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Ramzi Defeats Kiprop to Win First-Ever Olympic Gold for Bahrain; Willis Surprises with Bronze

Posted August 19th, 2008 at 3:58 PM by Stephanie Lowe

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

Thanks to Rashid Ramzi, Bahrain has its first-ever Olympic gold medal. The former Moroccan won the men’s 1500 meters Tuesday night in Beijing. With a relentless 51-second final lap, Ramzi, the 2005 world champion, finished in 3:32.94 ahead of Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop (3:33.11). Nick Willis of New Zealand was third in 3:34.16.

“I didn’t expect this in my wildest dreams. This didn’t come from nothing, I had to work hard, now I can be very proud,” Ramzi said.

The race started with Kiprop and Kenyan teammate Augustine Choge in the lead. Kiprop led the pack through the first 400 meters in 56.48 seconds. Then Choge took over for a 1:56.06 800-meter split.

During the next 700 meters, the long-legged Kiprop, 19, got boxed in and was forced to shorten his signature stride. He responded quickly, but did not have a strong enough kick in the end to defeat the 28-year-old Ramzi. Choge faded in the last lap to finish 10th in 3:35.50.

Willis ran a smart race, perfectly positioning himself for his final kick to beat France’s Mehdi Baala by .05 seconds.

“I must have timed it to perfection, the French guy almost got me on the inside, but I saw him up on the big screen coming, and I eked out that last inch to dip him on the line,” Willis said.

Willis, 25, is the first medalist for New Zealand since Dick Quax 32 years ago. No other New Zealand track athlete has even made an Olympic final since 1984. He was an underdog in this race.

He attended the University of Michigan, where he was a seven-time NCAA All American. Willis currently lives and trains in Ann Arbor. Without world champion Bernard Lagat of the U.S. in the final, Willis had support from many Americans.

Lagat was a favorite in the 1500m until he failed to make it to the final. At the world championship meet last summer in Osaka, Lagat won gold in both the 1500m and the 5000m. Ramzi won silver in the 1500m at that meet. Now that Ramzi won gold in the 1500m, will he defeat the reigning 5000-meter world champion as well?

Ramzi and Lagat are scheduled to run in the preliminary heats of the 5000-meter run Wednesday, August 20, at 8:15 p.m. (8:15 a.m. EDT).