Gebrselassie to aim for double gold in Maebashi?
In the absence of Hicham El Guerrouj, the men’s 1500m looked like being a duel between Iberia and Kenya ... until Haile Gebrselassie declared his interest in going for an unprecedented double. The Ethiopian, second on the all-time indoor list with 3:31.76, needs only to race once at 3000m here because, following timetable changes, the event will be a straight final on Saturday. He therefore will be free to run a 1500m heat on Saturday with the final on Sunday. In Stuttgart on Februard 7, Gebrselassie beat both Andrés Díaz (ESP) and Laban Rotich (KEN), who have gone on to clock the two fastest times of the year. Díaz beat Rotich in Stuttgart then finished behind the Kenyan at 2000m in Birmingham. Last week the two ran remarkably similar times in separate solo races. In Athens on February 24, Díaz broke Peter Elliott’s European indoor record with 3:33.32. The next day in Stockholm, Rotich won in 3:33.39.
Rotich, world number 2 last year, must be regarded as favourite. Besides his fast times he also possesses a fierce finishing kick, as shown in last year’s African Championships when he was timed at 37.52 for the last 300m. Díaz’s Championship showings so far have been less impressive but the Spaniard appears to have moved to a new level this winter. The other two principals are Rui Silva (POR) and William Tanui (KEN). Silva split Díaz and Rotich in Stuttgart. The Portuguese runner, who took European indoor gold and outdoor silver last year, went on to set a national 800m record in Ghent. Tanui (35) has been pacemaking in Europe but set an indoor personal best behind Díaz in Athens.
The revised timetable will be published on the IAAF web site tonight (around 5 am GMT 4 March)
