Posted: September 3, 2004

Athletics: El Guerrouj, Adere, Shaheen Headline Van Damme Memorial

From David Monti

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

By Bob Ramsak

Brussels, BEL -- Double Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj, and world champions Berhane Adere and Saif Saaeed Shaheen headline this evening's Memorial Van Damme, the fifth of the six-meet TDK Golden League Series.

El Guerrouj, who became the first 1500/5000 double Olympic winner since 1924, will contest the 3000 here, where he'll face Athens 5000 meter bronze medallist Eliud Kipchoge. Rumors that a planned assault on Daniel Komen's 7:20.67 world record, set eight years ago, is in the making have not been confirmed. El Guerrouj won the 3000 here in 1999 in 7:23.09, still the second fastest performance ever.

Adere, the reigning 10,000 meter world champion, and Shaheen, the reigning world champion in the steeplechase, both absent from Athens, are promising fast performances. Adere, who was left off the Ethiopian Olympic squad, said she hopes to challenge Elvan Abeylegesse's 14:24.68 world record in the 5000, to prove the Ethiopian selectors wrong. Shaheen, the former Kenyan Stephen Cherono, will face two-thirds of Kenya's podium sweep --silver and bronze medallists Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele Koech. Kipkirui Misoi has been given pacing duty, targeting Brahim Boulami's 7:55.28 set here in 2001.

Physical and emotional post-Olympic fatigue --"Putting together a field five days after the Olympics was much harder than five days after the Paris World Championships last year," meeting Director Wilfred Meert said yesterday-- has left its mark on the start lists, although 46 recently-minted Olympic medallists are expected this evening. Among notable absentees are Ethiopia's Olympic contingent, who remained in Addis Ababa for last night's ceremony hosted by the nation's president.

18 of the 32 sub-27 minute performances in the 10,000 meters have been run in Brussels, and a solid field could add to that total this evening. Nicholas Kemboi, last year's surprise after his 26:30.03 runner-up finish behind Haile Gebreselassie, returns. Ugandan Boniface Kiprop, fourth in Athens, said he's here specifically to turn in his breakthrough race.

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Wilson Kipketer, the Olympic silver and bronze medallists in the 800, compete here as well, along with world leader and defending champion Wilfred Bungei. Russians Tatyana Tomashova, the Olympic silver medallist, and Olga Yegorova, undefeated prior to her sub par performance in Athens, lead the women's 1500 field, while Olympic silver medallist Bernard Lagat headlines the men's.

Olympic champions Tonique Williams-Darling (400m) of the Bahamas, Felix Sanchez (400m Hurdles) of the Dominican Republic, and Swede Christian Olsson (Triple Jump), along with high jump silver medallist Hestrie Cloete of South Africa, continue their quest for a share of the million dollar Golden League jackpot. A sell-out crowd of 47,000 is expected at the Stade Roi Baudouin.