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Jim Dunaway who has attended every Olympic Games since Melbourne in 1956 brings his own weathered eye on what’s been happening in and around the last day of the Athletics events at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. 
--------------- 
Rats!
This was supposed to be a wrap-up for these Olympic columns, perhaps reflecting upon the high points of the past ten days and letting my thoughts drift idly wherever they might happen to go.
As they say in New York, 'Fuggedaboudit!' 
Some 36 kilometres into the men's marathon, the 301st and final event of these Games of the 28th modern Olympiad, some clown comes out of the crowd and grabs the leader, Vanderlei Lima of Brazil, and shoves him halfway across the road and into the crowd on the other side. 
Talk about a shock! Lima, a 2:08:31 marathoner, had taken over the race at 20 km, and over the next ten kilometres, while the sun was setting, had built up a 46-second lead over a group of eight runners. Between 30 and 35 km, three of the pursuers set out to chase Lima down, Stefano Baldini, a top Italian marathoner, Paul Tergat of Kenya, the World record holder, and Meb Keflezighi, an Eritrean-born American.
The three of them had cut the margin to 28 seconds at 35 kilometres, and they were gaining on Lima, whose face bore the signs of fatigue.
Then this cretin -- wearing a beret, a white shirt under a sort of vest, a pleated skirt and knee socks (possibly a national or folk costume from somewhere), and with a hand-printed sign on his back, popped out of the spectators lined five-deep along Vas. Konstantinou Avenue. 
He really plowed into Lima, and drove him right into a bunch of startled fans, and it must have cost Lima 10, maybe 15 seconds. Apart from that, if you've ever been out running had and suddenly tripped and fallen, you know what a shock that can be. Imagine how much more of a shock it was to Lima, who had already run 35 km in weather around 30 Celsius (85-90 F.).
And of course he had no idea what was happening As he said, "I didn't know what he had with him.&nbsp; I was afraid, and I had lost my rhythm. I had to get back to the rhythm on the street. It was very difficult."
A couple of minutes later, at exactly two hours into the race, Baldini strode by Lima, and a few seconds later, so did Keflezghi. Baldini pulled steadily away and won by 34 seconds in 2:10:55.&nbsp; Thank goodness Lima was able to hold on for the bronze medal.
Look, I think Baldini would have won the gold medal anyway. And I think Keflezghi would have taken the silver, although Lima would certainly have finished closer to Keflezghk's 2:11.29 than the 2:12:11 he was credited with.
A Dutch friend tells me that a guy wearing a similar costume ran out on the course at the Formula One auto race in Silverstone last year. If it was the same guy, too bad no-one ran over him.
Once, when I was trying to set up a professional marathoning circuit in the 1970s, my biggest worry was what might happen if a spectator interfered with one of the leading runners and affected the result and the prize money.
Professional marathoning with no help from me got going few years later thanks to the genius of Fred Lebow.
And for the first 25 years or so, my nightmare never happened. Now it has.
The guy who did it was obviously making a protest, or a statement of some sort; I couldn't read what the sign on his back said from the picture we had. But we've got to stop this kind of stuff from happening. 
I think this guy should be punished in some really drastic way that will scare off anyone else who might think of trying the same stunt. 
Put him in the stocks at a major marathon every month and let anyone who wants to slap his face. Or have him publicly whipped (10 or 20 lashes would be fine) just before the start of a major marathon every month for the rest of his life.
He has taken dead aim at sport, and dead aim at the Olympics.
Let's give it back to him in spades. Jim

Jim Dunaway who has attended every Olympic Games since Melbourne in 1956 brings his own weathered eye on what’s been happening in and around the last day of the Athletics events at the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad.

