Posted: January 27, 2005

Athletics: Lagat Follows Own Path In 2005

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

With two Olympic medals to his credit, Bernard Lagat has little to prove about his ability to perform at the highest levels of athletics. The former Washington State University star, who hails from the Nandi region of Kenya, has thrilled crowds from Athens to Zürich with his duels against Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj, highlighted by their incredible stretch run for the 1500m gold medal last summer.

"Although people were saying El G was weaker this year (2004), I knew the real El G would show up in Athens, so I never underestimated his power," said Lagat in an exclusive interview conducted via e-mail with Race Results Weekly.

El Guerrouj, whose failure to win Olympic titles in 1996 when he fell in the final, and 2000 when he was out-sprinted by Noah Ngeny, raised his battle with Lagat to epic heights when they took to the track the night of 24-Aug for the 1500m final. Lagat came into the race full of confidence from his victory over El Guerrouj at the Weltklasse in Zürich 18 days before when the Kenyan ran a sizzling 3:27.40, 24/100ths faster than the Moroccan.

"Zürich was a confidence booster for me, because I have been battling the same thing over the years: not letting El G get away from me," Lagat recalled. "In Zürich, I felt strong, hung onto his back, and just kept focus on the finish line."

In Athens, Lagat used the same strategy which had been so effective in Zürich: stay close then pounce in the final 150m. But this time El Guerrouj would not be denied. "I dug deep to pass El G on the final turn, but I used everything doing it and I had nothing left to carry me to the finish line. El G had a bit more fuel saved up, and that is how I lost. I tried to cross the finish line first, but in the corner of my eye, I could see that El G got it. No matter how much I stretched (my neck!) to get across the line, I crossed in second."

The difference at the line? A scant 12/100ths of a second. Nonetheless, Lagat had moved up from bronze in 2000 to silver in 2004, and he was proud. "I feel fine about that loss, because I knew I gave it everything I had. There is nothing I could have done differently, and there are no regrets. I left everything out on the track, and El G was the stronger man that night. I would have been disappointed if I had done something wrong, or if El G was not in his usual shape, but I knew we were both 100% and he won fairly. El G is a great athlete and losing to him is not bad at all."

Lagat is set to open his season at the Reebok Boston Indoor Games on Saturday night in the mile, a race which would seem to begin his march towards a 1500m gold medal at the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki in August. But to Lagat, who missed the 2003 World Championships when a botched doping test got him bounced from the Kenyan team, the World Championships have lost much of their importance in his eyes.

"Paris was the biggest disappointment of my life, and now World Champs don't mean anything to me," wrote Lagat who added that it was impossible to make up for the humiliation and lost opportunities of 2003. His "A" sample had been declared positive for the blood boosting agent rEPO, but his "B" sample was clean (both samples must be positive for a positive test result to be confirmed).

"I now know that even when you don't do anything wrong, people can deny you the opportunity to run, so I can't focus only on World Champs anymore. It wasn't that the drug test result was bad, the TEST itself is bad and leads to false results!"

It has become clear to him that the stain of the false positive isn't so easy to wash off, and that suspicions will always follow him. "2003 cannot be made up, because forever I will have to deal with those accusations," Lagat wrote. "Even after I die, people will talk about it along with my accomplishments. It still makes me sad thinking about it, but I am starting to deal with it. I was once told, 'you only have to prove yourself to God,' and I know that God knows I didn't do anything, and I can go to sleep every night with a clear conscience."

With the World Championships a lesser priority --he didn't say if he would take part or not-- Lagat will run to please himself. "My goals for 2005 are to run faster than I have ever run before. I have always enjoyed running and racing, and just as long as I am happy and running fast, I will be satisfied."

The race in Boston will be one of four that Lagat plans to contest indoors. He'll toe the line for the Wannamaker Mile at the Millrose Games on 04-Feb, race another mile in Fayetteville at the Powered by Tyson Invitational on 11-Feb, and then close his indoor season in Birmingham, England on 18-Feb where he'll run the 1500m.

"I have always enjoyed running indoors since college, so I am looking forward to it," Lagat commented.

Coached by James Li, Lagat is able to stay close to his family while he trains in Tucson, Az. His brother, Robert Cheseret, who won the PAC-10 titles last year at 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m, is a junior at the University of Arizona. His sister, Irine, is a red-shirt freshman at the same school. He's thankful to be able to spend time with them now, something that wasn't possible when they were thousands of miles apart on different continents.

"I spend alot of time with my siblings because I was not around when they were growing up in Kenya. I was in secondary school (boarding school) when they were kids at home, so I didn't see them until the holidays. Then, when I graduated and moved to the U.S., they joined secondary school. So, I rarely got to see them growing up. Now, I treasure the time with my siblings, and I am still learning a lot about them."

Yes, they are both runners, but that is only part of the story. Lagat wants them to use their educational opportunities to advance themselves in the way which is best for them.

"I give them some training advice, but not too much because I trust my coach to train them well. Mostly, I give them advice about life, and making the best out of their opportunities. I want them to have a successful career regardless of running. Sometimes Robert and I train together, and when I have slow easy days, I run with my sister."

For Lagat, his career path is all about running fast, and with El Guerrouj --also the Olympic 5000m champion-- leaning towards the longer distances perhaps their rivalry is over? "I will believe he moves to the 5 km when I see it. For now, I am still counting him in on the 1500m! He is still strong, and since he doesn't seem to slow down, why move up yet? I always run my best when El G is in the race, and I look forward to having many more races with him. Races aren't the same without El G."