The Women's 1500m race report
The European Champion for Women over 1500m from Munich, Süreyya Ayhan of Turkey came to Brussels and adopted the same approach as what brought her victory at Munich. The strategy is quite simple - "RUN THE OPPOSITION OFF THEIR FEET"

Same tactic and same result, a victory with a 'group of personal achievements to boot'. Her winning time was 3:57.75, a new PB [Personal Best], NR [National Record] and YB [Year's Best].

The initial pace was 'slightly ludicrous', 59.60 for the 1st 400m, however this did not 'scare' the powerfully built Turkish athlete who went with the pace. The rest of the field choose to have 'their own race within a race' and when the pacesetter took Ayhan through 800m in 2:06.47, the Turk looked a certain winner. Passing through 1200m in 3:12.64, the rest of the field could only watch in 'admiration' as the Turk disappeared into the 'yonder' winning by a full 3 seconds. Alesya Turova, the tall Belarus athlete, proved to be the best of the rest coming home ahead of Regina Jacobs of the USA.

Amazingly, Ayhan ran the last 400m solo in 60.96, to further demonstrate her awesome 'finishing strength'. If she is able to stay fit and healthy, we may be treated to some spectacular times over the distance in the near future. [ results below ]

The Men's 3000m race report
Yet another race where only one athlete decides to go with the pacesetters provided. And on this occasion Moroccan athlete, Abderrahim Goumri, was the benefactor. Why the 'other' athletes choose to 'not go with' the pace provided, eludes me? The 1st 2Km's was not staggering, 1Km came and went in 2:30.54 and 2Km passed by in 5:04.43.

By 2Km, all Goumri had to do, was maintain a 'reasonable' pace and the 'chasing pack' would be unable to catch him.

This he achieved with the 'utmost' ease, as the rest of the field 'scrambling' in their chase for the 2nd spot. Eventhough, Abraham Chebii of Kenya was able to close to within a second of the winner, they were never actually in this race.

If ever there was an award for the 'wet squib' race, this 3000m would, 'sadly', be a likely contender [ results below ]

The Men's 800m race report
Next up was 'my much anticipated' race, and 'thankfully' they did provide. Whenever, Russian athlete Yuriy Borzakovsky, lines up in an 800m race, I am filled with an excitement awaiting 'something special'. On this occasion, something special was 'forthcoming' and the 'only to eager' to provide athlete was 'that' great 800m runner Wilson Kipketer.

Kipketer won in the year's fastest time of 1:42.74, and the 'smile of satisfaction, that eclipsed his face was something 'special to behold. The Dane 'freely admits', that he may not reach the heights he achieved before his malaria of a few years back, however he always gives his best and his 'infalliblity' over the past years has only heightened his ability to 'improve' his racing strategy. Whereas, previously, Kipketer could 'unashamebly' run away from his opposition, he has definitely now become a better athlete tactically and one can only hope that he is able to race for that 'elusive' Gold in Athens in 2004.

Until then though, we can take pleasure in him 'seeing off', all the 'young pretenders'. Borzakovsky was a lot more 'handy' in this race, however he was still never 'up with the pace'. They passed through the 1st 400 in 50:16 and looked set for a dash to the line. Kipketer won this race quite 'convincingly', covering the last 400 in 52.58 and holding all his challengers at bay. In the process he lead a number of athletes to SB [season's bests], with David Krummenacker [USA], in 4th, improving his PB to 1:43.92, as well as, a PB for the Olympic Champion, Nils Scumann [GER] in 8th, with 1:44.20.
[ results below ]

The Men's 3000m SteepleChase race report
The Spaniard, Luís Miguel Martín, provided all the 'fireworks' here, 'eventhough' he did not win the race. That honour went to Kenyan athlete, Ezekiel Kemboi, who went on to record a time of 8:06.65 as opposed to Martín's 8:07.44. For Martín it was a Spanish NR [national record] for Kemboi it was a PB, as well as the satisfaction of victory.

The 1st Km was 2:42.66 and was followed up with 2:43:66, allowing the field to pass through 2Km in 5:26.32. Thereafter, the Spainiard took the race to the Kenyans and applied pressure to the field. The Kenyan 'flowed' over the barriers whereas Martín 'fought' to stay in contention. The more 'fluent' athlete, Kemboi, powered through to victory with Martín less than a second in arrears. [ results below ]

The Women's 1000m race report
Maria Mutola of Mozambique came for the record and left with the 2nd fastest time recorded in history. Unfortunately, the powerfully built, Mutola, was left to go for the record 'under her own steam'. After the 1st 400m in 57.66, the record [2:28.98] of Russian athlete, Svetlana Masterkova, looked under threat. Going through 800m in 1:59.18, Mutola had left herself too much to do over the final 200m and could only 'come home' in 2:30.12. Missing out on the record by 1 second.

