Posted: February 2, 2006

Athletics: Illness Forces Shaheen To Withdraw From Stuttgart Showdown With Kipchoge

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Bob Ramsak

Saif Saeed Shaheen of Qatar, the two-time world champion in the steeplechase, has been forced to withdraw from Saturday's Sparkassen Cup meeting in Stuttgart due to a stomach bug, according to his manager, Ricky Simms.

"He felt ill at the beginning of the week and was forced to take a few days off training," Simms said in an email message to RRW. "Hopefully it is nothing serious and he will shake it off quickly, but as Stuttgart was his only planned indoor race in Europe, he did not want to toe the start line feeling unwell."

Shaheen, the world record holder in the 3000m steeplechase, opened his 2006 season with a strong runner-up finish to Kenenisa Bekele over a 9.2 km course at the Visit Scotland Great Edinburgh Cross Country on January 14. In Stuttgart, Shaheen was set to face Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in the 3000m. Last Sunday, Kipchoge, the 2003 5000m world champion, made his indoor debut in Karlsruhe, Germany, with a 7:33.07 victory to become the fifth fastest ever over the distance indoors.

According to Simms, Shaheen's coach Renato Canova has reported that "Shaheen trained very well since the Edinburgh Cross Country and was looking forward to a fast race on his indoor debut."

Shaheen is planning to contest both the World Indoor Championships next month and the World Cross Country Championships in early April.

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