Men 3000m heats
Heat 1:
Two late no-shows produced a cozy nine-man heat. As befitting a distance race run at 9:30am, the first kilometer was a 2:56.42 stroll, led at that point by Paul Bitok.
Hicham El Guerrouj finally made his way to the front just before the halfway point. The Moroccan pushed the pace noticeably with the clock showing 5:38.97 at the end of the second kilometer, as Mohamed Khaldi led the front-running group of seven into the final five laps.
El Guerrouj was soon in front once again, and a tinge of "noblesse oblige" then crept into the race, as no one ever again challenged him for the lead.
At 2600, the tempo reached its apex, as the current world leader, Million Wolde, moved up behind El Guerrouj, with Mohamed Khaldi and Bouabdallah Tahri keeping him company.
In spite of El Guerrouj's final kilometer of 2:26.5, his overall 8:05.50 virtually assured that no time qualifiers would come from this section. Wolde, Tahri, Bitok, Khaldi and Antonio Jiminez all made a mad scramble in a runners' version of "musical chairs"--with five claimants for four spots.
Khaldi was the unfortunate loser in this derby, having the same time (8:06.18) as Jimenez but failing the all-important photo test.
Heat 2
Reigning European 3000 champion Mark Carroll led the early stages, with Mohammed Mourhit, John Mayock and Bernard Lagat following tightly.
At the kilometer (Mourhit 2:40.89), Said Berioui had also become part of the mix.
The most telling point of the race came at 1800m, as Alberto Garcia shot to the front, pulling Mourhit and Mayock along. Within a few steps Berioui and Lagat adjusted to the acceleration and stayed in the lead pack, while Carroll began to slip back.
Garcia continued to push the pace well, assuring the seven who separated themselves from the rest that they would all advance to the final.
On the final straight, Craig Mottram, who had moved up from the back of the frontrunners, charged past Garcia to win the heat in an Australian record 7:50.21.
Algeria's Mohamed Khaldi was later advanced on appeal putting 13 athletes into the final.
