ATHENS, Aug 25: Hicham El Guerrouj claimed the Olympic gold medal that eluded him in two previous Games on Tuesday to confirm he is unquestionably the greatest 1,500 metres runner in history.
The 30-year-old Moroccan moved to the front at 800 metres in a bold bid to dictate the race. He was still ahead at the bell as the field began to accelerate and clung on in the straight to hold off Kenyan Bernard Lagat and win in three minutes 34.18 seconds.
Despite four world titles and world records over both the 1,500 and its imperial equivalent the mile, a question mark has hung over the 30-year-old Moroccan's ability to perform on the biggest stage of all.
El Guerrouj fell just before the bell at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was beaten in a frenzied sprint finish by Kenyan Noah Ngeny in Sydney four years later. All doubts were assuaged on Tuesday as El Guerrouj crossed the line first.
He then embarked on an ecstatic victory lap draped in the Moroccan flag and stopping at one point to dance an impromptu jig as the theme tune from "Zorba the Greek" thundered through the Olympic stadium.
The evening's track events took place against a backdrop of another fascinating women's pole vault competition, won by Russian Yelena Isinbayeva who went on to set her seventh world record of the year when she cleared 4.91 metres.
Isinbayeva was one jump away from defeat on a windy evening which made vaulting a perilous occupation but decided to gamble on an attempt at 4.80 after failing at 4.70 and 4.75.
Victory over compatriot Svetlana Feofanova confirmed, Isinbayeva then flew over the bar to collect yet another world record and a handsome bonus from the Russian federation.
Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic confirmed himself as the world's best all-round athlete with a convincing win in the decathlon. Sebrle, the only man to break the 9,000-point barrier, took the lead from Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Karpov when he sent the javelin soaring 70.52 metres in the penultimate discipline of the two-day event.
A 46-point deficit on Karpov was transformed into a 63-point lead over American champion Bryan Clay and Sebrle safely completed the 1,500 metres to add the Olympic gold to the silver he picked up in Sydney four years ago.
Tonique Williams-Darling won the first Olympic individual gold ever for Bahamas with a hard-fought but ultimately convincing 400 metres win over Mexico's world champion Ana Guevara in a time of 49.41 seconds.
It was the third time this season that Williams-Darling had beaten Guevara, unbeaten in 2002 and 2003 but hampered by an Achilles tendon injury over the northern summer.
American Joanna Hayes won the 100 hurdles in an Olympic record 12.37 seconds after world champion and pre-race favourite Perdita Felicien crashed into the first barrier. Felicien veered into the adjoining lane and brought down Russian Irina Shevchenko with her. The Russian athletics federation filed a protest against the result.
To nobody's surprise Kenyans swept the medals in the 3,000 metres steeplechase with the winner, world silver medallist Ezekiel Kemboi, turning before the line to encourage team mates Brimin Kipruto and Paul Kipsiele Koech.
The trio ran as a team from the start in the event Kenya has made its own with Kemboi clocking eight minutes 5.81 seconds. Kipruto took second place ahead of Koech.
RESULTS OF FINALS ON TUESDAY:
MEN'S 3000 METRES STEEPLECHASE: 1. Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya) eight minutes 05.81 seconds; 2. Brimin Kipruto (Kenya) 8:06.11; 3. Paul Kipsiele Koech (Kenya) 8:06.64; 4. Musa Amer (Qatar) 8:07.18; 5. Luis Miguel Martin (Spain) 8:11.64; 6. Simon Vroemen (Netherlands) 8:13.25; 7. Bouabdallah Tahri (France) 8:14.26; 8. Ali Ezzine (Morocco) 8:15.58; 9. Eliseo Martin (Spain) 8:15.77; 10. Vincent Ledauphin (France) 8:16.15; 11. Daniel Lincoln (US) 8:16.86; 12. Radoslaw Poplawski (Poland) 8:17.32; 13. Mustafa Mohamed (Sweden) 8:18.05; 14. Antonio David Jimenez (Spain) 8:22.63; 15. Khamis Abdullah Saifeldin (Qatar) 8:36.66.
MEN'S 1500 METRES: 1. Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) three minutes 34.18 seconds; 2. Bernard Lagat (Kenya) 3:34.30; 3. Rui Silva (Portugal) 3:34.68; 4. Timothy Kiptanui (Kenya) 3:35.61; 5. Ivan Heshko (Ukraine) 3:35.82; 6. Michael East (Britain) 3:36.33; 7. Reyes Estevez (Spain) 3:36.63; 8. Gert-Jan Liefers (Netherlands) 3:37.17; 9. Adil Kaouch (Morocco) 3:38.26; 10. Mulugeta Wendimu (Ethiopia) 3:38.33; 11. Kamal Boulahfane (Algeria) 3:39.02; 12. Isaac Kiprono Songok (Kenya) 3:41.72.
WOMEN'S 100 METRES HURDLES: 1. Joanna Hayes (US) 12.37 seconds; 2. Olena Krasovska (Ukraine) 12.45; 3. Melissa Morrison (US) 12.56; 4. Mariya Koroteyeva (Russia) 12.72; 5. Lacena Golding-Clarke (Jamaica) 12.73; 6. Angela Whyte (Canada) 12.81; Perdita Felicien (Canada), Irina Shevchenko (Russia) did not finish.
