Abdalaati Iguider rewards home crowd with 1500m victory

(BEIJING, June 15) -- Twenty-one-year-old Abdalaati Iguider beat Algerian Tarek Boukensa in a sprint down the stretch in the 1500m of the CAA Super Grand Prix on June 15, posting a 3:32.37 in front of more than 25,000 of his fellow countrymen. The time is just shy of his personal best, 3:32.10, which he set at the Berlin Golden League meet.

Btissam Lakhaoud won the women's 1500m with a time of 4:06.71, edging out Agnes Samaria of Namibia and completing the Moroccan sweep of the 1500m.

In the men's 5000m, world record holder Kenenisa Bekele broke away from the pack at the 3000m mark and easily grabbed first place with a time of 13:06.38. Bekele will be competing in the 10,000m race in Beijing this summer; his participation in the 5,000m will be a Games-time decision.

World champion Brimin Kipruto from Kenya beat Moroccans Abdelkader Hachlaf and Brahim Taleb in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 8:15.23.