Dianne Cummins [Canada] emerged from the chasing pack to take 2nd spot in 2:34.14, with Agnes Samaria [Namibia] taking 3rd in 2:34.19. Both times were new National Records for therir respective countries. [ results below ]

The Men's 1500 race report
Hicham El Guerrouj AGAIN. Morocco's Middle Distance King cruised to victory to keep his sights firmly set on the 'Jackpot'. The manner of victory, at first glance, did not seem so convimcing until you analised the manner in which he won.

The 1st 400m was an 'all to swift' 51.93 and was not a pace that was of much use to the field. Going through 800m in 1:50.85 the pace had settled to something that the field cold attack off. Lagat moved into contention tracking Guerrouj. The Moroccan did not show any 'visible' acceleration from 500m and he lead through 1200m in 2:50.49. Coming into the last 100m Lagat was 'ominously' poised and 'I for one' thought that Guerrouj was going to be passed.

But, it never happened. Instead, The King, cruised away from his opponent 'effortlessly'. Going on to record a winning time of 3:29.95, compared to Lagat's 3:30.39. At one point, it did look as though Guerrouj was under pressure, however when you see that the last 400m was covered in 52.64, it would reveal that Lagat himself was under considerable pressure. Yet again, Guerrouj's 'flowing style' had deceived this viewer. [ results below ]

Meeting Gaz De France Paris Saint-Denis Results

Women's Results

3000m
1 ADERE, Berhane ETH SB 8:26.14
2 SZABO, Gabriela ROM 8:26.15
3 TOMASHOVA, Tatyana RUS SB 8:27.18
4 PAVEY, Jo GBR PB 8:31.27
5 CHOJECKA, Lidia POL NR 8:31.69
6 ABEYLEGESSE, Elvan TUR NR 8:31.94
7 WORKU, Ayelech ETH PB 8:32.80
8 EL KAMCH, Zhor MAR PB 8:35.10
9 KAVAKLIOGLU, Ebru TUR SB 8:38.76
10 DEFAR, Meseret ETH PB 8:40.28
11 DIBABA, Tirunesh ETH PB 8:41.86
12 OUAZIZ, Zahra MAR SB 8:45.09
13 KIBIWOTT, Viola KEN PB 8:47.59
14 OCHICHI, Isabella KEN 8:52.15
15 BABCOCK, Courtney CAN 8:57.99
16 OUAZIZ, Seloua MAR 8:59.54
17 VOLKOVA, Liliya RUS 9:21.65

1500m
1 AYHAN, Süreyya TUR NR,YB 3:57.75
2 TUROVA, Alesya BLR 4:00.76
3 JACOBS, Regina USA 4:01.06
4 SACRAMENTO, Carla POR SB 4:01.35
5 FAVOR HAMILTON, Suzy USA 4:03.01
6 HENDRICKEN, Geraldine IRL PB 4:03.08
7 GORELOVA, Natalya RUS 4:03.46
8 VARGA, Judit HUN 4:04.43
9 LISHCHINSKAYA, Irina UKR 4:05.52
10 YORDANOVA, Daniela BUL 4:05.70
11 SCHWALD, Sarah USA 4:06.15
12 MARANGA, Jackline KEN 4:06.19
13 HYMAN, Mardrea JAM 4:06.80
14 FERNÁNDEZ, Nuria ESP 4:09.44
15 DEJAEGHERE, Veerle BEL 4:09.64
16 BAOUF, Fatiha BEL 4:15.87

1000m
1 MUTOLA, Maria De Lourdes MOZ YB 2:30.12
2 CUMMINS, Diane CAN NR 2:34.14
3 SAMARIA, Agnes NAM NR 2:34.19
4 CALATAYÚD, Zulia CUB 2:34.31
5 FORMANOVÁ, Ludmila CZE 2:36.10
6 GESELL, Claudia GER PB 2:36.84
7 MACHARIA, Faith KEN 2:37.91
8 DZYADKOVA, Natalya BLR 2:38.77
9 LANGERHOLC, Brigita SLO 2:42.29

Other results :

100 M
1 Jones Marion USA 10.88 2 Pintusevich-Block Zhanna UKR 10.90 3 Lawrence Tayna JAM 10.93
200M
1 Jones Marion USA 22.11 2 Pintusevich-Block Zhanna UKR 22.24 3 Ferguson Debbie BAH 22.58
400M
1 Guevara Ana MEX 49.69 2 Fenton Lorraine JAM 50.17 3 Miles Clark Jearl USA 50.70
100M Hurdles
1 Devers Gail USA 12.49 2 Kirkland Anjanette USA 12.62 3 Foster Bridgette JAM 12.65
High Jump
1 Bergqvist Kajsa SWE 1.99 2 Cloete Hestrie RSA 1.97 3 Kuptsova Marina RUS 1.97
Javelin
1 Szabó Nikolett HUN 63.252 Menéndez Osleidys CUB 63.183 Shikolenko Tatyana RUS 61.47

