ATHLETICS:What happened two years ago when David Gillick and Alistair Cragg both won European Indoor titles within the hour will always be hard to beat and hard to forget. It was so unlikely and so shocking that only a fool would have been heard betting on it in public.
Yet here they are two years on with every chance of retaining those titles, again within the space of an hour - and plenty of people, including myself, are betting on it.
Just how foolish that might be will be revealed tomorrow afternoon, as for now their main concern will be coming through today's qualifying rounds.
It's also likely that both Gillick and Cragg will want to forget a lot of what's happened in the two years since Madrid, but at least they've come to Birmingham with their engines intact and ready to run. The only possible difference this time is that their roles are reversed - Gillick carrying the favourite's tag and a little more pressure, and Cragg carrying the question marks and a little less expectation.
Going into Madrid, Cragg was the fastest in Europe over 3,000 metres, beating the all-conquering Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele on route. He hasn't won a race this season, and while his 7:43.30 run earlier this month certainly proves his fitness, the main doubt is over his mental state, and just how much the nightmare of the European outdoors in Gothenburg last August - where he dropped out injured - still haunts him.
Cragg certainly looked relaxed at the Birmingham Indoor Arena yesterday afternoon, one of the select athletes invited to the main press conference, and whatever he might be thinking inside there was no visible or audible lack of confidence.
"I think I'm in better shape than I was when I won two years ago," he said. "I appreciate this is a different type of race in that I'm running against different types of athletes, more specialists over the distance, but I'm very confident and I don't go to these championships unless I can win them.
"I know I'm racing against some tough guys and I will have to be at my best to win because these guys have proved themselves over the distance. Two years ago when I beat (Reyes) Estevez of Spain he was more of a 1,500-metre runner and so I'm wary of the challenge that is here."
It seems too that Cragg has put his two early-season defeats behind him: "I tried some weird tactics which did not work out and I ended up being frustrated, grumpy and annoyed. But my coach then sat me down and we planned a good schedule of training for here and they have gone extremely well. But tactics will play a part. Of course I will have a plan for here and I will be discussing plans for the final when I talk to my coach."
The coach he repeatedly referred to is Mayo-born John McDonnell, who has nurtured Cragg ever since his college years at Arkansas.
Speaking earlier yesterday, the coach seemed just as confident.
"Alistair is ready to run and I can tell you that if he does not win he will be very, very close," said McDonnell. "He is very determined to hang on to his title. I also think his speed right now is very good too and if it comes down to a sprint I think he will have it in his legs. I know when he is concentrating on a big race when he sets out on his training sessions, does his work and goes away and thinks about things.
"We have not talked all that much about the race but whatever we have said seems to indicate to me that he is mentally very strong right now.
"I know how much he was hurt by what happened in Gothenburg and this is the race where he will make amends. I sense it.
"Naturally there are a couple of good runners in there but we all saw how easily he broke up the field two years ago and I think he is back to that type of form."
Assuming he comes through this morning's heats, Cragg will likely face three main contenders to his crown in the final - Spain's outdoor 5,000 metres champion, Jesus Espana (who has run 7:43.36 this year), the French champion, Bouabdellah Tahri (7:38:41), and the big local hope Mo Farah (7:50.86). It was interesting to hear Espana's feelings: "I can't see anyone in the field that is better than me. I feel I'm in great shape and I've been building up for this race for the last three or four months."
Gillick made the short journey down from his new training base at Loughborough yesterday. It's there that English coach Nick Dakin has reworked his talent and strengths, proven with the national record of 45.91 run in his first and only indoor race this season.
He remains the fastest in Europe this season, yet Gillick has done his best to arrive with a low profile, knowing at least two others here - Germany's Bastian Swillims (45.99) and Britain's Robert Tobin (46.07) - are well capable of taking his title. Gillick's task of just making the final is more difficult with heats as well as semi-finals scheduled for today.
