Kenyan Near Record

Moses Kiptanui ran the second sub-8-minute steeplechase in history, finishing only .35 seconds shy of the his own world at the Van Damme Memorial.

In cold and windy conditions, Kiptanui ran most of the race on his own and finished in 7:59.53, just short of the record the Kenyan champion set in Zurich last week.

Americans Michael Johnson and Gwen Torrence and Britain’s Linford Christie all won. Torrence ran the second-fastest 200 of the year in 21.87 and Christie took the 100 meters in 10.08 seconds. Johnson finished the 400 meters in 44.64 seconds.

Maria Mutola of Mozambique set a world record in the rarely-run women’s 1,000 meters, finishing in 2:29.33 seconds.