WOMEN'S 400 METRES: 1. Tonique Williams-Darling (Bahamas) 49.41 seconds; 2. Ana Guevara (Mexico) 49.56; 3. Natalya Antyukh (Russia) 49.89; 4. Monique Hennagan (US) 49.97; 5. Deedee Trotter (US) 50.00; 6. Sanya Richards (US) 50.19; 7. Christine Amertil (Bahamas) 50.37; 8. Natalya Nazarova (Russia) 50.65.
WOMEN'S POLE VAULT: 1. Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia) 4.91 metres (world record); 2. Svetlana Feofanova (Russia) 4.75; 3. Anna Rogowska (Poland) 4.70; 4. Monika Pyrek (Poland) 4.55; 5. Thorey Edda Elisdottir (Iceland) 4.55; 6. Vanessa Boslak (France) 4.40; 6. Naroa Agirre (Spain) 4.40, 6. Dana Ellis (Canada) 4.40; 6. Anzhela Balakhonova (Ukraine) 4.40; 10. Stephanie Mccann (Canada) 4.40; 11. Pavla Hamackova (Czech Republic) 4.40; 12. Katerina Badurova (Czech Republic) 4.20; 13. Silke Spiegelburg (Germany) 4.20; 13. Alejandra Garcia (Argentina) 4.20.
MEN'S DECATHLON FINAL STANDINGS: 1. Roman Sebrle (Czech Republic)8893 points; 2. Bryan Clay (US) 8820; 3. Dmitriy Karpov (Kazakhstan) 8725; 4. Dean Macey (Britain) 8414; 5. Chiel Warners (Netherlands) 8343; 6. Attila Zsivoczky (Hungary) 8287; 7. Laurent Hernu (France) 8237; 8. Erki Nool (Estonia) 8235; 9. Claston Bernard (Jamaica) 8225; 10. Roland Schwarzl (Austria) 8102; 11. Aleksandr Pogorelov (Russia) 8084; 12. Florian Schoenbeck (Germany) 8077; 13. Romain Barras (France) 8067; 14. Maurice Smith (Jamaica) 8023; 15. Nikolay Averyanov (Russia) 8021; 16. Jaakko Ojaniemi (Finland) 8006; 17. Vitaliy Smirnov (Uzbekistan) 7993; 18. Qi Haifeng (China) 7934; 19. Stefan Drews (Germany) 7926; 20. Aleksandr Parkhomenko (Belarus) 7918; 21. Paul Terek (US) 7893; 22. David Gomez (Spain) 7865; 23. Indrek Turi (Estonia) 7708; 24. Santiago Lorenzo (Argentina) 7592; 25. Janis Karlivans (Latvia) 7583; 26. Prodromos Korkizoglou (Greece) 7573; 27. Hans Olav Uldal (Norway) 7495; 28. Paolo Casarsa (Italy) 7404; 29. Eugene Martineau (Netherlands) 7185; 30. Victor Covalenko (Moldova) 6543. Did not finish: Tom Pappas (US), Luiggy Llanos (Puerto Rico), Pasvel Andreyev (Uzbekistan), Ahmad Hassan Moussa (Qatar), Dennis Leyckes (Germany), Jon Arnar Magnusson (Iceland), Kristjan Rahnu (Estonia), Lev Lobodin (Russia), Tomas Dvorak (Czech Republic). -Reuters
MEDALS TABLE
ATHENS, Aug 25: Medals table at 1650 GMT on the 12th day of competition at the Olympics on Wednesday:
G S B T
United States 25 28 20 73
China 24 16 12 52
Australia 15 10 14 39
Japan 15 8 10 33
Russia 10 19 21 50
France 10 7 9 26
Germany 9 11 13 33
Italy 8 6 8 22
Romania 8 4 4 16
Ukraine 8 3 6 17
Britain 7 8 9 24
South Korea 6 10 5 21
Greece 5 3 3 11
Netherlands 4 7 8 19
Hungary 4 6 1 11
Turkey 3 1 1 5
Sweden 3 0 2 5
Canada 2 4 1 7
Belarus 2 3 6 11
Poland 2 2 4 8
Slovakia 2 2 1 5
Bulgaria 2 1 5 8
Ethiopia 2 1 1 4
Georgia 2 1 0 3
Thailand 2 0 2 4
Chile 2 0 1 3
Norway 2 0 0 2
New Zealand 2 0 0 2
Spain 1 7 4 12
Austria 1 4 1 6
Kenya 1 4 1 6
Czech Republic 1 3 3 7
Cuba 1 1 6 8
Brazil 1 1 2 4
Indonesia 1 1 2 4
South Africa 1 1 2 4
Switzerland 1 1 1 3
Zimbabwe 1 1 1 3
Lithuania 1 1 0 2
Morocco 1 1 0 2
Denmark 1 0 5 6
Azerbaijan 1 0 2 3
Belgium 1 0 2 3
Israel 1 0 1 2
Bahamas 1 0 0 1
Cameroon 1 0 0 1
UAE 1 0 0 1
North Korea 0 3 1 4
Croatia 0 2 2 4
Portugal 0 2 1 3
Mexico 0 2 0 2
Slovenia 0 1 3 4
Estonia 0 1 2 3
Kazakhstan 0 1 2 3
Taiwan 0 1 1 2
Finland 0 1 0 1
Hong Kong 0 1 0 1
India 0 1 0 1
Latvia 0 1 0 1
Serbia & Montenegro 0 1 0 1
Argentina 0 0 2 2
Colombia 0 0 2 2
Eritrea 0 0 1 1
Jamaica 0 0 1 1
Mongolia 0 0 1 1
Trinidad & Tobago 0 0 1 1
Venezuela 0 0 1 1