The Spanish Mohamed Katir showed that he arrives in perfect shape for the World Cups that will start in less than a month in Budapest, after setting this Friday in the Diamond League test in Monaco a new European record of the 5,000 meters with a time of 12:45.01 minutes.
Katir, who already set a new 3,000-meter record on the indoor track last February, lowered the previous European record held by Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen by 3.44 seconds with a time of 12:48.45 since 2021.
All a warning with a view to the next World Cups, despite the fact that Katir, who arrived at the appointment after working in recent weeks at altitude, could only be fourth in the final in which the Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet won with a mark of 12:42.18 minutes.
Very far from the world record -12:35.36- that the Ugandan established on this same track at the Louis II stadium in 2020, which was the objective of the organizers. A battle that the Spanish athlete did not want to enter, who, without following the rhythm of the Ethiopians and Kenyans, always remained in the leading pack waiting to deliver the final blow in the final meters.
"The other athletes were very strong, but I am also strong now, so I tried to win until the last meters," Mohamed Katir explained in statements to the organization, who did not hide that his goal in Monaco was to snatch the European record from Ingebrigtsen.
"Actually, my goal was to achieve the European record, so I'm very happy," stressed the Murcian athlete, who now only thinks of the World Cups in Budapest, after passing, yes, by the Spanish Championships that will be held next week in the Valencian town of Torrent.
"My next goal is to qualify for Budapest in the Spanish Championships, but my biggest goal, obviously, is the World Championships," concluded Mohamed Katir, who won the bronze medal in the 1,500m at the Eugene World Championships as well as silver in the 5,000m at the European Championships in Munich.
