Rashid Ramzi comes close to the Olympic record in the first round of the men's 1500m in Beijing (© Getty Images)
Bernard Lagat’s quest for double Olympic gold got off to a less than auspicious start.
After finding himself trapped on the inside and in seventh position about midway through the back straight of Heat 2, the reigning World champion was forced to expend valuable energy to not only work his way out of the box, but into one of the first five automatic qualifying positions as well. With a 52.2 final lap he succeeded, finishing fourth in 3:41.98, but admitted that his miscue may cost him in Sunday’s semi-finals.
“That’s something I have to avoid in the semi-finals, not just try to avoid,” said Lagat, who has raced to bronze and silver in the previous too Olympics. “I was confident that I would get out. It has happened before. But you know, getting out sometimes takes a lot.”
Concisely summing up his race, the first of five on his Beijing schedule, Lagat said, “I think I was a little too relaxed. So I’m going to act a little differently next time.”
In a confident run similar to his victory at Rome’s Golden Gala last month, 19-year-old Kenyan Asbel Kiprop won the heat in 3:41.28 with ease, underscoring his podium ambitions. Canadian Nate Brannen (3:41.45) and Spaniard Juan Carlos Higuero (3:41.70) both finished ahead of Lagat.
Conversely, Rashid Ramzi, the man who cruised to double world titles of his own in 2005, took the fourth heat in dominating fashion. Kicking from the field with just over 200 metres to go, the enigmatic Bahraini cruised to a 3:32.89 victory, by far the quickest of the opening round, in his first race over the distance this season. Indeed, he threatened Noah Ngeny’s Olympic record of 3:32.07 set in Sydney eight years ago and was confident enough to throw up his arms triumphantly.
Finishing well behind Ramzi’s draft was Moroccan Mohamed Moustaoui in 3:24.80 with Kenyan Augustine Choge (3:35.47) third.
In a series of predictably tactical races, no other major surprises emerged.
European champion Mehdi Baala ran comfortably to take the first heat in 3:57.87, with New Zealander Nicholas Willis, Qatari Daham Naim Bashir and Tarek Boukensa of Algeria also advancing, along with World indoor champion Deresse Mekonnen of Ethiopia.
Heat three was a kickfest won by South African Juan de Deventer over Spaniard Arturo Casado and quick closing Briton Andy Baddeley and Moroccan Abdalaati Iguider. Just 0.15 seconds separated to top four.
Said Baddeley, the winner of this year’s Dream Mile in Oslo, “It’s so nerve-racking. Nothing changes the fact that it’s the Olympic Games and thousands of people are out there watching.”
American fans will be pleased with the first round performance of their trio, with all three advancing, a trick no other country managed to turn. Leo Manzano advanced on time after finishing sixth in the first heat, clocking a season’s best 3:36.67; Lopez Lomong, the flag bearer at the Opening Ceremonies a week ago, finished fifth in 3:36.70 in his first international race. Lomong was one of the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’, a refugee separated from their parents at age six who spent a decade at a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the United States to live with a foster family.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
