Noureddine Morceli - Olympic 1500m Round Reports

Semi Heat 1

  1.  Noureddine Morceli      ALG  3:32.88Q
  2.  Fermin Cacho            ESP  3:33.12Q
  3.  Abdi Bile               SOM  3:33.30Q
  4.  William Tanui           KEN  3:33.57Q
  5.  Laban Rotich            KEN  3:33.73Q
  6.  Driss Maazouzi          MOR  3:34.35q
  7.  John Mayock             GBR  3:34.55q
  8.  Kader, Chekhemani       FRA  3:34.84
  9.  Branko Zorko            CRO  3:35.14
  10. Balazs Tolgyesi         HUN  3:35.14
  11. Luis Feiteira           POR  3:40.31
  12. Niall Bruton            IRL  3.42.88
  

Semi Heat 2
  1.  Hicham El Geuerrouj     MOR  3:35.29Q
  2.  Stephen Kipkorir        KEN  3:35.53Q
  3.  Ali Hakimi              TUN  3:35.91Q
  4.  Mohammed Suleiman       QAT  3:35.91Q
  5.  Marko Koers             NED  3:36.06Q
  6.  Isaac Viciosa           ESP  3:36.11
  7.  Anthony Whiteman        GBR  3:36.11
  8.  Christophe Impens       BEL  3:37.64
  9.  Paul McMullen           USA  3:37.81
  10. Reyes Estevez           ESP  3:39.44
  11. Shane Healy             IRL  3:39.81
  12. Kevin McKay             GBR  3:43.61
  

Olympic 1500m Semis

MEN'S 1500 SEMIFINALS In heat one, Tolgyesi (HUNGARY) goes to the front early, and opens a 5-meter lead. He hits the 400 in 54.92. Tanui (KENYA), Cacho (SPAIN), Bruton (IRELAND) and Bile (SOMALIA) follow. Morceli is 6th. They hit the 800 in 1:54.06, and Tolgyesi is reeled in, though he still leads. Rotich (KENYA) has moved up on the outside. At the bell, Tanui takes the lead, followed by Cacho and Tolgyesi; the split is 2:38.2. They hit 1200 in 2:52.5. Bile and Rotich are on the outside down the back straight. Morceli takes the lead, followed into the turn by Cacho, Bile, Tanui and Rotich. Morceli takes the heat in 3:32.89 (the Olympic record is 3:32.53!). Bile looks very good. Cacho was working to keep up. Tolgyesi sets a Hungarian National Record, running 3:35.97. The top 8 are all under 3:35. It's Morceli, Cacho, Bile, Tanui, Rotich, Maazouzi (MOROCCO), Mayock (ENGLAND) and Tolgyesi. I think. Both time qualifiers come from this heat (top 5, plus 2).

In heat 2, Kipkorir (KENYA), Koers (NETHERLANDS), McMullen (USA) and Healy (IRELAND) are in front, hitting 400 in 58.7. McMullen goes to the back of the pack at 500. El Guerrouj (MOROCCO) moves up, and leads at the bell; the 1200 split is 2:54.3. Koers is struggling but hanging on. At the end it's El Guerrouj looking very relaxed in 3:35.29; Koers is gasping. McMullen never gets it going. It's El Guerrouj, Kipkorir, Hakimi (TUNISIA), Suleiman (QATAR), and Koers. McMullem is a disappointing 9th, in 3:37.61.

- Adam Chesler

Olympic 1500m Rounds

ATLANTA (Jul 29, 1996 - 17:47 EST) -- He runs alone, like a man on a mission to right a wrong, a man determined to bring home Olympic gold.

Noureddine Morceli won his heat in the first round of the men's 1,500 meters rac e Monday, won it barely by half a second in 3 minutes, 41.95 seconds. John Myock of Britain was s econd in 3:42.31.

Morceli's time was not the fastest of the day, not even close. Sixteen others, l ed by Laban Rotich of Kenya, had better times. Morceli did what he needed to do, though. He advanced. He reminded the other runners that he is here and is the man they ultimately have to beat.

Monday's result did not change minds, least of all that of Joaquim Cruz of Brazi l, who was eighth in Morceli's heat. He knows what Morceli has done -- a world-record 3:27.37 -- and can do.

"He revolutionized the race," Cruz said. "He broke the barrier. He made the race look easy. He made the pace possible. Three-thirty? No, now it's the 20s."

Morceli's credentials are substantial. He has won four world 1,500 meter titles, three outdoors and one indoors. Besides the 1,500 record he set a year ago, he has world records fo r the mile (3:44.39), the 2,000 (4:47.88) and the 3,000 (7:25.11). He has been the premier miler of th e 90s, equipped with not only the fastest 1,500 in history, but the five fastest.

So where is the Olympic medal?

In 1992 at Barcelona, he got boxed in and ran a poor race in the 1,500, finishin g seventh. He claims he learned from that mistake, and a year later he broke the world mile record by nearly 2 seconds -- the largest margin since 1966.

Cruz, who won a gold medal in 1984 and a silver in 1988 in the 800, advanced tim es in that event, forcing runners to train for more speed.

Morceli has done the same thing," Cruz said, "He's forcing other runners to chan ge their approach, their psychological way of running. He revolutionized the 1,500 and middle dista nces."

Not all the 1,500 runners are in awe of Morceli. Dieudonne Kwizera of Burundi is one of those.

"He's really good," Kwizera said. "There is something I don't like, though. If y ou're strong, don't be scared of everybody. He shouldn't be afraid of others. Sometimes, he ducks tough competition."

That won't happen here, with the best 1500 runners assembled and Morceli determi ned to correct the errors of Barcelona.

- Nando.net/Associated Press