Dunaway's Athenian Column - Day Ten

After numerous frustratingly close attempts, Yuriy Borzakovskiy finally got it right.
“I can’t really believe it yet,” the 23-year-old Russian said after his oft-criticised sit-and-kick tactic reaped the ultimate dividend. “Maybe I’ll believe it tomorrow. Or the day after. Or when I get home.”
At last year’s World Championships, Borzakovskiy surged to the front with about 250 metres to go, but faltered in the final strides to finish second. In the Athens race, with its moderate pace, he didn’t make his move until the leaders reached the top of the homestretch. It was a simple yet perfect recipe that led to his 1:44.45 win. His was the first-ever middle distance gold medal earned by a Russian man.
After the race, the vanquished paid their respects.
“It’s like that for Yuriy,” South African Hezekiel Sepeng, the 1996 silver medallist, said. “He planned his race perfectly. Out of ten, Yuriy will win only one. And this race is the one that he planned very good. I just say, well done.”
World leader Wilfred Bungei, a strong pre-race favorite, was impressed as well. “He knows how to run a tactical race. He’s very experienced with&nbsp; that.”
Hailed as a prodigious talent when he won the World Youth title in 1998 at 17, his quick ascendancy continued the following year with his stunning victory over a solid field at the European Cup the following year. In 2000, he set World junior indoor and outdoor records –1:44.38 and 1:44.33 respectively—and ran to a sixth place finish in Sydney.
But adding to the developing “Borza” mystique, the following year he decided early in the season not to compete at the 2001 World Championships, or, the following year, at the 2002 European Championships. His progression continued in 2001 when he lowered his national record to 1:42.47, making him, at the time, the fifth fastest ever over the distance.
“I have been training very hard recently,” Borzakovskiy said after the race, seemingly still coming to grips with his victory. “But I have been training very hard for 13 years, so I have accumulated a lot of training.”
“Obviously, this is my job now, but this isn’t work for me,” he continued. “I just really enjoy training. I love running. It’s pleasure. I run for pleasure. And I run with all my heart.” Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

After numerous frustratingly close attempts, Yuriy Borzakovskiy finally got it right.

Borzakovskiy fulfills promise

To say that Paul Tergat is one of the finest distance runners ever is not really a debatable point. Yet while he has raced to five World Cross Country titles and two World Half Marathon crowns in a brilliant international career that stretches back to 1992, an Olympic or World Championship title on the track has eluded the 35-year-old Kenyan. 
Tergat, who currently is a lowly ranked 22nd in the Road Racing category of the IAAF World Rankings, has a last chance for Olympic glory in Athens, when on the closing day of the Games the Marathon returns to its birthplace.
He leads the field as the event's World record holder. 
Surprisingly, history is not on his, nor his teammates' - Eric Wainaina and Sammy Korir (NOTE. will not now contest race due to injury)&nbsp;- side, as no Kenyan has ever won an Olympic marathon.
Yet with Wainaina, the Olympic silver medallist,&nbsp;Kenya's attempt at that elusive gold will be a solid one.
Defending champion Gezhagne Abera, who also took the&nbsp;World Championship the following year, is injured - Achilles - and so will not take part.
With twice World championships bronze medallist Stefano Baldini (2:07:29 -PB), Daniele Caimmi (2:08:59 - PB) and Alberico Di Cecco (2:08:54), Italy is well represented as is&nbsp;Japan, with a pair of sub 2:08 runners, Tomoaki Kunichika and Toshinari Suwa in the field. 
A trio of strong South Africans --Gert Thys (2:06:33 - PB), Ian Syster (2:07:06 - PB) and Hendrik Ramaala (2:08:58 - PB)-- will attempt to emulate Josia Thugwane's surprise win in Atlanta. 
The Spanish trio of Antonio Peña, Julio Rey and José Rios are all sub-2:08 runners as well. World champion Jaouad Gharib and Abdelkader El Mouaziz, most recently third and seventh in April's Flora London Marathon, form a solid Moroccan contingent. 
Please note, that this preview was first published on 13 August and consequently some team entries might have changed. 
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

To say that Paul Tergat is one of the finest distance runners ever is not really a debatable point. Yet while he has raced to five World Cross Country titles and two World Half Marathon crowns in a brilliant international career that stretches back to 1992, an Olympic or World Championship title on the track has eluded the 35-year-old Kenyan.

