Ninth IAAF World Cup WITH LASSITER PACING, LAGAT WINS WORLD CUP 1500M TITLE Note: For Race Results Weekly (RRW) - 20-Sep-02 - Madrid, ESP -- For those who have grown weary of paced efforts on the Golden League circuit, the World Cup 1500 was to be something different, a bright spotlight under which Bernard Lagat could shine as not only a fast, but tactically superior miler. The last thing one would expect during a team competition such as the World Cup, after all, would be the type of pace-making that has become commonplace in major races. But after U.S. entrant Seneca Lassiter sped through the initial 800 meters in 1:50.20 before jogging through to the finish, it became apparent that the World Cup, the IAAF´s equivalent of an international team championship, would not escape the increasingly unpopular art of pace-making. Lagat did win in a Cup record 3:31.20, and readily thanked Lassiter, his training partner, for helping him to reach a fast time. "I just wanted to have a fast race," said the 2000 Olympic bronze medallist. "I knew that if it would be a fast race, I would run and win the race easily. And that's when Seneca said, 'I'd be happy to pace you.' And he really did that." Lassiter, who finished last in 4:05.82, was blunt. "I was rabbiting," he said matter-of-factly. "I was rabbiting the race." The gameplan, according to both Lassiter and Lagat, was decided during their pre-race warm-up. "We just decided that I should just take the pace," said Lassiter, who won the U.S. 1500 title in 3:40.90. Defending his decision, the 1999 Arkansas grad said, "I haven't really been in good form this season, and I've kind of been falling apart, so I said I'd help him. This is not my time, but next year I'll be ready. I won't be rabbiting next year." USATF CEO Craig Masback was reportedly furious, and the IAAF said afterwards that they might investigate the race. Lassiter confirmed that US coaches were unaware of his racing strategy. "No one knew," he said. But his decision to not run competitively cost the U.S. valuable points in the team race, in which the African squad leads with 65 points, just four ahead of the U.S. A middle-of-the pack finish by Lassiter would have left the competition tied after the first day. While Lagat said that the pacing strategy was not intended specifically with Spaniard Reyes Estevez in mind, it clearly succeeded. Lagat was running just a few strides ahead of the Spaniard through three laps, before his kick with 170 meters to go relegated the home team favorite to second, in 3:33.67. As expected, the women's 800 was a fiercely fought battle between Maria Mutola and European Champion Jolanda Ceplak. As has become her trademark, Ceplak quickly took the lead and cleared the field 160 meters into the race, with Mutola, having to run from lane nine, tucking in behind her a few seconds later. Ceplak brought the field through the first lap in 58.44, followed by Mutola and Mayte Martinez. Mutola made her move coming into the final straight, passing the Slovenian world indoor record holder in the final 30 meters, crossing the line in 1:58.60 to become the first four-time World Cup champion. A thunderous roar of the crowd pushed Martinez past a fading Ceplak to finish second, 1:59.25 to 1:59.42. "For me it was a little bit tough mentally because I had to come from lane nine," the world and Olympic champion said. "I never run from that far out. The first 100 meters were very tough. It's the end of the season, and everybody's tired. Racing at the end of season comes down to experience and running smart." The men's 5000m was another crowd pleaser after Spaniard Alberto Garcia jetted past Paul Kosgei on the final turn to finish unchallenged in 13:30.04. After a victory lap that had the crowd bowing while chanting "Al-ber-to," Garcia said, "It was worth training another month to get a victory like this." American Meb Keflezighi, who controlled much of the race with aggressive front-running, faded to fourth in 13:33.44, a half second behind Ismail Sghyr of France. "I tried to get the USA on the distance map and be competitive," said Keflezighi, who won the US 10,000m title this summer and is reportedly training for a fall marathon debut. "I thought I did that. I ran the race I had to run." The women's 3000m was expected to be a tactical affair between defending champion Gabriela Szabo and Berhane Adere, with the win going to the runner making the fewest mistakes. This time out, it was a premature celebration at the end of a thrilling sprint finish that gave the nod to Adere (8:50.88) by one one-hundredth of a second. "You know," said the Romanian, "that's why this is a nice sport. Whoever doesn't make mistakes wins." Yelena Zadorozhnaya, who appeared to be the victor with 80 meters to go, was just four one-hundredths behind Szabo in the closest finish ever in the World Cup. Advance ticket sales exceeded 25,000 per session, more than 85 per cent of Estadio Comunidad's capacity. Even after a torrential downpour and thunderstorms halted competition briefly at the outset, most of the fans stayed. Heated team battles are promised as competition resumes Saturday. In the women´s battle, Europe (63) leads Russia by one point, with the United States in third just three points back. On the men's side, Europe is third with 60 points, just one point behind the team USA. |
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