Irelands Tomas Cotter Rises to the Occasion in Kazan

Ireland's Tomas Cotter (Wichita State University) showed tremendous guts and determination to secure a spot in the final of the 3,000m steeplechase at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia.

Cotter was drawn in the second heat and needed to finish in the top four to be sure of a place in the final. There were also four fastest losers spots available based on times from the two heats. The race started off at a pedestrian pace with the athletes reaching the 1,000m point in 2.57, slowing even more over the second kilometre reached in just over six minutes.

Cotter was running comfortable in fourth place when the Russian athlete Ilgiza Safiullin exploded into the lead with less than 1,000m remaining. Cotter continued to battle all the way to the line and finished in fifth place in a time of 8:53.30. The gutsy performance earned him a well-deserved spot in the 3,000m final scheduled for 5pm on Thursday, 11th of July.

The evening session on day two of the athletics programme in Kazan sees no less than four Irish athletes in action. Jessie Barr (UL) will begin her campaign in the women's 400m hurdles at 15.06, followed by Amy Foster (UUJ) in the semi-finals of the 100m at 15.59. Brian Gregan (DCU) is also in semi-final action at 16.46 in the 400m and Ciara Everard (UCD) will conclude proceedings at 17.20 in semi-final 2 of the 800m.