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Saaeed Saif Shaheen of Qatar, the once known Stephen Cherono of Kenya, provided a race worthy of being labelled BIZARRE. After galloping clear of the field he looked to have sealed the race for all intent and purpose, however that obviously was not part of the plan. He places entertainment high on his agenda of desires for a World Championship final.
The gun erupted around this vast stadium and immediately two athletes galloped to the fore, and they were both clad in the maroon colours of Qatar. At a Qatar expense of $1000 per month for the rest of his life, Shaheen must have been considering the value of a down payment on a house, for the 1st 1000m was below World Record pace. Jokes aside, the 1st 400m was in 59. The front two were pursued immediately by Abraham Cherono, brother to Shaheen. The steeplechase is a family tradition, the elder brother won the title in 1999. The pencil thin and remarkably smooth flowing Shaheen soon rid himself of his pacesetter and pursuers [ 2min into the race ], as he shot through the first 1000m in 2:36.24. His movement was effortless, although his hurdling is not considered fluent, his running inbetween the barriers shows no exertion from the effort needed to clear the obstacles. The Kenyans had been talking up a storm as to how they were going to halt the purpose of their ex-compatriot, however Qatar's race strategy put paid to that. 3min 20 into the race and the tall Quatar athlete had extended his lead over his brother to 3 seconds with the more fancied, opposition, Ezekiel Kemboi, following a further 3 seconds after that. A gap of 6 seconds before the 2nd kilometer. Shaheen was looking into the stadium screen, he had slowed the pace down to a 67 second lap, and was not looking in the least bit stressed. Just after 4mins into the race and Abraham Cherono had slipped to 5 seconds in arrears with Kemboi just 1 second behind his team mate but still 6 seconds off the leader. Kemboi then accelerated and went into 2nd place closing the gap to 4 seconds at the waterjump. Coming off the water he further accelerated to close to within 3 seconds. Shaheen was totally conscious of the big gains Kemboi was making into his lead, and when they went into the backstraight towards the 2K [ 5:19.58 ] his foe sprinted to come alongside. Going towards the waterjump, Shaheen let Kemboi take the initiative and gain a 2m lead. Coming out the water Kemboi was 5m clear. Race over close the shutters and shut the shop. Not so, Kemboi
must have thought there is something wrong "Why, am I leading?",
because he allowed his rival to rejoin him. Kemboi dropped his arms,
shook them loose and glanced to his right expecting Shaheen to pass
him. No way, the Qatar athlete was more intent on watching the large
screen to see what was taking place behind them. Two laps to go
and the front 2 covered the next 100m in 19 seconds, Shaheen ambled
past Kemboi without any complaints from the latter and they joyously
continued their discussion of the current crisis of the nearby Penguin
Colony. Kemboi then took up the lead with an admirable burst going
towards the next jump. This was short lived as they began to tread
track, with the rest of the pack of 4 pursuers now less than 3 seconds
away. Going round the bend before the waterjump, just as they were
exchanging their favourite Pastry Recipes, Kemboi dared to look
Coming into the straight with 500m to go and over the barrier the 2 Spanish runners, Eliseo Martín and Luis Miguel Martín, made a drastic attempt to catch the leading duo. The bell was rung at 7:06.7 and the Spaniards were preparing in anticipation of a Gold laden voyage home. Then Kemboi stretched out his arms preparing for the final 350m to go, he was accelerating, the Spanish coped with the initial burst however going into the backstraight Kemboi let rip and the European challenge was no more. Shaheen majestically opened his long legs and glided past the Kenyan, Eliseo of the Martíns dug deep and was able to be within 1 second going over the waterjump. However thereafter, the real fight for 1st place took place in all of its intensity. The tall slender athlete from Qatar began his sprint to the line and when the Kenyan went past him after the final barrier, it was considered to be curtains for Shaheen. Those however, who had witnessed their last duel in Zurich would have thought DeJavu was a twin to 'Where have I seen you before', because it was exactly the same. The arm movement, the grimaces, the tilted head, the footstrike and the enormous tension. The result was exactly the same, a win for Shaheen in 8:04.39 and Kemboi 2nd in 8:05.11, this time however the gap was slightly larger. The last lap a sub 58 second and the announcement of the publishing rights by the 2 athletes to a book entitled, How not to run a World Championship Final surely to follow shortly. | results | Women's 800m Final - Tuesday, August 26, 2003
 Time-to-Run Track World Championships |
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