Mohamed Katir added the fifth medal for Spain in the Munich Europeana silver in 5,000 meters, in a tactical final in which he stood up to the Norwegian Jacob Ingebrigtsen. The Catalans Abdessamad Oukhelfen and Adel Mechaal finished in twelfth and fourteenth position.
Katir remained on the lookout throughout the test, slipping at times from the Norwegian. With 24 runners on the track, the Spaniard saved a stumble against Frenchman Hugo Hay, who fell and criticized the Spaniard’s behavior at the finish.
Ingebrigtsen managed the race as he pleased, hiding in the group and progressing to test himself several times, until the final denouement in the last kilometer, covered in 2.23 minutes, which stretched the race until he was left alone with Katir puffing on the back of his neck. 200 meters to go. Katir tried at the exit of the corner, but the Viking changed his pace again in the final straight and went to the finish without flinching.
“I have complied”
The athlete based in Mula, Murcia, rounds off with his silver in Munich the bronze achieved in the Eugene World Championship in 1,500 three weeks ago, in a final in which Ingebrigtsen lost his unbeaten record against the British Jake Whitman.
“I have complied. I came for a medal of any color and I took a silver. I wanted to win but Jakob has been superior to me in the last ninety meters. I have been the only one who has faced him and I am happy. For me it is I’m proud because it didn’t win me easily. I can’t demand anything of myself. I’m very happy to give Spain a European medal”, confessed Katir in the mixed zone.
#SpainAthletics in #Munich2022
5,000m ?FINAL
SILVER MEDALAAAAAAAAAAAA@mo_katir
?????
? @telesport
? https://t.co/8w8ONjqljg#PassionForCompeting pic.twitter.com/Q9O4FLLonH— athleticsRFEA (@athleticRFEA) August 16, 2022
“It’s been a very good summer for me. I wanted to improve my marks but I listened to my coach, who told me that first you have to go for the medals and then we’ll talk about times,” he concluded.
similar past
The three Spanish finalists come from a similar background. His parents crossed the Strait in the Olympics 90. They obtained Spanish nationality when their sports results have stood out. Abdessamad Oukhelfen remembers arriving in Reus at the age of five. Mechaal arrived in Tarragona as a baby and did not make his international debut with Spain until he was 23. The Katirs from Alcazarquivir settled in Mula when Mohamed was around seven. He did not obtain Spanish nationality until 2019, when he was 21 years old.
Related news
After the pandemic stoppage, in 2021, Katir exploded, surpassing three records in Spain, including that of the iconic Fermín Cacho in 1,500 and that of 3,000 smooth by Isaac Viciosa, this one with controversy. The former record holder of Cervatos de la Cueza did not sit well with the fact that his successor “does not have a Castilian surname”.
Katir arrived in Tokyo in 2021 full of energy but succumbed in the 5,000 final, eighth, against Joshua Cheptegei and his Ugandan hare. With Eugene’s bronze at 1,500 three weeks ago and last night’s silver at 5,000, he shows enviable versatility. At the moment, he is behind the extraordinary Norwegian athlete Jacob Ingebrigtsen, a white blackbird in the medium and long distance, but getting closer.