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Bernard Lagat of the United States after taking the bronze medal in the final of the Men's 1500m during the World Athletics Championships in Berlin on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Re-asserting himself as the top men's distance runner in the United States today, Bernard Lagat came very close to duplicating his historic World Championships double of 2007, with a bronze and silver medal at the 2009 Championships in Berlin.
Lagat's first test was in the 1500. On Saturday, the opening day of the championships, Lagat cruised easily through a qualifying heat in 3:41. Coming back on Monday, he ran a fast 3:36.86 in the semi-final to qualify for the final. On Wednesday, Lagat toed the line with the best dozen 1500 meter runners in the world, working to stay in third much of the way. Coming off the final stretch Lagat found himself boxed in too long to unleash his kick and catch the top two runners, finishing a slightly disappointed third in 3:36.20. The race was won by Yusuf Saad Kamel, of Bahrain, in 3:35.93, followed closely by Deresse Mekonnen, of Ethiopia, in 3:36.01.
See more event coverage of the 12th World Track & Field Championships in Berlin.
Lagat didn't have much time to dwell on his 1500 meter performance, as he had to come back the following day to run a qualifying heat in the 5,000 meter. Lagat's time was a quite fast 13:23.73, leaving concerns that after 4 fast races in 6 days, his legs would not be fully recovered for the finals of the 5,000 meter on Sunday.
Lagat's principle opponent in the 5,000 meter would be Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist at the distance. Bekele had himself already run a 10,000 meter final and a 5,000 meter qualifying heat, so the question would be which man would have the freshest pair of legs in the final.
In the 5,000 meter final Bekele lead from the start, but didn't set the blistering pace many expected of him. Nearly the entire field of competitors stayed with Bekele, bunched tightly into a pack, up until the final lap. Lagat positioned himself squarely behind Bekele on the inside lane, ready to answer any break-away surge Bekele might attempt. Bekele was happy to wait until the final lap, at which point his long stride carried him away from a field that fought heroically to hold on. Lagat had to jockey for position on the back stretch, and coming around the final corner with 150 meters to go he pulled along side Bekele. At 50 meters from the finish Lagat inched slightly ahead of Bekele, but the Ethiopian answered with one final burst which broke Lagat, and the American's stride collapsed, coasting across the finish in second, 13:17.09 to 13:17.33.
For Lagat, these two medals at the World Championships in Berlin bring his career total to 5, to go with a silver medal won at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Lagat, who was born in Kenya and became a US citizen in 2004, has earned 4 of his World Championships medals as an American.
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