Posted: August 25, 2007

Athletics (RRW): Most Favorites Advance In Men's 1500M Heats

From David Monti © 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com OSAKA (25-Aug) -- Most of the medal favorites advanced out of the first round of the men's 1500m as the track portion of the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics got underway this morning at Nagai Stadium. Asbel Kiprop, the Kenyan teenager who won the junior title at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships earlier this year, won the first heat over American Alan Webb, 3:40.65 to 3:40.73. Webb made a strong move coming into turn three on the last lap, closing his heat in 54 seconds for the final 400m. Juan Carlos Higuero, the Spaniard who won the European Indoor Championships at 1500m last February, finished third. Ukrainian star Ivan Heshko finished eighth and did not advance. The top-6 finishers in each heat plus the next six fastest times qualifed for Monday's semi-final. Webb did not talk to the media after his heat, striding past both the American television position and the written press. According to his manager, Ray Flynn, Webb is trying to maintain his focus on the competition and reduce potential distractions. Frenchman Mehdi Baala brought the field home in heat 2, the fastest of the three, in 3:38.65, just ahead of the enigmatic Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain. For Ramzi, the defending champion at these championships at both 800m and 1500m, it was his first race of the year. Although he led for much of the heat, New Zealand's Nick Willis stumbled in turn-3 of the final lap running very close to the curb, and finished seventh. Fortunately, he advanced on time in 3:40.18. Two-time Olympic medalist, Bernard Lagat of the USA, ran near the back of the field througout the third and final heat, before swinging wide through the final turn and finishing third behind Artur Casado of Spain and Gebremehdin Mekonnen of Ethiopia. "Kip," as he is known to his friends, is representing the USA for the first time at a major championship and is keen to win a medal for his adopted nation. "When the American flag is raised if I win, that's going to be huge for me," said Lagat. Regarding his teammate Webb, Lagat said he was probably the gold medal favorite. "Alan is going to be tough to beat." he said. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest