Dominic Carroll embodies the true spirit of Barcelona 2010 – European Athletics (EAA) – News

Much of the focus during the 20^th European Athletics Championships in Barcelona will, quite rightly, be thrust upon those in the hunt for a podium place, but perhaps the true spirit of the event is best encapsulated by Gibraltarian sprinter Dominic Carroll.

For the first time in history all member federations are sending at least one athlete to the European Athletics Championships – and Carroll is the man tasked with flying the flag for the nation nestled on the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula.

Yet although the 100m sprinter is entered alongside the likes of Great Britain’s World Indoor 60m champion Dwain Chambers and French sprint sensation Christophe Lemaitre, his background is more akin to the amateur past of a bygone era rather than that of the ultra-professional modern athlete.

This is because in the countdown to the championships the 26-year-old Carroll has been working seven days a week to make ends meet. On weekdays he is a trainee draughtsman and to top up his modest income he has been working nearly 11-hours a day each Saturday and Sunday at a petrol station. He trains on his own  has no medical support but as the country’s top ranked athlete – with a 100m personal best of 10.75 – Carroll takes his place alongside Europe’s top sprinters in Barcelona.

“I only found out I was competing a couple of weeks ago,” said Carroll. “It’s not even my natural event as I’m more of a 400m runner but I have to contribute to my country. I’m proud to be here, but the reality is I am in a race where there is a huge gap between me and the top guys. Maybe if there is good weather I can get my PB down to 10.6 something.”

Carroll started out as a promising middle-distance athlete in his youth, but his career stalled during his mid-teens due to the lack of resources his country can devote to athletics.

However, he was determined to fulfil his potential and chose to study architectural design in the UK at UWIC, a Welsh university with a reputation for athletics excellence.

During his time there he lived with a houseful of international athletes including David Greene, the European 400m hurdles No1 for Great Britain, and although his athletics career did not quite blossom as he hoped he was grateful for the experience to rub shoulders with a group of elite athletes.

He switched from a 400/800m runner to a 100m sprinter in the Welsh capital and candidly admitted: “I wasn’t ready for the dedication that was required. By the time I realised I had to adapt to the UK-style of training, university was over and I was back home.”

Carroll, though, who was born to an Irish mother and Gibraltarian father, has not been surprised by Greene’s subsequent success.

“I always knew out of everyone in the group he would step up, because even though he was having injury problems he was still performing well and running quick times,” he added.

“What he did in his semi-final (running a PB of 48.27 at the World Championships) last year was special. It was great to see my former house-mate do that.”

Carroll has been in phone contact with Greene earlier this week, but the Gibraltarian has his own ambitions and he is determined to make the most of his talent, but knows it is tough.

He consistently struggles with injury issues because he has no medical support and says his body “is falling to pieces”

He is also hamstrung by a lack of competitive opportunities and the European Championships will only be his third outing of the season and his last one – an 11.1 clocking into a stiff headwind – was far from glamorous.

“I ran an exhibition race for the IAAF World Athletics Day in Gibraltar,” he explained. “It was mainly for kids from Middle School, so I was running in front of kids and their parents.”

But in tomorrow’s (Tuesday’s) heats it will be far more than just kids and parents. He will have the eyes of millions across Europe on his heat of the 100m where he will play a small, but crucial role, in putting Gibraltar on the map. Watch out for him as Carroll’s story may be just as compelling as any athlete’s inside the Olympic Stadium this week.

 European Athletics (EAA) – News