I'm happy, if I hadn't even run a World Cup yet!

Mo Katir makes it clear as soon as he begins his explanations that the expectations offered by his summer, his three national records, the victory over Ingebrigtsen in Monaco in the 1,500.

"Anyone cannot say that they are an Olympic finalist in 5,000. This is not easy because there is a lot of level. People think that it is easy to get here and win a medal. People have to understand who Chelimo is, who Cheptegei is and I am a rookie in the Games", he said to try to explain his standard. "It had been years since a Spaniard had reached an Olympic final of 5,000m. And not only that, I was eighth. For me that is a great achievement," he added.

The way of running, not very fast, but with acceleration as these types of tests are run, is still not familiar terrain for the Muleño. "There are people who have more experience in running like this. Running fast, fine, but like this... I lack it. I have a great mark (12.50), but Cheptegei has the world record at 12.35. It is that There is no comparison. I still have a lot to learn. I'm 23 years old and I still have a long way to go. I can't demand more of myself. I gave everything and my rivals were superior".

"You don't always win. Sometimes you lose. Maybe on a screen it looks easy, but if you were here you would see that it's not. I've never been to an Olympic Games. Not even a World Cup. I can't say anything. It's my first championship! I'm going home happy and continuing to improve. Perhaps some of the athletes now, at 23 years old, weren't very good. I still have experience to gain and you have to believe in me". Looking ahead to Paris 2024, it's still early days. "Next year there's a World Cup and I'll have another year of experience. I think I can do better there, but you have to keep working hard and have a little patience."