Posted: February 21, 2007

Athletics: Three World Leads in Stockholm

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com Kenenisa Bekele solidified his position as the third fastest indoor 3000 meter runner ever after his 7:30.51 performance at the GE Galan meeting in Stockholm Tuesday night. Erratic early pacemaking left an assault on Daniel Komen’s formidable 7:24.90 world record out of reach after the first kilometer, where Bekele’s 2:31.87 was already nearly five seconds behind Komen’s pace from his record-setting run in Budapest in 1998. But the 24-year-old Ethiopian made up considerable ground in the middle kilometer, reaching 2200 meters in 5:29.77, just .3 seconds behind Komen’s pace, but paid for his effort over the remaining three laps. Nonetheless, his winning time knocked .26 seconds from his previous career indoor best from 2004, and was also faster than his 7:30.61 outdoor best over the distance that dates back to 2001. More than 15 seconds back, Mark Bett was the runner-up in 7:45.58, just ahead of Halil Akkas, whose 7:45.74 was a Turkish national record. Lidia Chojecka already had firm control of the women’s 1500 when she moved to the front with 300 meters to go, powering past Briton Helen Clitheroe en route to a 4.03.73 victory, also a world season’s best. 17 days ago, the 30-year-old Pole lowered her own national record in the 3000 to 8:38.21 behind Meseret Defar’s 8:23.72 world record run in Stuttgart. In Stockholm, she was just shy of her 4:03.58 personal best from three years ago. Though well beaten, both Clitheroe (4:05.81) and Slovenia’s Sonja Roman (4:06.75) added to their 2007 collection of career bests. Overtaking Dutchman Bram Som with 120 meters to go, world indoor champion Wilfred Bungei pounced to a 1:45.42 win in the 800, knocking .30 seconds from his own previous world-pacing performance in Stuttgart. Som, the reigning European champion, controlled much of the race and ran out of steam over the final 100 meters where he was easily overtaken by Amine Lalou. The young Moroccan, whose biggest career win to date was his 1:43.25 surprise win at last summer’s Golden Gala in Rome, crossed the line in 1:45.96 to become just the second runner to dip under 1:46 this year. Augustine Choge continued his rookie indoor season with a powerful display to take the 1500 in 3:33.79, a personal best. Like Chojecka, the 20-year-old Kenyan took the lead from Daniel Kipchirchir Komen with a lap-and-a-half to go, and held his position valiantly from Komen’s fierce final backstraight attack. Komen finished nearly a second back in 3:34.69, with Belal Ali Mansoor third (3:36.28). Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest