NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Ngeny runs season's fastest 1500m

Kenya's Noah Ngeny continued to flirt with middle-distance records at the Paris Golden League athletics meeting on Wednesday, clocking the fastest 1,500 metres this season.

Ngeny, who pushed Hicham El Guerrouj to the mile world record in Rome two weeks ago and narrowly missed breaking Sebastian Coe's 1,000m mark at the weekend in Nice, has been the revelation this season, having also clocked the top four 1,500m times this year.

In a display of his growing confidence and form, the 20-year-old Ngeny calmly followed pacemakers through the opening two laps on a cool, blustery Paris evening.

He then blasted past reigning Olympic and three-time world champion Noureddine Morceli in the final 300 metres, storming home in three minutes 28.84 seconds -- the seventh fastest 1,500m ever run and a new Kenyan national record.

"I knew right from the beginning that I would not beat the World record," said Ngeny. "However, I wanted to break the Kenyan record which I did. It's just a pity the weather conditions weren't perfect."

The meet began with seven athletes chasing a share of the $1 million Golden League jackpot and finished with only four, American sprint queen Marion Jones, Romania's Gabriela Szabo, Denmark's Wilson Kipketer and Kenya's Bernard Barmasai, still in the hunt for a big payday.

The showdown between Jones and France's European champion Christine Arron failed to produce an upset as the American romped to her 18th consecutive 200m victory in a time of 21.99 seconds.

Arron, the 100m European champion and record holder, was never a factor, trailing from the gun and finishing a distant fourth in 22.47.

Szabo produced a season's best time in the 3,000m to keep alive her chances of sharing in the jackpot.

Stalked by Zarah Ouaziz right from the gun, Szabo finally pulled away from the determined Moroccan in the final 100 metres, crossing the line in a time of eight minutes 25.59 seconds and ripping almost two seconds off the previous best time of the season.

"I'm a little disappointed, even if I did improve the world-best performance," said Szabo. "I had to use all my reserves. I'm in good condition at the moment but I was surprised by Zahra Ouaziz who held on until the last 200 metres.

Kipketer, demonstrating that last year's disappointing campaign and a bout of malaria are well behind him, racked up his third 800m Golden League victory of the season, the world record holder coasting home in a pedestrian time of 1:44.89 after losing a shoe in the final sprint.

South Africa's Hezequiel Sepeng, the Olympic silver medallist, was a well beaten second in 1:45.22.

"My goal is simply to run a good race, one by one," said Kipketer. "I can't explain what happened with the shoe.
"But the important thing is that I won the race and I remain unbeaten in the Golden League."

Barmasai, the 3,000m steeplechase world record holder, was also an easy winner, clocking a comfortable 8:05.71, almost two seconds clear of Morocco's Ali Ezzine.

Double Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova of Russia waved good-bye to her chance of athletic's biggest payday when she was soundly beaten by Mozambique's Maria Mutola in the 800m.

Mutola, a former-world champion, charged to the lead as the field crossed the line the first time and was never challenged, easing home ahead of Austria's Stephanie Graf in 1:58.25.

Masterkova, the winner of 800 and 1,500m gold in Atlanta, was a distant fourth in1:59.05.

"I'm very disappointed," said Masterkova. "I nearly fell at the end of the first lap. I have a problem with my ankle which stopped me from running the way I wanted."

Jamaica's James Beckford brought American Erik Walder's Golden League dreams to an end with a victory in the long jump.

Beckford, the former World and Olympic silver medallist, posted a winning jump of 8.42m while Walder could do no better than 10th place with a leap of 7.78.

American hurdler Allen Johnson forfeited his chances of a share in the jackpot when he pulled out because of injury.

UNI