El Guerrouj Wraps Up Title In 1,500 Meters Victory Helps Erase Disappointment Of Atlanta

The great showdown was no showdown at all.

Hicham El Guerrouj ended Noureddine Morceli’s reign as the premier middle distance runner when he took the Algerian’s 1,500-meter title Wednesday at the world championships.

El Guerrouj wrapped a red Moroccan flag around his waist after capturing his first major international championship and defeating his famed rival, who finished fourth.

“I’m very happy,” El Guerrouj, wiping back tears, said after his victory in 3 minutes, 35.83 seconds. “I dedicate this race to the Moroccan people.”

Morceli, the three-time defending champion, was also beaten by two Spaniards - 1992 Olympic champion Fermin Cacho, who was second, and newcomer Reyes Estevez, who took third.

After the race, El Guerrouj ran into the stands and hugged Mohammad El Mediouri, president of the Moroccan track federation. He said the victory erased the memory of last summer’s Olympic final in which he fell just before the bell lap and finished 12th .

“Atlanta was a black point in my life. This will make me forget I was not the Olympic champion,” he said. “There’s nobody to beat me right now.”

Cacho overtook Morceli in the final 30 meters to win the silver in 3:36.63, and Esteves just caught the Algerian for the bronze in 3:37.26. Morceli looked at the scoreboard in despair after finishing out of the medals in 3:37.37.

Kenya scored the first sweep in the world championship 3,000-meter steeplechase when Wilson Boit Kipketer upset three-time defending champion Moses Kiptanui with Bernard Barmasai third.

Boit Kipketer was timed in 8:05.84 for the gold, and his two countryman crossed the line in 8:06.04.

Kiptanui had led Kenyans home for first and third in each of the last three worlds championships, but this was the first time they had won all three medals.

Javier Sotomayor of Cuba triumphed in the high jump, and another world record-holder, Haile Gebreselassie of Ethiopia, won for the third time in a row in the 10,000 meters.

Sotomayor, who also won the title in 1993, was the only one to clear 7 feet, 9-1/4 inches. Poland’s Olympic silver medalist Artur Partyka and Australia’s Tim Forsyth both went 7-8-1/2.

Gebreselassie, also the Olympic champion, pulled away with a lap to go. He was timed in 27 minutes, 24.58 seconds with Kenya’s Paul Tergat second and Morocco’s Salah Hissou third.

Thomas Dvorak from the Czech Republic, finished third in the final event, the 1,500 meters, to win the decathlon with 8,837 points, a record for the championship and a third-best all-time total. Eduard Hamalainen of Finland placed second and Frank Buseman of Germany third.