Sonia O'Sullivan's training partner, Craig Mottram, insists he will be treating this weekend's Great BUPA Ireland Run as aggressively as he did the recent World Cross-Country Championships.
Less than a fortnight ago in Brussels, Mottram was the top non-African finisher in both the long and short course races which earned the Aussie plenty of praise.
Mottram, 23, said: "Lots of people asked me that after the race, but it doesn't mean that much to me. My aim is to be competitive in any contest and it wasn't a case of trying to win something that many called a race within a race."
Mottram is adamant he was equally as focused as his training partner Benita Johnson, who stunned her African rivals by winning Australia's first-ever world cross-country gold.
The reigning World Cup 3,000metres champion said: "I wanted to go out there and get a medal and that's what Benita and my attitudes were.
"Hers paid off handsomely and she won the damn thing and I finished ninth and 13th which looking back was a great result.
Mottram, who will travel to the United States on Sunday for a month's altitude training with O'Sullivan, added: "Basically Sonia and I have been doing a lot of running and getting in plenty of miles.
"There's been no specific work on the track," said Mottram already eyeing an Olympic 5,000m medal.
"I've just been looking forward to coming over here and taking back the title I won last year."