Olympic Marathon PREVIEW

Propelled by a steady consistent late race run, Stefano Baldini became only the second Italian to win an Olympic marathon title.
The 33-year-old two-time World Championships bronze medallist reached the finish in Panathinaiko Stadium in 2:10:55, 34 seconds ahead of surprise silver medallist Mebrahtom Keflezighi of the United States.
Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima, who led for more than half the race, held on courageously for the bronze, bouncing back after he was nearly tackled by a spectator who ran onto the course one hour and fifty-two minutes into the race. The 35-year-old Brazilian clocked 2:12:11.
After some unusual, if brief surges in the opening half by South African Hendrik Raamala, de Lima took firm control of the race just before the 20 kilometre point, and reached the half in a conservative 1:07:23, 15 seconds ahead of a chase pack of nearly two dozen. The Brazilian, winner of this year's Olympus Hamburg Marathon, built a formidable lead, at one point ahead by nearly a minute-and-a-half. When the field began to disperse by the 35th kilometre, Baldini, Keflezighi and Paul Tergat looked best prepared to challenge de Lima, who was still 30 seconds ahead. Though his lead began to slowly dwindle in the 36th kilometre, the most unfortunate and bizarre incident of the Games nearly knocked him for good. Having lost several critical seconds of his lead when he was shoved of the course and into the crowd, he reemerged on the course with an anguished look of pain, surprise and frustration covering his face. That he held on to win a medal will be one of the most memorable moments of these Olympic Games.
"It was such a shock, I really wasn't expecting that at all," said de Lima, after contesting his third Olympic marathon. "And I must say that I really couldn't defend myself, I was completely concentrating on the course. Then I had to get back into my competition, which was very, very difficult. Obviously if you stop in the middle of a marathon, it's really really difficult to get your rhythm again."
Refusing to say that the podium positions may have different had he not been impeded, de Lima added, "I don't know if I could have won, but obviously things would have been different. The finish was extremely difficult for me."
The man who attacked de Lima was reportedly an Irishman who had disprupted other sporting events in the past, including a Formula One race earlier this year. Both Baldini and Keflezighi, nearly a hundred metres behind at that point, said they didn't see the incident. - in the spirit of fair play and in recognition of&nbsp;the courage he showed during this incident the IOC awarded de Lima with the Pierre de Coubertin medal - Baldini passed de Lima exactly two hours into the race, about ten seconds ahead of the American, a lead he extended to more than 30 seconds when he entered Panathinaiko. Realising that he had the bronze secured, de Lima danced across the line, blowing kisses to the crowd.
One of the most consistent marathon racers of the past decade, Baldini’s win was the first major title of his career, while Keflezighi’s medal was the first for the United States since Frank Shorter’s silver medal in 1976.
For the second consecutive Olympic race, Jon Brown of Great Britain was fourth, clocking 2:12.26. Japan's Shigeru Aburaya (2:13.11) and Toshinari Suwa (2:13:30) were fifth and sixth, in front of Kenyan Eric Wainaina, the first African to reach the line.
Tergat’s quest for an elusive Olympic gold medal ended tonight. As close as third at the 35 kilometre point, the World record holder in the event faded badly in the final two kilometres, to finish a distant tenth in 2:14.45. BR

Propelled by a steady consistent late race run, Stefano Baldini became only the second Italian to win an Olympic marathon title.

