Mo Katir has established himself as one of the stars of the San Silvestre Vallecana and this Sunday he demonstrated it again by getting on the podium for the third consecutive year. However, like last year, this Sunday he came close to victory and only lost to the Ethiopian Berihu Aregawi, who at only 22 years old is already the world record holder in 5 kilometers on the road and the second best mark in history in 10K.
2024 is presented as a special year for Katir, in which all his wishes are focused on the Paris Olympic Games. However, there was still one unfinished business to close a brilliant year. Katir, bursting with confidence after winning silver in the 5,000m at the European Championships in the summer, began to lead the group in the San Silvestre Vallecana from the beginning. The pace, guided by the Muleño, was so fast at the beginning that only the Barcelonan Aarón Las Heras was able to keep up with the Muleño and the Ethiopian Berihu Aregawi, the two stars called to fight for this year's title.
However, logic prevailed in the second half of the test (10 kilometers) and the two favorites were left alone in a relentless fight for victory. Until two kilometers from the finish the Ethiopian, a marvel destined to reign in these distances for the next few years, pressed on the slopes of Vallecano to escape from Katir and launch himself to the finish line.
A star
The muleño is one of the fixed stars in the most prestigious San Silvestre in all of Spain. In 2021, Katir burst onto the top of the podium after almost 20 years without a Spanish winner, since Chema Martínez won in 2023. Since then, Kenyans and Ugandans have imposed a dominance in which only those chosen as Katir sneak in. In fact, in 2022, the Muleño achieved a historic double that was only taken from him by Joshua Cheptegei, the current world record holder in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
Mo Katir's next goal is set in just under a month, January 28, when the Eure rally will be held in the French town of Val-de-Reuil. There he will seek to break the European record for the mile, which is currently held by Josh Kerr.
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