Alistair Ian Cragg

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Alistair Ian Cragg an international track and field athlete was born in Johannesburg on 13 June 1980, and was brought up in South Africa and has since lived in England and Fayetteville, Arkansas where he attended the University of Arkansas. He races for Ireland and competes most often over 3,000 and 5,000 metres.

Contents 1 Career 2 Major Medals and Records 3 Notes and references 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Career

Cragg's father was a coach in South Africa and now also lives in Fayetteville with his wife. His older brother, Duncan, went to Southern Methodist University from 1994-1999. Alistair followed him there in 1999. His first cross country season there, he was injured and finished the season poorly at the regional meet in Denton, Texas. Arkansas coach John McDonnell saw him after the race and said something about how he shouldn't run if he was injured.

The next spring, Alistair was the top freshman finisher in the 5000m at the NCAA Championship meet, smashing SMU freshman records in that event.

The following fall, another Cragg brother died and Alistair dropped out of SMU. After taking a year off, SMU had given away his scholarship and Alistair needed a new home. McDonnell made room for him on the Arkansas roster.

Cragg had an outstanding college career with the Arkansas Razorbacks under Coach McDonnell, winning individual NCAA titles at 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m on the track, as well as cross country and indoor titles. In 2004 Cragg was voted SEC athlete of the year.¹

McDonnell made the commitment to Cragg to coach him as a professional, along with collegiate teammate Daniel Lincoln.

Cragg declared for Ireland in 2003 having represented South Africa as a junior athlete in a cross country race. He qualified for an Irish passport on the basis on his ancestry. It was a controversial move as he has never lived in the country and first visited when he was 24.²

Cragg made his debut for Ireland at the 2003 European Cross Country Championships , where he finished a respectable 8th. In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens he finished as top European in 12th place. Cragg won the gold medal in the 2005 European Indoor Championships for 3,000m. Unfortunately for Cragg he could not build on this success as injury forced him to miss most of the outdoor season, including the 2005 IAAF Athletics World Championships.

Cragg began the 2006 season well and finished 4th in the World Indoor Championships, just missing out on a medal. He was one of the favourites to win a medal in the 5000m at the European Championships, but dropped out whilst leading the slow run final with around 800 metres to go. It is believed he had suffered an Achilles tendon injury.

[edit] Major Medals and Records

• European Indoor Championship
  • 2005 - Gold

• Irish records ³
  • 3,000m indoors; 7:38.59 (14 February 2004 in Fayetteville)
  • 5,000m indoors; 13:28.93 (14 March 2003 in Fayetteville)

[edit] Notes and references

¹Cragg wins SEC's top honor NCAA sports June 24 2004
²Irish Times Feature on Cragg in 2004 Deals with his background and his move to Irish team
³Irish Indoor Records from Athletics Ireland

[edit] See also

• Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics
• Ireland at the 2006 European Championships in Athletics

[edit] External links

• Irish Boys run WellArticle on Cragg (and David Gillick) focusing on his decision to run for Ireland - Sunday Times, Marh 6, 2005
• IAAF.com interview/profile February 2006