Distance runner remembers the Bislett Games in Oslo in July 1988 when he won the 10,000m in a British record of 27:23.06

I was still working for Ford at that point – officially as a testing and development engineer, testing all of the various components around the car. When I came back from the 1984 Olympic Games, the powers that be there met me and asked: “Is there anything we can do to help?” 

I’d gone to Europe after those Olympics and raced in Cologne and Koblenz, as did Dave Moorcroft, and I spent quite a bit of time with him. He told me that he’d tried full-time working, part-time working and being a full-time athlete. He found that by far the best balance had been working part-time and having a purpose each day so that he wasn’t just hanging around waiting to train.

So, when Ford came to me, I said I could do with working shorter hours per day – from 10am until 3.15pm – and they sanctioned it. From 1984 onwards, that’s exactly what happened.

I just absolutely grabbed it and made the best use of it, thinking I was incredibly fortunate to have been given this opportunity. I had plenty of time in the morning: to train, to stretch, to shower, to do breakfast properly and go to work.

I hadn’t really changed my winter, I think I’d added just a couple of miles to the Sunday run, and I just got better and better and stronger and stronger.

Then, in the transition from winter into spring, I was doing some bigger sessions on the track and they were going fantastically well.

That’s when Mel Batty, my coach, said: “You should really dip your toe in the water at 10,000m this season.” I thought that sounded like a really good idea.

I was doing big sessions at Basildon and, one time, [1980 Olympian] Barry Smith came over.

I told him: “I’m looking at running the Bislett 10,000m on Saturday.” He joined in, did half a session, then watched the second half.

He said to me: “That was absolutely amazing. On Saturday, you’re either going to run a blinder or you’re going to go too fast and the wheels are going to come off.”

I still had to get my head around the 10,000m. Nevertheless, if you are a track runner at 5000m, and physically doing great sessions – and mentally they’re tough as well – you kind of feel ready for it. And that’s what I was doing. 

It had rained a little before the race. The air was slightly oxygenated. It was dead still and cool inside. They scheduled the 10,000m for late evening – just before the Dream Mile, which Steve Cram won. It made it a long old day. 

In 1988, I won the 5000m in Zurich and came second in Edinburgh – I’d had a very good season, coming off a comeback year in 1987. After 1984, I kept suffering Achilles problems, having good winters but tough summers. But, that year, I’d raced quite a bit.

Everything was pointing towards 27:30 and the British record in Oslo if it all went incredibly well. That was my opinion. That was Mel’s opinion. 

Everything suggested it, so I thought I would work my way to the front group, hang on and then really start to think tactically from maybe four laps out, depending how it was going. And that’s exactly what happened.

It was a 13:43 first 5km. I was pretty pleased with that, because I felt really, really good and really comfortable. Gradually, it got whittled down to four of us: Hansjörg Kunze of East Germany, Arturo Barrios the Mexican and Salvatore Antibo of Italy.

With two laps to go, I felt the pace was dropping. I heard the time and I just quickly did the calculation. I thought: “I don’t want this pace to drop because I’m well inside the British record. If we do a 65 lap, I can probably run a 55 at least, if not faster.” Two minutes for the last 800m was just in my head.

I went to the front, just to keep the pace going, but I felt really comfortable. I had to make sure I was inside the British record. I’ve never really thought like that, because I’d always thought about winning the race and that was still my priority.

We got to the bell. Barrios and Antibo were there and I let them overtake me, because I quite like attacking from behind. With 300m to go, I thought: “I feel brilliant. What am I doing?”

Off I went. I thought I’d sprint from there to the finish and that’s what I did. I think I ran 26 seconds for the last 200m, which is why it was seven seconds inside Brendan Foster’s record.

People say about the tactics. You have to be aware that there were some seasoned runners in there and I thought I might be hanging on for dear life towards the end of the race and just using my sprint. But I was feeling good and that was probably the really pleasant surprise.

