Channelling the great Craig Mottram, little-known Australian Ky Robinson has gone within a whisker of claiming a shock medal in the men's 5000m at the world championships.
The US-based Queenslander, who did not even qualify for last year's Paris Olympics, flew home for fourth in 12 minutes 59.61 seconds, less than three tenths of a second behind French bronze medallist and 10,000m world champ Jimmy Gressier.
The gold went to Olympic 1500m champ Cole Hocker, from the US, in 12:58.30, a week after he was disqualified from the metric mile in Tokyo.
"Instantly when you get over the line, it's just sheer joy, sheer happiness," said the 23-year-old Robinson, who attends Stanford University in California.
"And a minute later the 'what-ifs' start kicking in, and it's like 'man, I'm one spot off a medal, what if I found a little bit more?'
"But that's hindsight.
"I feel like I was in the race, I was giving my all from a kilometre in, and I was just hoping that I could hang on for as long as possible."
It was the second-best performance by an Australian 5000m runner at a world championships, behind Mottram's historic bronze in Helsinki in 2005.
"He's probably Australia's greatest-ever runner, in terms of mid-distance," said Robinson.
"To go out there and do something similar to what he's done is definitely something to be proud of.
"He's someone I look up to.
"Hopefully, one day in the future, there's kids who can look up to me, and I can finish my career with some silverware around my neck as well."
Robinson had a significant breakthrough earlier this year when he finished third in the 3000m at the World Indoors in Nanjing, China.
One of his targets for 2026 is Mottram's long-standing 5000m national record of 12:55.76 which dates back to 2004.
"With how I ran tonight, I kind of wish that I had another race this season where I could go out and time trial it," said Robinson.
"At the same time, I'm very happy the season's over.
"It's been a long year, a lot of running, and I'm glad I get to take a break now.
"Hopefully I can get into a fast race where it's paced nicely and I can go target this record."
