Heat 1
There was high drama in the first of three races in the men’s 1500m semi finals as Kenya’s Benson Marrianyi Esho who had been leading for most of the race stumbled and came close to falling in the last lap.
The World Youth champion from last year’s Sherbrooke Championships Esho took the early lead and led a compact pack of runners through 400m in 59.26 and 800m in 2:02.60. As the pack approached the bell, Morocco’s Abdelati Iguider surged at the front with Algeria’s Antar Zerguelaine on his heels.
Esho who had suddenly dropped at the very back of the pack tried to find a way through the runners but tripped and lost almost 15 metres on the leaders.
With a desperate acceleration entering the back straight, Esho managed to catch up all the runners who had sped past him expect Morocco’s Iguider who came in first in 3:43.96 and Zerguelaine who held on to second in 3:46.07.
Esho and Ethiopia’s Hailu Dinko found themselves opposed in a breathtaking final sprint for the last automatic qualifying position. Esho prevailed in 3:46.46 as the two Africans arms touched in the battle and Dinku lost his momentum to finish fifth in 3:48.12. Dinku did not advance to the final.
Heat 2
Kenya’s Brimin Kipruto who will also be part of the East African country’s Olympic team in Athens but will compete in the 3000m Steeplechase took a commanding win in the second heat in the fastest qualifying time of the day of 3:42.08.
Kipruto’s fast tempo (56.92 at 400m and 1:57.35) seemed to be too tough for the remaining runners with only Sultan Khamis Zaman of Qatar remaining relatively close to Kipruto.
Pushed by the efforts of Canada’s Michael Woods and because of Kipruto’s temporary reduction of speed, it looked like the pack could close the gap with the two leaders.
But Kipruto was simply and cleverly controlling the race and when it mattered he managed to speed away. Zaman was second in 3:42.48 while Great Britain’s Thomas Lancashire timed it right and out-dipped Woods in 3:42.48 just one hundredth of a second ahead of the Canadian teenager who would advance to the final as the fastest loser.
Heat 3
With no Kenyan representatives to set the pace, heat three was the slowest of today’s 1500 metres as Morocco’s Mohamed Moustaoui clocked 3:45.43 for the win. Canada’s Kurtis Benninger took the lead and held onto it until the athletes went through the 1000m mark.
It was Moustaoui and Algeria’s Aissa Dahmar who then decided it was time to speed things up and the two North African athletes were in command as the bell sounded. Hungary’s Barnabas Bene had enough resources to respond to the change of rhythm and the three athletes were battling it out with 200m to go. As Moustaoui held on to his lead, Bene out-dipped at the finish Dahmar 3:45.82 to 3:46.13.