Men's Marathon

AthensGreeceThis was the night of nights, and Hicham El Guerrouj proved to be the champion of champions.
El Guerrouj completes double on historic night&nbsp;
Eight years after his quest for Olympic gold suffered its first reat set-back, the Moroccan who has dominated miling for so long tonight added the Olympic 5000 metres title to the 1500m gold he had eventually grasped earlier in the week.
El Guerrouj’s joy as he crossed the finishing line was matched during the evening in equal measure by the delight - and some degree of surprise - of Kelly Holmes as she won her second gold of these Games, by Russia’s Yuri Borzakovskiy as he stunned himself as much as his rivals to finally fulfil his 800m promise, and by former World Junior champion Mark Lewis-Francis as he anchored the British men’s sprint relay team to one of the biggest shock victories in Olympic history, beating the all-powerful United States in the 4x100m Relay.
There was also a surprise winner in the women’s High Jump, as Yelena Slesarenko bettered the Olympic record, and a new star was seen in the men’s Javelin. Bekele denied
The 5000m final did play into El Guerrouj’s hands somewhat, with the first kilometre barely run inside three minutes, so that when it came down to a last-lap sprint, Kenenisa Bekele, the 10,000m champion, somehow needed to find a finishing kick to outsprint the miler. It was too big an task, as El Guerrouj triumphed in 13:14.39 to the Ethiopian’s 13:14.59, with the World champion, Eliud Kipchoge, of Kenya, taking bronze in 13:15.10.
“Now he is a true successor to Nurmi,” said the 1996 Olympic 1500m champion, Nourredine Morceli.
Olympic record for Slesarenko
Slesarenko beat the Olympic record by one centimetre, clearing 2.06m to win the gold medal tonight. The Russian's victory was an upset as South Africa's double World champion, Hestre Cloete, was heavily favoured to win the event. She wound up with the silver medal after clearing 2.02m, the same height as Victorya Styopina, of Ukraine, who got the bronze medal by virtue of a countback, as four athletes cleared at least 1.99m.
Shock relay win for Britain
But a shock of seismic proportions came in the men’s sprint relay, where the British quartet of Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish and Mark Lewis-Francis held off the late-charging United States team with 38.07, to the imposing Americans’ 38.08, with Nigeria third in 38.23.
"We have gone and proved everyone wrong, all the people who were talking negative about us," said Lewis-Francis, who four years ago passed up the opportunity to compete in the Sydney Games in order to race at the World Junior Championships, where we won the 100m title. 
That achievement has now been surpassed. "This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my whole life. I knew I had won it as soon as I got the baton."
USA wins both long relays
Normal service was resumed in both longer relays, with the US men - including the three medallists from the individual event, Jeremy Wariner, Otis Harris and Derrick Brew, plus Darold Williamson - taking their gold medal in 2:55.91 ahead of a four-way battle for the minor medals in which Australia prevailed in 3:00.60 ahead of Nigeria (3:00.90). 
The US also retained the Olympic women's 4x400 metres relay title with a commanding win over their traditional rivals Russia. Monique Hennagan ran the final leg for the Americans after DeeDee Trotter, Monique Henderson and Sanya Richards had run the early laps.
The US quartet clocked 3:19.01 with Russia recording 3:20.16 and Jamaica taking the bronze with 3:22.00.
After El Guerrouj, the next most popular runner not to have won an Olympic gold medal is possibly Wilson Kipketer at 800m. But this was a fairy story that was not to be.
Borzakovskiy snatches gold
Russia's Yuriy Borzakovskiy snatched the men's 800 metres gold medal on Saturday, timing a late surge to the line to perfection. The 23-year-old Russian powered past Denmark's Wilson Kipketer and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa in the final few strides to win in 1:44.45.
Mulaudzi out-dipped Kipketer to win silver in 1:44.61 to add to the World Indoor gold he won in March. Kipketer, the three-time former World champion and World record-holder, had to be content with bronze in 1:44.65.
Kipketer, who moved to Denmark in 1990, was visibly disappointed and hinted he might retire at the end of the season. "I will first finish this season and then make a decision about my future."
Thorkildsen takes surprise Javelin win
One athlete with a significant future ahead of him is Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen, who took the Javelin gold with a personal best 86.50m. Latvia's Vadims Vasilevskis's 84.95m won silver, while Sergei Makarov, of Russia, with 84.84m, denied Britain’s Steve Backley (84.13) a fourth successive Olympic medal, following a bronze and two silvers.
"I guess it is a case of 'out with the old and in with the new',” Backley said as at 35, he embraced retirement in the knowledge that he had last beaten his nemesis in an Olympic arena, Jan Zelezny, for whom this is also his final Olympic appearance.
Holmes completes the pair
And then there was Holmes, the Britain matching her 800m gold from earlier in the week with an equally peerless piece of middle distance tactical astuteness in the 1500m final.
The 34-year-old Briton bettered her own national record, set in 1997, by 0.17sec, with 3:57.90, as seven of the first eight finishers all recorded personal bests, and the first six finished inside four minutes.
The silver medal was won by Tatyana Tomashova, Russia’s World champion, with 3:58.12, while Maria Cioncan, from Romania - like Holmes, in her sixth race in seven days - having the strength to slip through on the inside of the fading Natalya Yevdokimova down the finishing straight to claim bronze in 3:58.39.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Holmes said, “I look at my 800m medal every morning and get tears in my eyes. For the last seven years I have had loads of injuries and I have only brought back silvers and bronzes. 
“Now I have had an injury-free year and look what's happened,” she said. Steven Downes for the IAAF
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This was the night of nights, and Hicham El Guerrouj proved to be the champion of champions.

