Kenenisa Bekele beats Lagat in Paris 3000m

letsrun.com reports

Once double world champ Bernard Lagat was added to the Paris 3k as a late addition, this race had the potential to be a classic. Who would win at 3k? The 1,500 man Lagat or the 10k man Bekele?

The race certainly lived up to the hype, but in the end, Kenenisa Bekele proved his greatness by getting the win over Lagat. But it was by no means easy for Bekele, as he appeared to be "running scared" the whole time, fearful that Lagat would get him at the end.

With Lagat in the field, it was no surprise that Bekele wanted the pace to be extremely hot. The goal for the rabbits was 2:27 for the first 1k and 4:54 for the first 2,000. An impossible pace given the conditions, as the wind was as high as 20mpw at times on Friday in Paris. However, it was essential for Bekele that the pace be hot.

The rabbits went out extremely fast, 57+ for the opening lap and 2:28.85 for 1k. Bekele was right on the rabbits' shoulders but Lagat wasn't too far behind - two to three meters in arrears. By 1,800 meters, it was clear the pace was taxing as the rabbit was having a hard time holding off Bekele. Moreover, Bekele was already looking over his shoulder to see if any damage was being done to Lagat. Yes, damage was being done as by 2k (4:58.40), Bekele had two seconds up on Lagat. But to his credit, Lagat never gave up. Over the final 1k, the two great champions kept the grind on.

Bekele had a sizeable lead but he knew he was basically maxed out and fearful Lagat would be coming. At least three times (probably 4 or 5 times), Bekele looked over his shoulder to make sure Lagat wasn't right there. With 500 to, 250 to go, and yet again as he rounded the final turn, Bekele wanted to see where he stood.

In the end, Bekele got the win in a seasonal best of 7:28.64 to Lagat's new PR of 7:33.15.

However, if one just looked at the results and saw a 4.71 margin of victory and figured this was yet another ho-hum victory by Bekele, they would be wrong as the gap was still under 3 seconds heading into the last 400. To see such a great champion as Bekele pushed to the max and running scared and appearing human with the constant looks over his shoulder was a real treat. Both he and Lagat deserve praise for keeping the pedal to the metal. Over the final 1k, both men kept the pressure on and the fans entertained. The 1,600 was probably passed in roughly 3:58 as 2k was hit in 4:58.40.

Also deserving praise was American 5k runner-up Chris Solinsky, who finished 4th in 7:37.72.

1 BEKELE Kenenisa 7:28.64
2 LAGAT Bernard 7:33.15 PB
3 AMDOUNI Mourad 7:37.50 EL
4 SOLINSKY Chris 7:37.72
5 HIGUERO Juan Carlos 7:38.71 PB
6 KOMON Leonard Patrick 7:38.98 SB
7 BIWOTT Yussuf Kibet 7:40.96
8 KWALIA James 7:44.02
9 SALEL Daniel Lemashon 7:44.39 PB
10 MAROFIT Mourad 7:44.67 PB
11 YATOR Vincent 7:46.34
12 WARGA Sahle 7:46.40
13 NDIWA Cornelius 7:52.94
14 CRAGG Alistair Ian 8:00.77
CHERKOS Abreham DNF
ESHO Benson Marrianyi DNF
POLONET Vickson Naran DNF