Photo above by www.photorun.net: The field nears the finish line of the 2007 IAAF World Championship Men's 1500m. Kiprop (far right) has been racing well (4th at World); Boukensa (left, in green) is another top talent in 2007 (3:30.92 Rome Golden League 7/13/07).

Who Has Fuel to Burn Ten Days After Osaka?
The international track & field spotlight returns to Europe and the IAAF Golden League at Zurich's Weltklasse track & field meet on Friday evening, September 7 (afternoon in the USA) in Switzerland. Fans can watch all the action free of charge at www.sportnet.com

Zurich's no-pacesetters philosophy this year could result in a compelling 1500M battle between world leader Alan Webb (3:30.54 7/06/07 in Paris) of Reston, VA, Kenyans Daniel Kipchirchir Komen and Alex Kipchirchir.

The absence of pacemakers in the middle and long distance races is one of the hallmarks of the 2007 Weltklasse meet. "We think athletics has suffered in recent years by athletes avoiding each other," explained the meeting director Patrick Magyar at a press conference. "We are trying to bring these people together in exciting duels at the highest level."

Updated on 9/07/07: Chris Turner of IAAF wrote on Thursday (9/06/07) of the Men's 1500M: ". . . After his nervous 8th place disappointment, American Alan Webb will surely be looking for a barnstorming response to his critics. . ." [This is an opportunity for Alan to display athletic confidence in a high pressure setting of a Golden League race with its NFL-like setting, ie a huge crowd, top-notch competition, and televised coverage. End of update] The meet organizers have assembled an incredible field for the Men's 1500M, with eight of the twelve fastest performers (exlcuding Adil Kaouch, who has tested positive for a banned substance) in 2007 on the start list: # 1 Alan Webb (Reston, VA), # 2 Tarek Boukensa (Algeria), # 3 Mehdi Baala (France), # 5 Belal Mansoor Ali (Bahrain), # 6 Alex Kipchirchir (Kenya). Eight of the top twelve placers in the World 1500M final are also represented: Asbel Kiprop (4th, Kenya), Tarek Boukensa (5th, Algeria), Antar Zerguelaine (6th, Algeria), Arturo Casado (7th, Spain), and Alan Webb (8th, USA).

The new Letzigrund stadium, which had been conceived in architectural terms several years ago, has now become a reality. "We wanted to have predominantly an athletics stadium and not a football stadium used for athletics," Magyar explained. "We still hope to have a good co-existence with the football clubs of Zurich, but we are pleased that the overall concept remains as an athletics venue."

Updated 9/07/07 2:15 p.m. Mehdi Baala of France has won the race. Alan Webb lacked closing speed on the final straight.End of update
Results available 2:40 p.m. The men's 1500M race was a slow, tactical affair with the first 400M passed in 61.74 seconds, 800M in 1:59.19, 1200m in 2:56.91. End of update

Men's 1500m Results

Place  	 Athlete         	Nation  	Result
1 	 BAALA, Mehdi       	FRA 		3:38.62
2 	 BOUKENSA, Tarek 	ALG 		3:38.84
3 	 KOMEN, Daniel  	KEN 		3:38.96
4 	 ZERGUELAINE, Antar 	ALG 		3:39.18
5 	 KIPROP, Asbel  	KEN 		3:39.31
6 	 OBRIST, Christian 	ITA 		3:39.50
7 	 WEBB, Alan          	USA 		3:39.69
8 	 KIPCHIRCHIR, Alex 	KEN 		3:39.84
9 	 ALI, Belal Mansoor 	BRN 		3:40.21
10 	 SIMOTWO, Suleiman 	KEN 		3:40.52
11 	 BADDELEY, Andy 	GBR 		3:40.75
12 	 CASADO, Arturo 	ESP 		3:44.38

Start List for the Men's 1500M

Athlete and Country
Ali, Belal Mansoor BRN  - 11th World
Baala, Mehdi FRA - DQ  semi W
Baddeley, Andy GBR - 9th W
Boukensa, Tarek ALG - 5th W
Casado, Arturo ESP - 7th W
Gallardo, Sergio ESP - 12th W
Kipchirchir, Alex KEN - 5th 2005 Z
Kiprop, Asbel KEN - 4th W
Komen, Daniel Kipchirchir KEN - 1st 2005 Z
Moustaoui, Mohamed MAR
Simotwo, Suleiman KEN - 4th 2005 Z
Webb, Alan USA
Zerguelaine, Antar ALG - 6th World
Note: Alan Webb placed third in 2005 Zurich Weltklasse 1500m. 
Other athletes in that race indicated with "Z". World 
Championship finish indicated by "W".