Hicham El Guerrouj wins his first World Championships gold medal in Athens 1997 (© Getty Images)
The 1997 world leader, Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj, won the world title in the event that is considered the classic of the middle distance races, the 1500m.
El Guerrouj won a tactical race in 3:35.83 and took revenge for his disappointment at the 1996 Olympic Games, when he fell with one lap to go, losing all chance to win the gold medal.
Spain captured the other two medals. 1996 Olympic silver medallist Fermin Cacho was second in 3:36.63, while 1997 European under-23 champion and European junior record-holder Reyes Estevez was third in 3:37.26.
The race started slowly with German Rudiger Stenzel leading at the 400m mark, passed in 1:01.28. At 600m Estevez jumped into the lead, but El Guerrouj didn’t let him go very far.
The 800m mark was passed in 2:02.24 with Estevez, El Guerrouj and Cacho in command of the group. The defending world champion, world record-holder and 1996 Olympic champion, Algerian Nourredine Morceli, was behind them in a good position.
At 900m, El Guerrouj pulled away decisively, but Morceli and Cacho followed with Estevez ahead of the rest. Entering the last lap, El Guerrouj had an imposing lead with Morceli second and Cacho after him.
With El Guerrouj out of reach, Morceli and Cacho entered the home straight even, but the Spaniard finished much more strongly and took the silver. Morceli eased up at the final stages and allowed Estevez, who was right behind him, to take the bronze medal.
El Guerrouj, who had won the silver medal at the 1995 World Championships, broke Morceli’s record of three consecutive world titles.