Two months later, I didn’t finish in the Olympic 10,000m final. It was two races. I always felt that it was almost ridiculous: running qualifying heats in the 10,000m. Runners are all different and different physical sizes. As a runner, I was probably more on the heavy side so I didn’t think that naturally lent itself to recovery.

Also, I was in great shape for 5000m. I got almost morally pressurised into the 10,000m because I was the British record-holder but I wasn’t an experienced runner. I was a much better 5000m runner then.

When I went to the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991, they actually had the heat of the 10,000m on the Friday and the final on the Sunday. At least at the Olympics, it had been Friday and then Monday. I ran 28:23.42 in the heat on the Friday on a really hard track. My legs were not in good shape. When I tried to get massage out there, I struggled. The masseurs had gone to bed when I finished the race.

Now it’s one-off races at major championships, which is much better. That doesn’t make it easy, but it makes it much better because you’re not recovering from a 10,000m just before you race the final. I’m glad that changed for the better of the sport. 

The game between the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz on Monday night started 40 minutes later than scheduled due to what the Spurs termed "a potential security threat, which has impacted fans entering the AT&T Center.''

Players and staff for both teams, stadium employees and a few thousand fans were already inside when the announcement was made. No one was evacuated, but no more fans were allowed to enter for about half an hour.

Fans were allowed in again after law enforcement determined there was no threat, leading to a 40-minute delay.

"We apologize to all of our fans who experienced delays entering the AT&T Center this evening," Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said in a statement. "The safety of our guests is always of utmost importance. We're pleased tonight's issue has been resolved. Thank you for patience."

Lauri Markkanen, who had 32 points for Utah, said after the game, "We were just about to run out of the tunnel to come out for warm-ups, but they told us to go back to the locker room.

"It's a weird thing. That's the first time I've experienced that, but I think guys did a great job of just staying locked in and controlling what we can control.''

The delay or a weekend holiday break for both teams likely contributed to a sluggish start that resulted in a combined 19 points in the opening six minutes.

The Spurs beat the Jazz 126-122 to snap a two-game skid.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DETROIT -- Paul George scored 32 points, and the LA Clippers overcame a 14-point deficit in the final 3 minutes of regulation to beat the Detroit Pistons 142-131 in overtime on Monday night.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue pulled his starters when his team fell behind 126-112, but a lineup of Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, Nicolas Batum and Moses Brown finished the fourth quarter with a 16-2 run. Mann hit a tying jumper with 5 seconds left in regulation.

"You have to give those guys credit for staying ready," Lue said. "They came out and played with some urgency. Amir and Moses hadn't played in the game, so for them to come in and produce like the way they did was huge."

Entering play Monday, NBA teams were 2-12,873 in the play-by-play era (since 1996-97) when trailing by 14 or more points with 3 minutes remaining; the Clippers were 0-417. The only wins were by the Hawks on March 17, 1997, against the Magic and by the Kings on Jan. 27, 2020, against the Timberwolves. Since that Sacramento victory, teams in that scenario had lost 1,467 games.

But the Clippers overcame the odds, then outscored Detroit 14-3 in the extra period.

Ivica Zubac added 12 points and 15 rebounds for Los Angeles, which has beaten Detroit eight straight times. The Clippers had seven players score in double figures.

Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with 23 points, including the Pistons' only field goal of the last eight minutes. Isaiah Stewart added 21 points for NBA-worst Detroit.

"We were down 15 points in the third quarter, fought our way back, got the lead and had a comfortable lead with three minutes left," Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. "They threw in the towel, and we have to learn how to win that game. I'm proud of the way we put ourselves into position to beat one of the best teams in the West, but we didn't get it."

George scored five points in the first minute of overtime, and baskets by Kennard and Mann gave the Clippers a 138-131 lead with 2:45 left.

The Clippers led by five at the half and expanded the margin to 88-73 midway through the third quarter. However, the Pistons answered with a 21-5 run, taking a 92-91 lead on Stewart's dunk.

