Posted: August 2, 2007

Athletics (RRW): Lagat Looking For Strong Osaka Tune-Up In London

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com by Bob Ramsak With just over three weeks remaining before the start of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, American 1500m record holder Bernard Lagat will be looking for one last high profile tune-up tomorrow night at the Norwich Union London Grand Prix in the British capital. Lagat, who won the 5000m and finished third in the 1500 at the U.S. championships in late June, will be aiming for his first solid outing over the shorter distance since his runner-up finish in the Prefontaine Classic mile on June 10. In his most recent 1500m races, Lagat was a distant seventh at the Golden League meet in Paris on July 6, and a well-beaten third at the Norwich Union International on July 15. Alan Webb, who's been on a tear over the past month after his world-leading 3:30.54 victory in Paris, his U.S. record in the mile and a sub-1:44 career best in the 800 last week in Heusden, Belgium, has opted out of the London race to nurse a sore hamstring. "It was precautionary to not run in London in light of the World Championships," said Webb's manager Ray Flynn, in an email to RRW. "It was nothing serious and he is back to training and doing well." With Webb on the sidelines, Lagat's primary challenge could come from Andrew Baddeley, Great Britain's most recent metric mile hope. The 25-year-old Beat Lagat in Sheffield with a 3:34.78 career best, exactly one month after clocking a solid 3:51.95 in the Dream Mile in Oslo where he finished third. Since his double duty at the U.S. Championships, Lagat has kept his options open regarding the world championships, and is expected to make his final decision over which event --or perhaps both-- he'll contest in Osaka. The London program also includes a men's 2 mile race featuring Craig Mottram in his first outing since his solid defeat by Kenenisa Bekele in the Sheffield 3000m, and 800 and 3000m contests on the women's side. The shorter race is primarily a domestic affair, with the final team slot to be decided, while the longer race features Briton Jo Pavey and Americans Lauren Fleshman and Deena Kastor. Friday's meeting at London's Crystal Palace and Tuesday's DN Galan in Stockholm are the last two major one-day meetings prior to the world championships which begin on August 25. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest