Mottram finding best form
23/07/2008 10:58 AM
Australian middle-distance champion Craig Mottram has swept to victory in his return to the track in Sweden.
Mottram comfortably held off Kenyan Isaac Songok and Daham Bashir of Qatar to win the 3000m at the at the IAAF World Tour event in Stockholm.
A 15,000-strong crowd saw Mottram stop the clock at 7:37.73.
"It was a good race," Mottram said.
"I didn't care much about the time. I was a bit unsure of my shape."
"It's a great stadium. It's the first time I've ever run here and after tonight I'd like to come back."
Mottram's triumphant return to the track comes after a stint of altitude training in St Moritz.
He is now switching his attention to the 1500m in London on Friday before another period of hard training.
The Victorian will compete in the 5000m at next month's Olympic Games.
Team-mate Sally McLellan, meanwhile, continued her impressive Beijing build up with a third place in the 100m hurdles.
American Lolo Jones won the race in 12.61 with Jamaican Delloreen Ennis-London (12.70) second.
McLellan last week smashed her own Australian record in Switzerland but was 0.13 off her new national mark of 12.57 in Stockholm.
Other notable performances from the Australian team included Jarrod Bannister's fourth place finish in the javelin.
Pole vaulter Alana Boyd finished in a tie for 6th with a best leap of 4.20m.