Posted: August 29, 2004

Athletics: Olympic Games Day Nine Report From Race Results Weekly

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Bob Ramsak

ATHENS --28-August-- Firmly etching their place in Olympic history, Kelly Holmes and Hicham El Guerrouj completed double victories to highlight a sensational conclusion to athletics competition at Olympic Stadium.

El Guerrouj, who arrived in Athens without an Olympic gold medal, won his second in five days when he outkicked 10,000 meter champion Kenenisa Bekele in the final thirty meters to become the first man to win the 1500 and 5000 in the same Olympics since Paavo Nurmi's double in 1924. Holmes added the 1500 to her 800 crown, the first woman to accomplish the feat since Svetlana Masterkova of Russia in 1996.

In these Games' Clash of Giants, El Guerrouj kicked past Bekele and world champion Eliud Kipchoge in the homestretch to win in 13:14.39, two-tenths of a second ahead of the Ethiopian. Kipchoge took the bronze in 13:15.10, ahead of Ethiopians Gebre Egziabher Gebremariam and Dejene Berhanu.

"Sure, I was scared of Bekele prior to the race," El Guerrouj said, speaking through a translator. "After seeing his last lap in the 10,000, I knew he was strong." But the Moroccan added that he was surprised by the race's slow pace which ultimate played into his hands.

"They made a big mistake," he said, referring to the Ethiopians and Kenyans. "Their strength is in their rhythm, and mine is in the finish. Now, they have to wait four more years to get their chance again. But I won't be there." Looking towards Bekele, El Guerrouj said with a smile, "But maybe I'll be with Bekele in the 10,000."

"I just had a bad day," Bekele said.

As he did after his 1500 win, El Guerrouj again mentioned the ghosts that had haunted him since his defeat in Sydney four years ago. "I almost stopped running then," he said. "In Sydney, I was crying like a child. Today, I am happy as a child."

In the women's 1500, Holmes ran a race similar to her gold medal winning effort in the 800, where she moved into striking position on the final bend. As she burst towards the finish, Holmes repeated looked to her right, as if expecting a challenge on the outside. None came. She won in 3:57.90, ending her Athens experience with a British national record.

"Words cannot express how I feel," said Holmes, whose Olympic journey since emerging on the international scene nearly a decade ago was plagued by injury, near-misses, and bouts of self-doubt. "The 800 was a total shock and today has just blown me away."

2003 World champion Tatyana Tomashova was second in 3:58.12. Romanian Maria Cioncan took the bronze in 3:58.12. With the first six women crossing the line in under four minutes, it was the greatest en masse finish ever in an Olympic 1500. Six of the top seven ran personal bests.

With a brilliantly executed kick, Yuriy Borzakovskiy silenced the critics that have shadowed his career with his gold medal run in the 800 metres.

Sixth at the bell and fourth heading into the final straight, the 23-year-old reached the line in 1:44.45 to claim the first individual gold medal for the Russian squad.

"I am just very happy to win this medal," Borzakovskiy said.

Since his win at the 2001 World Indoor championships as a 19-year-old, Borzakovskiy was widely hailed as the likely successor to World record holder Wilson Kipketer, who had dominated the event for much of the previous decade. But his inconsistent racing styles and unorthodox tactics led to as many big wins as id did frustrating losses. But on the sport's biggest stage, the Russian champion's sit-and-kick strategy worked.

Despite a season shortened by injury and illness, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa, this year's World Indoor champion, held off Kipketer to claim the silver, edging the Dane, 1:44.61 to 1:44.65.

"Deep down inside I knew I had the capacity to win a medal," said Mulaudzi, "but I didn't expect it to happen. I just had to do it."

For Kipketer, a three-time World champion and world standard-bearer in the event, his attempt for an Olympic gold medal once again fell short.

"I was too slow in the first 400," said Kipketer, who took the silver in 2000. "I could have risked it for the gold medal because I was in good condition for a better position."

Djabir Said-Guerni, the 2003 World Champion, had a hesitant leader at the break, with world leader Wilfred Bungei tailing closely 300 meters into the race. Kipketer and Mulaudzi were following a step behind. When the Algerian reached the half in 51.84, Bungei decided to up the tempo, and jumped to the front.

"When I saw that it was 51.8, I knew it was too slow, so I had to take it," Bungei said. With 200 to go, Kipketer moved in even with Bungei, briefly making it a two-man race. But Borzakovskiy, timing his finish perfectly, ran wide off the final bend, picking off his competitors one-by-one.

Moroccan Mouhssin Chehibi completed his coming out party in Athens, finishing fourth in 1:45.16, in front of Bungei's 1:45.31. Running in his third Olympics, Hezekiel Sepeng was sixth, clocking 1:45.53.

"Yes, it was very disappointing," the South African, who won the silver medal in 1996, said. "But this was Yuriy's kind of race. And he ran a terrific race."

Fading down the final stretch, Said Guerni drifted to seventh, clocking 1:45.61.

The Olympic Games conclude on Sunday with the running of the men's marathon.