Day Nine - Sat 28 - Olympic SUMMARY

Olympic record 2:55.91 was exciting only insofar as watching the clock was concerned.&nbsp; 
With yesterday’s disqualification of the Jamaican quartet, the only viable challenger had disappeared, and the Yanks’ win had a victory margin of almost five seconds, the largest in Olympic history.&nbsp; 
Still, the Americans only know one way of running, and that is fast.&nbsp; Having all three medal winners from last Monday’s 400m competition available for duty also helps.
After 400m silver medallist Otis Harris opened with a 44.6, the senior member of the quartet, bronze winner Derrick Brew, sped around the stadium in 43.6.
Then came a 43.9 contribution by the 400m Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner.&nbsp; It was certainly a déjà-vu situation for Wariner, as he passed to his Baylor University teammate Darold Williamson for the umpteenth time this season.
Williamson responded with a 43.8 as the Americans won the event for the sixteenth time out of the twenty-one times the relay has been contested.
“All we were worried about tonight was getting the stick around,” said Wariner.&nbsp; “That was our main focus.&nbsp; We did that, and we all ran our hearts out.&nbsp; It’s been a great experience.”&nbsp; 
The team’s only regret might have been the 0.17 seconds which separated them from an Olympic record.&nbsp; 
Meanwhile, far, far behind the US team, an exciting battle was unfolding for the other two medals.
In the middle of the final curve, Australia’s Clinton Hill moved strongly to the lead, and his early-week virus attack notwithstanding, he carried his advantage into the finish for a 3:00.60 and the silver medal.
“We had a team discussion this morning and discussed strategy,” Hill said.&nbsp; “We knew that with the Jamaicans out, the silver and bronze were up for grabs. Tonight, everyone gave 120% and we can’t ask for more than that,” 
Behind Hill came a mad scramble among the teams from Great Britain, Japan and Nigeria.&nbsp; Only in the final metres did Enefiok Udo Obong of Nigeria edge in front to capture the bronze in 3:00.90, as the last-ditch efforts of Japan (3:00.99) and the British team (3:01.07) went for naught.&nbsp; 
Said one member of the Nigerian team in the post-event press conference, “Bronze for us, in Nigeria, is as good as the gold.”&nbsp; 
 EG

Olympic record 2:55.91 was exciting only insofar as watching the clock was concerned.

