K.Ken Nakamura
29 September 2000 - The hallmark of the great distance runner is a successful 5000m/10000m double at the Olympic Games. The greatest of his time - Haile Gebrselassie was unable to attempt this classic double in Atlanta, due to a hard track that troubled him in the 10,000m. The only athlete to compete at both events in the 1996 Games was Germany’s Stephane Franke.
This year, the Ethiopian who by his own admission is not 100% fit, concentrated on defending his 10,000m crown, which he accomplished successfully on Monday. In his absence, Ali Saidi-Sief may be the 5000m favourite.
Three race scenarios are likely. The race which starts very fast is unlikely, as the last time the world record was threatened in an Olympic 5000m final was back in 1984, when Canario and Leitao pushed the pace. As for the seven editions of the World Championships, only once, in 1993 was the record threatened when Ismael Kirui ran away from the field.
The first possible scenario is the race determined by finishing sprint as was the case at the 1992 Olympics, when Dieter Baumann ran the last 200m in 24.9.
The second scenario is the race in which a mid-race surge breaks the race open, as at the 1997 World Championships. In Athens, Daniel Komen ran the 8th lap in 56.8 and followed it up with 58.38 seconds 9th lap.
The final possible scenario is the race in which a runner run away from the rivals with the long sustained sprint over the final 800m to 1000m of the race.
The 5000m final in Sydney is unlikely to come down to a final sprint, for the strength of Ali Saidi-Sief, one of the favourites, is a long sustained sprint at the end of the race, which he has successfully employed in many of his races this season. Some experts point out that his sustained sprints may only be effective in the fast paced Grand Prix type races. His rivals may want to slow the pace down in the hope that Saidi-Sief's long sustained sprint at the end of the race becomes ineffective.
Ali Saidi-Sief, whose 1500m best is 3:30.91, was only 11th in the semi-finals of the 1999 World Championships. However, this year he made a major breakthrough in the longer distances, and has recorded a huge improvements to his personal bests at 5000m (12:50.86) and 3000m (7:25.02).
Another North African, Brahim Lahlafi of Morocco is also a strong medal contender for the Sydney 5000m final. Lahlafi was the winner of the 5000m at this year’s edition of the Brussels Golden League meeting, and a fourth place finisher at the 1999 World Championships.
Unfortunately the Sevilla 99 bronze medallist and European 3000m-5000m record holder, Mohamed Mourhit of Belgium will not be in the race. After dropping out of the 10,000m final on Monday, he did not take part in the 5000m heats on Wednesday.
The Kenyans have won a medal at the 5000m in every Olympics and World Championships since 1988 when John Ngugi won the Olympic gold with a courageous mid-race surge. Three Kenyan representatives - Julius Gitahi, Richard Limo and David Chelule will try to keep the streak going.
Julius Gitahi who has been living in Japan since his high school days, won at the Kenyan Olympic Trials. Gitahi, like Saidi-Sief often employs long sustained sprints to win his races. Hence, Gitahi might be able to stay with Saidi-Sief when his long drive for finish starts. Besides, Kenyans living in Japan have history of running well at the Olympics. Douglas Wakihuuri won a silver medal in the 1988 Olympic marathon, while Eric Wainaina won abronze in the 1996 Olympics. On the women's side Esther Wanjiru finished fourth in the women's marathon last Sunday. In fact, Julius Gitahi attended Sendai Ikuei high school, Esther Wanjiru's alma mater.
The second Kenyan on the team is 19 year old Richard Limo who finished second in the junior division of the 1998 and 1999 World Cross Country Championships; he also recorded the 5000m PR of 12:58.15 last year. Is major breakthrough inevitable for him?
The best non-African may be Toshinari Takaoka who turned 30 the day before the 10,000m final, on September 24; he was the first non-African finisher placing seventh in personal best 27:40.44. The 5000m Asian record holder (13:13.40), who became a father on September 21, may have the opportunity to become the best non-African finisher in the 5000m as well.
If the race is slow, will someone attempt to break the race open with a mid-race-surge with 4 or 5 laps to go, as Brendan Foster used to do? If nobody takes an initiative in mid-race, Saidi-Sief probably is likely to push the pace with two laps to go. Would anybody able to stay with him? and perhaps outkick him at the end?
