Ireland’s Mark Carroll has won his share of races, and gained his share of fame. But legendary countrymen Marcus O’Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan built much of their careers by winning Millrose’s prestigious Wanamaker Mile 13 times, and they told their young compatriot his resume would never be complete without one of his own.
Consider the resume complete. Carroll, the third seed, ran a 3:58.19 in front of 14,733 at the Garden to upset Kenyans Laban Rotich and William Tanui, the top seed and the defending champ, respectively. And when he held the gleaming Wanamaker Mile Trophy aloft, he had joined a prestigious fraternity of Irish milers.
“It’s the Wanamaker Mile. It’s obviously a great race to win in your career, especially being Irish like Eamonn Coghlan and Marcus O’Sullivan,” said Carroll, who came from behind in the last quarter-mile to snatch the win from Rotich. “Those guys tell me you can run all of those [fast] times, but your trophy case won’t be full until you win this one.”
He’d run his share of fast times before. His 3:54.98 mile last month at the 168th Street Armory stands as the fastest in the world this winter. Still, Rotich was the top seed, ahead of countryman Tanui, who had won the event last year in 3:59.24. Carroll was the third seed, but he wasn’t intimidated by that or the fast, early pace the Kenyans set.
The rabbit — or pacesetter — was to have gone out in a blisteringly quick 1:53 half-mile; even the 1:56 he ended up running was more than fast enough. Rotich had a healthy lead through the midway point, but Carroll moved up to draft off his shoulder.
If Rotich had expected Carroll to panic and make a move, the Providence grad didn’t. He just waited, and waited, and coming around for the ninth lap of the 11-lap race he made his move and jumped to the front. And his move was a strong one, powerful enough to break Rotich. Fellow Irishman James Nolan went by the Kenyan as well, finishing second in 4:00.06. Rotich took third in 4:01.93, and Arkansas grad Seneca Lassiter ran fourth in 4:01.94.
“They were talking about how they were going to go out in 1:54; sometimes it’s a tactic to put it in people’s minds, almost like calling a bluff,” Carroll said. “Staying patient, staying controlled and running your own race is the way to go.”
So it would seem; it worked for the latest Chairman of The Boards.
