The Spanish athlete of Moroccan origin adds to this medal the bronze medal he won in the 1500m at the last World Championships

Mo Katir wins silver for Spain in the 5000m at the European Athletics Championships

photo_camera REUTERS/LUKAS BARTH - Spain's Mohamed Katir celebrates after winning silver in the men's 5,000m final

Mo Katir is still in great shape and has won the silver medal for Spain in the 5000m at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, Germany. The Spanish athlete of Moroccan origin has reached this milestone after winning the bronze medal in the 1500m race at the recent World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA.

Once again, the athlete from Mula, Murcia, prepared at the High Performance Centre in Sierra Nevada, as he had done for the American event, and was once again in great shape to get the second place at the European Championships in the 5000m race held in Munich, where he was only beaten by the unbeatable Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The gold went to the 21-year-old Norwegian star with a time of 13:21.13. Katir's silver came with a time of 13:22.98, close on the heels of the winner. 

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The Spanish nationalised athlete was able to withstand the infernal pace of the Scandinavian athlete, who took the lead of a tough race with the last 1,000 metres to go, and held him off throughout the race only to concede in the final sprint that marked the final winner of the competition. 

Katir's medal was the fifth for the Spanish delegation after the gold and silver of Miguel Ángel López and Raquel González in the 35 km walk and the achievements of the team marathon, a silver and a bronze. 

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"It was a very dirty race, very slow. I don't understand why they didn't make a semi-final so that this wouldn't happen. There was a lot of nudging and it was impossible to run in a second lane. I wasn't comfortable until the last lap when Jakob changed," Katir told the Spanish media in Munich. "We adapted to everything, we fought until the end, but my legs just wouldn't go any more. I was happy to see that I was the only rival who could give Ingebrigtsen a scare. It wasn't easy for him to beat me because he had to push", said Katir, according to AS newspaper. 

"It's been a great summer, even if I had to sacrifice my performances. I have achieved the world bronze and the European silver medal. I want to dedicate it to my mother, my father and my girlfriend who has been helping me in my preparation in Sierra Nevada", said the Spanish athlete.

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In this way, the 24 year old athlete born in Alcazarquivir, Morocco, becomes the great reference in the long and middle distance of Spanish athletics, picking up the baton of great names from the past such as the Olympic champion Fermín Cacho, from whom he already took the Spanish record in the 1500m, or the also medalist Reyes Estévez. His sights are already set on next year's World Championships and the coveted Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

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