Andrew Coscoran secures big payday with runner-up finish at Grand Slam Track in Miami
Coscoran, the Irish mile and 1500m record holder, had utilised his speed to outkick Fisher in a slow 3000m race on Friday night but in the longer event, Fisher ensured it would be a proper test of strength and injected a big surge with just over three laps to run. That carried him clear of the field and Coscoran opted out of chasing, knowing he would secure second place overall if he finished in the top four.
'I was like, 'What do I want to do?'' Coscoran told Athletics Weekly. ''Do I want to go and win it? But you're up against the likes of Grant Fisher and his 5K PB is over 20 seconds faster than mine so it's like, 'If he decides to start running hard, I've got to make a decision about whether to let him go.' I knew fourth place was enough and once he made a move early, it was an easy decision to make.'
Fisher hit the line in 13:40.12 with US athlete Cooper Teare second in 13:46.25 and Coscoran third in 13:46.30, having run a blazing 11.77 seconds for his last 100m – by far the quickest in the race.
'It was a tough race, it's definitely an area I'm quite inexperienced in but I thought it went well,' said Coscoran, who will race another 5000m at the Track Fest in Los Angeles on 24 May. He will hope to secure qualification there for the World Championships in Tokyo, where he could potentially double in the 1500m and 5000m.
'I think my speed is something I worked really hard on the last couple of months and it's in a really, really good place,' he said. 'My endurance is strong, but it's probably not as strong as my speed at the moment, so it's the next thing to work on.'
Grand Slam Track is the new professional series co-founded by US star Michael Johnson, with prize money that dwarfs that of the Diamond League.
The series features four 'racers' in each event category, who compete at every meet, and four 'challengers', with Coscoran receiving a call-up as the latter. After his strong showing in Miami, he said he hopes to receive an invite for the remaining Grand Slam Track events this year in Philadelphia (May 30-June 1) and Los Angeles (June 27-29).
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