Men's 4x400m Final

The United States of America failed to claim a medal in the individual 400m race but made sure there would be no denying them of the 4x400m relay gold.
Fifth place finisher in the 400m four days ago Dee Dee Trotter led off team USA to a superb start. The 21-year-old ran an amazing 49.19 opening leg and safely handed the baton to former World Junior champion Monique Henderson. 
At that point Russia, Great Britain and Jamaica were still following close behind.
California based Henderson, also 21, who finished fifth at the national trials increased her lead to five metres coming into the home stretch and then even further as she passed the relay to Sanya Richards who had anchored the US to gold at last year’s World Championships. 
Richards whose leg was timed in 49.81 ran the first 200 metres so safely that it briefly looked like Olesya Zykina of Russia and Nadia Davy of Jamaica could catch up with the World Junior record holder who was a disappointing sixth in the individual race. 
But the 19-year-old Texas-based had timed it well and she was some 20 metres clear of her pursuers as she securely handed over to Monique Hennagan. 
Although the US champion had an easy task ahead of her&nbsp;Hennagan ran the fastest leg of the team (49.73) and anchored the US team to their fourth Olympic gold in 3:19.01.
"It's a wonderful feeling," said Henderson. "Winning the biggest competition of the world in front of such a cheering crowd."
Even faster was individual bronze medallist Natalya Antyukh who covered her leg in 49.43 but the Russian was too far behind to even contemplate catching up with Hennagan. Russia was a clear second in 3:20.16 as 36-year-old Sandie Richards could only manage a 50.55 leg and anchored Jamaica to bronze in 3:22.00.
Lee McConnell made up a lot of ground on Grazyna Prokopek in the final leg but the Scottish sprinter couldn't do better than anchoring Great Britain to fourth in 3:25.12 a mere tenth of a second ahead of Poland. 
400m Hurdles champion Fani Halkia could not add another medal to her Olympic campaign as the Greek team was out of contention following a missed change over. Second leg runner Hrisoula Goudenoudi failed to hand the baton to Dimitra Dova and it took the latter a few long seconds to respond to the full-house stadium support. 
Greece eventually finished last in 3:45.70 with Halkia loudly cheered on by 70,000 spectators. 
"It was a great mishap," said Halkia. "We finally managed to run to the finish line. It was a great celebration." LA

The United States of America failed to claim a medal in the individual 400m race but made sure there would be no denying them of the 4x400m relay gold.

