George Mills – 3000m silver medalist
The men’s 3000m was really all about who would come second! Realistically, Jakob Ingebrigtsen was always going to win it. George Mills was determined to keep everyone honest – leading and pushing the pace on. Jakob eventually took the lead and was not going to be caught but equally never completely shook off Mills.
Mills, who finished second in 7:49.41, said afterwards: “I came here to win and to compete and that is what I tried to do. On paper, a silver was the bare minimum of what I should have so anything less would have been a disappointment. I guess we did what we expected but we need to improve.
“Watching the 3k races in Europeans in the past and the 1500 as well, looking at how they have been run and knowing how Jakob runs, of course you are aware of what he is going to do. I wanted to be the position up front so I was in control of where I wanted to be. I didn’t want to get caught out too far back and miss a jump when people made moves.
“You can see from the race I was always in a good position and able to defend various attacks when different people tried to move to the front. So I could have a very smooth controlled race, so I could get the most out of the race”.
George Mills is one of the most dedicated athletes I have ever encountered. In a recent chat with the GB athletics writers he explained his approach to life and training. Here are some of the highlights
“I spent the whole winter in Dullstroom, South Africa. Same as always. Eat, sleep, train. It’s a special place. I personally love it, hence why I spend so much time there. But there’s not much going on. Maybe a couple of coffee shops, a couple of restaurants. We’ve a gym set up, there’s some good trails to run on and for me that’s all I need…
“My lunch? Just chicken and rice. Not a lot. Simple. Flavour doesn’t make you fast”.
His assessment of Jakob says a lot about his approach: “Obviously he’s a phenomenal athlete. Everyone’s got a target on their backs right? So I’m going to Apeldoorn to compete. In this sport no one is invincible. If you do everything right yourself and you’re 100 per cent on the day, anything is possible”.
Mills, who is coached by Thomas…
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