The last 1500m of the season was finally the race of Bernard Lagat, the outstanding Kenyan athlete who has finished second to Hicham El Guerrouj so many times this year and in previous years.
Lagat won tonight’s race in style and set a new Championships Record of 3:31.20 which erases Steve Ovett’s 25-year old mark of 3:34.45.
A very quickly pace was set by USA’s Seneca Lassiter who went through the 400-metre mark in 53.42 and the 800m in 1:50.20. Lassiter was followed like a shadow by Lagat and Spain’s European silver medallist Reyes Estevez. Brazil’s Hudson de Souza was a couple of metres behind the trio of leaders with the rest of the pack far behind, at some stages up to ten metres adrift.
With Lassiter gradually dropping down, Lagat and Reyes were left in the lead. The African improved the pace and went through the 1200 metres mark in 2:47.54. Estevez managed to counter Lagat’s acceleration with 300 metres to go but when Lagat decided it was time to go, there was nothing left in Estevez’s legs.
To the delight of the home crowd, the Spaniard managed to hold on to second in 3:33.67, some 10 metres behind Lagat, while coming out of nowhere European champion Mehdi Baala took third place in 3:38.04.
