El Guerrouj proves he is undisputed king of 1500 m
Morocco, Sports, 9/2/1998

Moroccan track and field star Hicham El-Guerrouj confirmed Tuesday his supremacy over the 1500 m race at the Berlin meet, part of the IAAF- Golden League events.

El-Guerrouj proved once again that he is the undisputed king of the 1500m. After a fast 800 m start triggered by African pacemakers, the Moroccan athlete had a huge lead over his opponents at the bell, and closed undisturbed in 3:30.23. Noah Ngeny of Kenya finished second 3.20 seconds after El Guerrouj while third place went to another Kenyan runner, Laban Rotich, with a 3:33.81 timing.

El Guerrouj is the only athlete to set a new world record at a Golden League meet when he smashed the mark for the 1500m in the Roman stage of the Golden League, the Golden Gala on 14th July, with an incredible 3:26.00.

After taking the race in Berlin for the sixth time in a row, El Guerrouj, as his arch-rival contenders namely: Ethiopian Haile Gebereselasie (Mid-Long Distance World champ) and American sprinters, Bryan Bronson (400 m man's Hurdler) and Marion Jones (100 m woman world champ), have all enhanced their odds of sharing the $1 million IAAF-Ericsson jackpot.

With their victories in the sixth leg of the IAAF Golden League, the Fabulous Four athletes look forward to continuing their triumphal march towards the IAAF financial prize on September 5 in Moscow, the IAAF-Grand Prix final.

The Golden League $1 million jackpot will be divided equally between all athletes winning the same event in the six Golden League meetings (Oslo, Rome, Monaco, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin) plus the IAAF-Grand Prix final.

Previous Stories:
  Good performance by Moroccan athletes at Rieti meet   (8/31/1998)
  El Guerrouj confirms supremacy in 1,500 m race   (8/13/1998)

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