Women's 4x400m Final

Crawford, Gatlin, Miller, Greene. The names of the United States’ sprint relay quartet themselves are enough to fill other relay squads with terror.
Yet if that attitude was taken, then there would have been no point in the rest of the world turning up for tonight’s final of the men’s 4x100 metres relay. And the Americans’ reputation certainly did not concern the foursome from Great Britain, who astonished the packed stadium with their virtuoso display of relay running. 
It was Chariots of Fire stuff, as the British team of Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish and with a thundering last-leg run by Mark Lewis-Francis pulled off one of the most stunning wins in Olympic history, snatching the men’s 4x100 metres Relay final by 0.01sec from the all-powerful United States.
Lewis-Francis saw the clock stopped at 38.07, as Maurice Greene, running the anchor leg for the Americans, could not close on the Britons and was timed at 38.08.
Nigeria took the bronze medal with 38.23. “We are a sprinting nation,” said Uchenna Emedolu, their second leg runner, “so we are very pleased to have won a medal here.”
For the British sprinters, this was sweet vindication after being written off by television pundits, who even called them “second rate” earlier in the year. None of the British men had managed to make it past the semi-finals of their individual sprints earlier in the week, yet here they were taking on and beating one of the finest relay squads ever assembled.
The US quartet comprised the new Olympic 200m gold medallist, the Olympic 100m gold medal-winner, and the previous Olympic champion.
But it was old-fashioned British team work that sealed the golds medal - Britain’s first of any sort in this event since 1988 and only the second time in 108 years that they have managed to win the Olympic 4x100m relay.
Gardener, in lane three, two inside the Americans, took off like the Bath Bullet he is nicknamed, and handed over to Campbell well on terms with the Americans. But Gatlin outgunned Campbell along the back straight, and it seemed the usual script would be followed from there on home. Until the second changeover.
"Maybe I made a mistake,” the Olympic 100m champion confessed. “I gave the baton to Coby and I ripped his shoe and that made it difficult for him.”
Devonish now made inroads into the American lead around the final bend, and coming into the finishing straight handed a two-metre lead to Lewis-Francis, the former world junior champion.
“All I saw was people in front of me,” Greene said, “and what I thought was: ‘Go get them’.” 
Perhaps the Greene of four years ago might have had the ability to do so. But not this time.
For this was the athletics coming of age for Lewis-Francis, the 22-year-old from Birmingham. Not intimidated by Greene, the former world and Olympic champion, Lewis-Francis leapt with joy, his arms outstretched, his mouth yelling in delight as he crossed the line, an Olympic gold medallist.
“If anyone goes wrong, the whole team goes wrong,” Greene said. “Great Britain ran better. That's why they won,” the American said, trying to come to terms with a medal that is not his usual gold, and explaining that the US squad had had just two relay training sessions before the Games.
The Britons, on the other hand, have been working together as a squad for more than four years.
"I think we should have won this medal four years ago,” said Campbell, remembering how his tea had been disqualified in Sydney for a faulty changeover in the heats. “We have won it now. Perhaps there is a God after all.”
"We just knew that something big was going to happen tonight," he said.
"We work as a team,” Gardener said. “We race together and we believe in ourselves. It's all about our team spirit. That's what makes us unique, and that's what helped us win."
Lewis-Francis was in ebullient mood: "I'm an Olympic champion and I'm going home with a smile on my face."
 "I wasn't worried about Maurice Greene on my shoulder. When I got the baton I was confident that I could bring it home." 
SD

Crawford, Gatlin, Miller, Greene. The names of the United States’ sprint relay quartet themselves are enough to fill other relay squads with terror.

Men's 4x100m Relay Final

Hicham El Guerrouj made history in the Olympic stadium here tonight, becoming only the second man in history to win gold in both the 1500m and 5000m at one Olympic Games.
Eight years after his heart-breaking fall in the Atlanta 1500m final, eight long years waiting for his career defining first Olympic gold, and the Moroccan who has dominated the world of middle distance running for nearly a decade now has two Olympic titles. Tonight he completed the most difficult double of them all, surpassing the achievement of his compatriot Said Aouita, who won the 5000m gold 20 years ago.
El Guerrouj ran a tactically perfect race to strike gold for a second time in five days and put his name into the record books alongside the great Finnish distance runner Paavo Nurmi, the only other man to win gold medals straddling the middle and long distances at one Games.
It was billed as a battle between the double chasers – El Guerrouj and Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele, the man who became 10,000m champion in such dramatic style eight days ago. And at the end of 12 and a half nervous, tentative laps it all came down to the last 100m. Two men renowned for their finishing kicks entered the home straight stride for stride and battled for the line.
Hardly anyone had expected Bekele to lose, so dominant has he been in recent years, but the pace of the race was too slow to take the spark out of El Guerrouj’s legs and it was the miler who had the greater strength. El Guerrouj gradually pulled away over the last 30m and held on for victory in 13:14.39.
Bekele finished second, just two tenths behind, with Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge taking the bronze another 11 hundredths adrift of the Ethiopian. The long distance specialists paid for the slow early pace. Bekele’s World record stands at 12:37.35.
It started slowly, very slowly. Bekele took the early lead but was unwilling to make the pace. After two laps, Gebre Gebremariam moved to the front to try and increase the pace, passing 1k in 2:58.46, and holding the lead for 600m. Kenya’s Abraham Chebii took over briefly, increasing the speed gradually, but El Guerrouj was still comfortable in seventh, hugging the curb as if it was his line to glory.
They strode through 2000 in 5:35.99 and with seven to go Bekele kicked on, putting in a 60.97 lap. But again it wasn’t decisive. A single file of seven were strung out behind him, including Kipchoge and Australia’s Craig Mottram.
Bekele led at 3000 in 8:10.81, until Kipchoge took over with three and half to go. They skipped through 4000 in 10:48.62, but El Guerroiuj was still on the curb. Kipchoge and Bekele hit the bell together and El Guerrouj appeared to be boxed by Gebremariam. But down the back straight he pulled onto the Kenyan’s shoulder, and attacked Bekele. They entered the straight together and for a dozen straining strides it looked like anyone’s race. But the Moroccan had history in his sights.
As he crossed the line El Guerrouj threw his hands in the air, stared at a TV camera and put up two fingers. “Now I have two! Two!” he seemed to be saying.
Nourredine Morceli, the great Algerian athlete who won that 1500m race back in Atlanta, was watching from the stands tonight. “To make that double at these Games is amazing,” he said. “Hicham is such a great athlete and such a great man too. He deserves it. He has a great talent and great desire to win.
“He has carried that sadness for eight years but he never gave up. Now he is a true successor to Nurmi.”
How true. MB