Stewart's 3-pointer made it 119-112 with 5:23 left. After a Clippers miss, Bogdanovic's short jumper put the Pistons up by nine and forced Lue to call timeout.

Stewart's three-point play with 3:34 left capped a 53-24 stretch that started with 6:48 left in the third quarter. From there, the Pistons shot 1-of-12 with five turnovers and two missed free throws.

"They took their starters out, and we thought the game was over," Stewart said. "We had the lead and we didn't finish the game. That's completely on us, not the coaches."

Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer on Detroit's first possession of overtime, but the Pistons missed their last five shots and turned the ball over three times.

"I thought our defense is what changed the game," Lue said. "We were rebounding the ball and we had deflections and steals."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CLEVELAND -- Prior to leading his team to its ninth straight win -- a 125-117 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night -- Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughn acknowledged what he thought was the key to his team's recent hot play.

"Basketball," Vaughn said before the game. "We have not steered away from today is today. The most important part of today is we're trying to win this ballgame. When we step into the gym every single day it's about basketball. How we're going to take care of each other on the floor, cover for each other on the floor, it's about basketball."

It was a difference noticeable to many across the league who have watched the talented group go from an up-and-down emotional roller coaster to the hottest team in the NBA -- one that tied the league's longest winning streak after Monday night's performance.

"From the outside looking in," Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said before the game, "it appears basketball is the main thing."

That didn't appear to always be the case for the Nets. After getting off to a rocky start on the court, Kyrie Irving came under fire after he shared a social media post promoting a movie containing antisemitic ideas and was subsequently suspended for eight games. Steve Nash was out as head coach soon after.

Vaughn says he has helped get the team back on track by keeping things simple.

"I am a simple person," Vaughn said after Monday's game. "And really try to keep things simple. And so really stressed what was going to be beneficial for our team. And whether that was the amount of time we spent in shootarounds, the amount of time we shaved [off] and kept our guys fresh, in order to give an extreme amount of effort when we play. And that was kind of the goal, we created a little momentum that way.

"We stripped our playbook down a little bit, we are simple in what we do ... have our guys play extremely free of mind. I think there's something important in that if you're going to ask your guys to play hard."

Vaughn took over as interim head coach on Nov. 1 after Nash and the Nets parted ways before becoming the full-time coach a week later. He pointed to a shootaround on Nov. 4 in Washington, D.C., as a turning point for the group's season. It was there, before a game against the Washington Wizards, and less than a day after Irving's suspension was finalized, that Vaughn spoke to the group and was "as vulnerable as I could be."

Vaughn's message was simple.

"I'm going to try and be as consistent as I possibly can with you every day," he told his team. "And as honest as I can."

The simplicity in Vaughn's message, followed up by the MVP-level play from Kevin Durant, is the reason the Nets have completely turned their season around. Their trust on the floor is palpable, they are getting contributions up and down the roster, and they have focused on what has been in front of them. This is the Nets' longest winning streak since the 2005-06 season, their 13th win in their past 14 games, and they are now 10-1 in December.

"We're playing on both ends, competing hard," Nets swingman Royce O'Neale explained. "Everybody's taking accountability. Defensively, we've got each other's back, and offensively we're getting great shots and everybody's being unselfish."

Notably, Durant said he felt the Nets' focus has been where it needed to be all along.

"To be honest, I think we've always been about ball," Durant said after scoring 32 points in Monday's win. "No disrespect to what you guys do, I just think the outside world, with media and fans, just makes it seem like we don't care about the game or we are not focused on the task at hand, but I thought we've always been that way [about being focused]. It's a fact that you don't have much to talk about outside of the game, so that's not adding to the discussion around our team."

It's worth noting that Durant, like many within the organization, has acknowledged frustration about the entire situation in the wake of both Irving's suspension and his team's struggles. But those days feel long ago given that the Nets have changed the tenor around their season by going on this winning streak.

