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News25 Aug 2004


Men's 800m - Heats

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With only the top two from each of the nine heats - from a total of 72 entrants! - guaranteed entry into the semi-finals, some quick times and battles for position were in store.

Leading all qualifiers was World record holder Wilson Kipketer, whose 1:44.69 win appeared effortless, boding well for the Dane’s quest to win the only trophy missing from his trophy room -an Olympic gold medal.

Brazilian Osmar dos Santos took the early lead, bringing the field through the midway point in a snappy 50.93. Jonathan Johnson, the U.S. champion and a strong front runner, took over just past the bell with Kipketer just a step behind, composed, and ready to strike. The three-time World champion did with just under 200 metres to go, winning handily. Johnson held on for second (1:45.31), holding off Jean Patrick Nduwimana (1:45:38) of Burundi. Dos Santos, bronze medallist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March, was fourth in 1:45.90, and moved on to the semi finals.

South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, this year’s World Indoor champion, got things rolling in heat one, making his decisive move heading into the final straight. First passing Kenyan Michael Rotich then catching Rene Herms, the South African reached the line for a 1:45.72 win. The German, who ran a breakthrough race in Munich earlier this month, was second in 1:45.83. Rotich did not advance.

In the second heat, Kenyan Joseph Mutua led the field through the bell and hung on to win in 1:45.65. Briton Ricky Soos, third after 400 metres, snuck by reigning World champion Djabir Said Guerni to finish second and automatically advance. He clocked a personal best 1:45.70, ahead of Said Guerni’s 1:45.94. The Algerian would ultimately become the last to advance on time.

Tanzanian Mwera Samwel fought for the early lead in heat four - after he visibly ran out of his lane in the first 100 meters - before World leader Wilfred Bungei took over for good just before the bell. Sudan’s Ismail Ahmed Ismail tailed closely, and finished second in 1:45.17. Samwel, third in 1:45.30, advanced as well. Frenchman Nicholas Aissat (1:45.31) and Dutchman Bram Som (1:45.72) were also among the qualifiers.

After sitting well back for most of the race, Yuriy Borzakovskiy took the lead heading in to the homestraight to win heat five. The Russian clocked 1:46.20, just ahead of Ethiopian Berhanu Alemu (1:46.26).

In heat six, Iranian Sadjad Moradi lead the field through the bell, with Moroccan Amine Laloou a step behind, and American veteran Khadevis Robinson third. With Moradi dropping back, Laalou and Robinson briefly led heading into the back straight. Ivan Heskho, less than 24 hours after his fifth place finish in the 1500m, made his dash for home, snuck through on the inside to finish second to the Moroccan, 1:45.88 to 1:45.92.

With the advantage of racing in the waning heats, the late races were expected to be strong battles for fast times. But they weren’t.

Fittingly for a race that remained tight until the homestretch, Latvian Dmitrijs Milkevics and Antonio Manuel Reina of Spain tied for the win in heat seven, each credited with a 1:46.66. Florent Lacasse of France, leading until the final 50 metres, dropped back to third in 1:46.91, and did not advance.

2001 World champion Andre Bucher and 1996 Olympic silver medallist Hezekiel Sepeng took command of things in heat eight, with Italian hope Andrea Longo and Spainard Manuel Olmedo trailing single file. The South African assumed the lead at the bell, with Longo moving with him. Olmedo jumped to a brief lead with 220 metres to go, before Longo (1:46.75) and Sepeng (1:46.82) regained control and claimed the top two spots.

In heat nine, Glody Dube of Botswana took the initial lead, followed by Kenyan-born Bahraini Youssef Saad Kamel and Gary Reed, the recently-minted Canadian record holder. When Dube dropped back, Kamel, who ran a short-lived world leading 1:43.11 in the Zurich ‘B’ race, looked strongest. But Reed, and Mouhssin Chehibi of Morocco, ambushed Kamel in the homestretch to become the last two automatic qualifiers, with Reed winning in 1:46.74 to Chehibi’s 1:46.77.

The semi-finals are tomorrow night.

BR

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