Men 800m Round 1 – summary
Wilson Kipketer showed that his efforts to retain his world indoor title were on course, even if his speed was far from the world record pace he set in Paris two years ago. Kipketer’s 1:47.99 was the end result of some even splits for 200m – 26.08, 27.85, 27.51 and 26.55. Heat 2 was a much faster and competitive race, as Nico Motchebon fought it out with Kenya’s David Kiptoo and Burundi’s Arthemon Hatungimana . The latter finished faster than everyone to ensure his qualification behind Motchebon –
South Africa’s Johan Botha – who has run 1:45.41 this season – continued to show his good form with a controlled performance in heat 5. He clocked 1:48.07 to qualify ahead of the Hungarian Koranyi Balzs and Kenya’s Kennedy Kimmetich.
