herald sun reportsDISTANCE star Craig Mottram has made a stunning return to competition after 12 months on the sidelines, dominating an international field in the opening leg of the Chiba Ekiden Relay in Japan.
Mottram, who was forced to take a year off because of a serious achilles injury, led out the Australian team in the six-stage race, clocking an impressive 13min 23sec that was just one second outside the 5km course record.
While Nikki Chappel did a good job to stay in second place in her 5km leg - she ran 15min 27sec - the rest of the inexperienced Australian team struggled to hold the position, finishing seventh out of 15 behind winner Japan.
For Mottram, his comeback could not have gone better as he took over with 1.5km remaining and sprinted clear to win by nine seconds from Japan's Yuichiro Ueno.
Athletics Australia's national distance co-ordinator Tim O'Shaughnessy was excited by Mottram's performance.
"It was good to see him back and it was a very positive step for the future," he said.
"The impressive thing was the way he did it as he just dominated the end of the race.
"He took over at 3.5km and finished just outside the course record. More importantly, he was very happy with the run."
After the disappointment of the Beijing Olympics where he was run out in the heats of the 5000m, Mottram split with long-time coach Nic Bideau and was then forced to the sidelines with the achilles problem that he had carried for a couple of years.
The 29-year-old, now coached by Chris Wardlaw, is confident he can get back to being one of the best distance runners in the world.
Monday night's performance in Japan suggests he is on track.
Mottram will be in action at Sunday's Great Australian Run, but he will be only jogging the 15km road race as part of his ambassadorial role.
The world's best female marathoner, German Irina Mikitenko, has been forced to withdraw because of illness, while 2004 Olympic bronze medallist, American Deena Kastor, is not making the trip because of family issues.
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