Kenya’s Wilfred Bungei won a close fought 800m that followed the pattern of the season in being a race of poor time quality.
Bungei finished at the head of a close group of five in 1:47.05 (!) after taking the lead 250m from home. Bahrain’s former Kenyan Youssef Saad Kamel dipped in for second in 1:47.13 five hundredths ahead of the fast finishing Russian Yuriy Borzakovskiy.
Only 18 hundredths separated the top five, with fifth going to South Africa’s Olympic silver medallist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi in 1:47.22.
Mulaudzi was leading at the bell (55.63) with Bungei on his shoulder. The Kenyan made his move with 250m to go, and kicked again around the bell to pull clear.
Borzakovskiy produced a typically strong finish on the outside while Kamel came through on the inside as Mulaudzi and Kenya’s world bronze medallist William Yiampoy were run out of it, Yiampoy finishing fourth.
MB