NAIROBI, Kenya, September 19- World record holder and champion, David Rudisha’s unbeaten streak in 800m was ended on Sunday in Milan by Ethiopian teenager, Mohammed Aman.
Aman, who was one of the revelations of the Daegu World Championships, stopped the clock at 1:43.50 to edge out his lanky opponent by seven hundredth of a second to end Rudisha’s run that stretched for 26 races.
Running under heavy rain and strong headwind, Rudisha’s trusted pacesetter, Sammy Tangui went through the opening lap in 50.21 before the world champion led through 600m as the Ethiopian bore down on him.
Aman took the lead at the home straight but Rudisha’s despairing attempt to make up the ground and overhaul the Worlds finalist failed.
“It was very hard to warm up,” Rudisha told IAAF after the race. “The same happened two years ago in Berlin. I felt very tired but I am happy with the season which was highlighted by the world title in Daegu and the Diamond League win.”
Commonwealth champion and Worlds silver winner, Silas Kiplagat had no problems playing his favourite role to perfection when he won the men 1500m race at a canter in heavy pouring rain.
Kiplagat was paced in 1:51.41 at 800 metres and 2:35.51 at the 1100 metres. He ran alone against the clock in the last lap romping home in 3:33.28, a decent performance in these weather conditions.
Compatriot Augustine Choge registered his second victory of the season when he topped a hard-fought men’s 3000m race in 7:41.30 in terrible rainy conditions holding off Ethiopian Mekonnen Gebremedin (7:41.42) and Thomas Longosiwa who clocked 7:42.00 just two days after his second place in the Brussels 5000m.
Showers stopped before the women’s 800m but obviously wet conditions affected the race where Cherono Koech, the World Junior silver medallist in Moncton last year, notched up the win in 2:00.34.
Elsewhere, Matthew Kisorio smashed the American All-Comers Record in winning the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia.
Kisorio fought off a challenge from one of his best friends, countryman Sammy Kitwara, winning in 58:46, smashing the mark of 58:55, which was then a World record when set by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia in Phoenix in 2006.
Kisorio, who plans to run his first Marathon in New York in November, was excited about his race.
“I was looking to run my fastest ever,” Kisorio told IAAF after holding on to his title and breaking his own course record of 1:00:16. “I’ve been training hard in Kenya for the last two months.”
Kenyans occupied the first five positions with Kitwara coming home in 58:48 to play bridesmaid followed by James Mwangi (1:00:43), Peter Kamais (1:01:07) and Julius Koskei (1:01:22) in that order.
In Netherlands, record holder, Leonard Komon continued his winning connection at the country he set the 10km and 15km world records last year after sizzling to 44:34, the second fastest time over ten miles at the 27th Dam tot Dam from Amsterdam to Zaandam.
After running to two World records (10Km in Utrecht at 26:44 and 15Km in Nijmegen in 41:13), Komon, who was expelled from Kenya’s World Cross team earlier this year, tore through rainy and cool conditions for victory, missing the World best of 44:23 set by Haile Gebrselassie by just four seconds.
There was double joy for Kenya after Priscah Jepleting, the fourth finisher over 10,000m in Daegu, won the women’s race in 51:57. Her winning time was the fastest of 2011 over the distance.
