Greatest of all time, says Aouita

Press, 24 July 1987, Page 34

Greatest of all time, says Aouita

NZPA-AP Rome Said Aouita of Morocco, says he is the greatest middle-distance runner of all time. For those who saw him break the 13-minute barrier in the men’s 5000 metres at the Rome Olympic Stadium yesterday, it sounded like a very natural claim. “Nobody has ever had a string of great times such as mine for all distances from the 1500 m to the 10,000 m,” said the 26-year-old Aouita yesterday, shortly after running the 5000 m in 12min 58.39 s at the Golden Gala, the eleventh meeting on the I.A.A.F. Mobil Grand Prix agenda. The time • shattered Aouita’s own world record of 13:00.40, which had been in the books since 1985. For the last two years, people have expected the Moroccan star to get under 13 minutes. He has so far been the only runner to reach two landmarks in track history — getting under 3mln 30s in the 1500 m and under 13 minutes in the 5000 m. Ironically, Aouita has always considered the 10,000 m his favourite race, and he had reportedly set his sights on that distance for the world championships in Rome in late August “I guess now I’ll have to run the 5000 m at the world championships in Rome,” said Aouita after his record performance. “It would be stupid to stay out after my race here.” The track star had

•jl' never come so close tocommitting himself for a distance in Rome. The, most he had disclosed was that he would run two out of three races: the 1500m,s the 5000 m and the 10,000 m. Indications were; he was going for ths 1500 m and the 10,000 m. v Aouita holds the world record for the 1500 m at 3:29.46 and also for the two miles and the 2000 m. He is also the second’ fastest in the world for the mile and the 3000 m? and he Is the seventh? fastest in the 10,000 m, a distance he has often J neglected. He said he had gone to; Rome just to win, not' expecting a world record performance after feeling so tired when he broke the world record for the? 2000 m in Paris, a week ago with 4:50.81. ;. When he set out all alone on the last four laps of the 5000 m in. Rome, with the temperature at 30C, it appeared to be a desperate try, although he was running over five seconds under his 1985 mark. \ Aouita went on with great confidence and per-? sistence, and he made it,sending a crowd of over? 40,000 wild with ment ; “Had I realised I was insuch a good form, I’d have tried to run in 12:50,” Aouita said. “I; could have done it” \ His immediate plans are to run a 10,000 m id La Coruna, Spain, earlynext month and then start training for the worldchampionships. <