
Australian male middle-distance runners
Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
People educated at Geelong Grammar School
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes of Australia
World Athletics Championships medalists
World Athletics Championships athletes for Australia
Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
Parkrun