"Everybody has a platform," Durant said. "So there's so many voices speaking on what we do inside our locker room, when they don't really have an idea, I think that's the noise that you hear. But from us we've always been about the game. We struggled early on, I'm not saying we didn't struggle, but we always were focused on playing basketball. I think that other people were trying to look for stuff to put on our team, label our team, whatever. I know the Kyrie stuff may be what you're talking about, but I feel like we've always been about the game, always."

Durant said that while he had to explain the situation to those close to him, he also praised Vaughn for the way he has simplified things for the group.

"I had so many friends like, 'Yo, K, are you all right, man?'" Durant said. "'Man, there's so much craziness going on with y'all.' I'm like, 'Seriously? It's not really that crazy. Like we don't talk about this s---, we come in, go to work and go home.' There's more noise on the outside, to be honest, and it's been like that since day one. But what we did was simplify both ends of the basketball.

"And shored up our roles individually, Coach shored up our roles, and pretty much each day what he needed from us, and I think that's been the focus. So it's not like, 'Man, finally we got the noise out of our locker room.' I just think we've always been locked in on basketball and trying to help us get this thing back on track."

While Durant tried to keep the focus on how solid he believes his team mindset has been, Vaughn admitted that the key has been group's pushing out all the distractions off the court -- which has allowed the Nets to focus on improving on it.

"Without a doubt it's part of it," Vaughn said. "And we stressed that, when we came back as a group we kind of pledged to each other that it was going to be about basketball. And hopefully not let anything interfere, any outside noise interfere with that, and our guys have done an unbelievable job of protecting each other and making this thing about basketball."

For his part, Irving was asked if he agreed with the assessment that the focus was back on the floor.

"For me, personally, I think I just put myself aside at times," Irving said, after scoring 32 points. "Just trust what we got going on ... any external negativity or praise I really don't care about it. I'm just focused on being the best version of me and letting the results play out based on how well can you trust one another as a group."

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- Jaroslav Chmelar and Matous Mensik scored 33 seconds apart during a five-minute power play as the Czech Republic stunned Canada 5-2 in the opener for both countries at the world junior hockey championship on Monday.

Stanislav Svozil and David Spacek had a goal and an assist each, and David Moravec provided the rest of the offense for the underdog Czechs.

Goaltender Tomas Suchanek was stellar in making 36 saves and an assist behind a structured, determined group.

Shane Wright, with a goal and an assist, and Connor Bedard scored for Canada. Benjamin Gaudreau allowed five goals on 17 shots before being replaced by Thomas Milic in the second period. Milic finished with 10 saves for the suddenly wobbly tournament favorites.

SWITZERLAND 3, FINLAND 2, OT

Attilio Biasca scored 41 seconds into overtime as Switzerland opened the tournament with a 3-2 win over Finland in Moncton, New Brunswick.

Lorenzo Canonica and Jeremy Jabola also scored for Switzerland. Jonas Taibel had two assists, while Kevin Pasche stopped 14 shots.

Konsta Kapanen and Kalle Vaisanen scored for Finland. Aku Koskenvuo made 24 saves.

Finland was the runner-up at the last world juniors, falling to Canada 3-2 in overtime in August.

SWEDEN 11, AUSTRIA 0

Filip Bystedt and Isak Rosen each had two goals and an assist as Sweden got off to a blazing start with an 11-0 drubbing of Austria in Halifax.

Carl Lindbom had 13 saves while also dishing out an assist for Sweden.

Thomas Pfarrmaier stopped 23 of 29 shots in 30:28 of action before being pulled for Benedikt Oschgan, who allowed five goals on 22 shots for Austria.

UNITED STATES 5, LATVIA 2

Luke Hughes, Red Savage, Chaz Lucius, Sean Behrens and Jimmy Snuggerud scored for the powerful United States in its opener in Moncton.

Anri Ravinskis and Niks Fenenko scored for Latvia.

The teams were scoreless after the first period and tied 2-2 heading into the final frame. The U.S. outshot Latvia 46-17.