Men's Results

10000m
1 KIPKETER, Sammy KEN YB,PB 26:49.38
2 MEZEGEBU, Assefa ETH PB 26:49.90
3 LIMO, Richard KEN PB 26:50.20
4 CHEPKIRUI, Albert KEN PB 26:50.67
5 KORIR, John Cheruiyot KEN PB 26:52.87
6 IVUTI, Patrick KEN PB 27:05.88
7 YUDA, John TAN NR 27:06.17
8 GEBREMARIAM, Gebre-egziabher ETH PB 27:25.61
9 SIHEN, Sileshi ETH PB 27:26.12
10 MAASE, Kamiel NED NR 27:26.29
11 KIPROP, Francis KEN PB 27:36.78
12 KOMEN, Daniel KEN PB 27:38.32
13 VEGA, Teodoro MEX 28:00.91
14 MEKONNEN, Hailu ETH PB 28:01.10
15 KESKA, Karl GBR 28:11.20
16 OLMEDO, Pablo MEX PB 28:11.75
17 BERRIOUI, Saïd MAR SB 28:40.53

3000m
1 GOUMRI, Abderrahim MAR SB 7:35.77
2 CHEBII, Abraham KEN 7:36.58
3 KIPKOSGEI, Luke KEN SB 7:37.05
4 BITOK, Paul KEN 7:37.12
5 KWALIA, James KEN 7:37.32
6 BETT, Mark KEN PB 7:38.34
7 CHENONGE, Hillary KEN PB 7:39.22
8 LIMO, Benjamin KEN 7:40.72
9 ABATE, Abiyote ETH SB 7:42.06
10 EL GHAZI, Salah MAR 7:44.00
11 JANSSENS, Hans BEL PB 7:49.56
12 GENETI, Markos ETH PB 7:50.58
13 LEBED, Sergey UKR 7:50.79
14 LAHSSINI, El Hassan FRA 7:54.01
15 COMPERNOLLE, Tom BEL 8:03.96

800m
1 KIPKETER, Wilson DEN YB 1:42.74
2 YIAMPOY, William KEN SB 1:43.36
3 MUTUA, Joseph KEN 1:43.81
4 KRUMMENACKER, David USA PB 1:43.92
5 BUCHER, André SUI SB 1:43.93
6 SAÏD-GUERNI, Djabir ALG SB 1:44.11
7 BORZAKOVSKIY, Yuriy RUS SB 1:44.16
8 SCHUMANN, Nils GER PB 1:44.20
9 CZAPIEWSKI, Pawel POL SB 1:44.32
10 JANSEN, Joeri BEL PB 1:44.38
11 OMEY, Tom BEL 1:46.46

3000m SteepleChase
1 KEMBOI, Ezekiel KEN PB 8:06.65
2 MARTÍN, Luís Miguel ESP NR 8:07.44
3 KOECH, Paul Kipsiele KEN 8:11.79
4 KIPKETER, Wilson Boit KEN 8:12.31
5 SAIFELDIN, Khamis QAT NR 8:13.45
6 MISOI, Kipkurui KEN SB 8:13.47
7 BLANCO, José Luis ESP PB 8:15.02
8 TAHRI, Bouabdallah FRA 8:19.25
9 KIPYEGO, Michael KEN 8:31.12
10 GHIRMAI, Filmon GER 8:31.49
11 EL ASRI, Abdelgafour MAR 8:33.09

1500m
1 EL GUERROUJ, Hicham MAR 3:29.95
2 LAGAT, Bernard KEN 3:30.39
3 RONO, Robert KEN PB 3:30.99
4 CHIRCHIR, Cornelius KEN 3:31.02
5 BAALA, Mehdi FRA SB 3:32.03
6 SILVA, Rui POR 3:32.27
7 SHABUNIN, Vyacheslav RUS SB 3:32.37
8 ROTICH, Laban KEN SB 3:32.82
9 ESTÉVEZ, Reyes ESP SB 3:32.93
10 HIGUERO, Juan Carlos ESP 3:33.72
11 CHOUKI, Fouad FRA SB 3:33.93
12 KIPCHIRCHIR, Alex KEN 3:34.31
13 KOERS, Marko NED SB 3:36.13
14 VANDIEST, Matthieu BEL PB 3:36.33
15 BENSGHIR, Yassine MAR 3:41.50
16 VANDEWIELE, Jürgen BEL 3:47.29

Other results :

100 M
1 Montgomery Tim USA 9.91 2 Obikwelu Francis POR 10.01 3 Collins Kim SKN 10.01
200 M
1 Miller Coby USA 20.07 2 Patton Darvis USA 20.12 3 Obikwelu Francis POR 20.22
400 M Hurdles
1 Sánchez Felix DOM 47.99 2 Diagana Stéphane FRA 48.05 3 Woody Joey USA 48.39
Javelin
1 Henry Boris GER 83.76 2 Haatainen Harri FIN 82.74 3 Lange Björn GER 82.33
Pole Vault
1 Averbukh Aleksandr ISR 5.80 2 Hartwig Jeff USA 5.80 3 Janacek Štepán CZE 5.75
Triple Jump
1 Davis Walter USA 17.40 2 Olsson Christian SWE 17.33 3 Martínez Alexander CUB 17.30

Time-to-Run Track section