Hicham El Guerrouj made history in the Olympic stadium here tonight, becoming only the second man in history to win gold in both the 1500m and 5000m at one Olympic Games.

Men's 5000m Final

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With a brilliantly executed kick, Yuriy Borzakovskiy silenced the critics that have shadowed his career with his gold medal run in the 800 metres.
Sixth at the bell and fourth heading into the final straight, the 23-year-old reached the line in 1:44.45 to claim the first individual gold medal for the Russian squad.
“I am just very happy to win this medal,” Borzakovskiy said.
Since his win at the 2001 IAAF World Indoor Championships as a 19-year-old, Borzakovskiy was widely hailed as the likely successor to World record holder Wilson Kipketer, who had dominated the event for much of the previous decade. But his inconsistent racing styles and unorthodox tactics led to as many big wins as it did frustrating losses. But on the sport’s biggest stage, the Russian champion’s sit-and-kick strategy worked.
Despite a season shortened by injury and illness, Mbulaeni Mulaudzi of South Africa, this year’s World Indoor champion, held off Kipketer to claim the silver, edging the Dane,1:44.61 to 1:44.65.
“Deep down inside I knew I had the capacity to win a medal,” said Mulaudzi, “but I didn’t expect it to happen. I just had to do it.”
For Kipketer, a three-time World champion and world standard-bearer in the event, his attempt for an Olympic gold medal once again fell short.
“I was too slow in the first 400,” said Kipketer, who took the silver in 2000. “I could have risked it for the gold medal because I was in good condition for a better position.”
Djabir Said-Guerni, the 2003 World Champion, had a hesitant lead at the break, with World leader Wilfred Bungei tailing closely 300 metres into the race. Kipketer and Mulaudzi were following a step behind. When the Algerian reached the half in 51.84, Bungei decided to up the tempo, and jumped to the front.
“When I saw that it was 51.8, I knew it was too slow, so I had to take it,” Bungei said. With 200 to go, Kipketer moved in even with Bungei, briefly making it a two-man race. But Borzakovskiy, timing his finish perfectly, ran wide off the final bend, picking off his competitors one-by-one.
Moroccan Mouhssin Chehibi completed his coming out party in Athens, finishing fourth in 1:45.16, in front of Bungei’s 1:45.31. Running in his third Olympics, Hezekiel Sepeng was sixth, clocking 1:45.53.
“Yes, it was very disappointing,” the South African, who won the silver medal in 1996, said. “But this was Yuriy’s kind of race. And he ran a terrific race.”
Fading down the final stretch, Said Guerni&nbsp; drifted to seventh, clocking 1:45.61.
BR

With a brilliantly executed kick, Yuriy Borzakovskiy silenced the critics that have shadowed his career with his gold medal run in the 800 metres.

OLYMPIC GAMES

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