Tired athlete out of final
2003-09-14 15:07
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Monte Carlo - The Moroccan middle-distance star, Hicham El-Guerrouj, has pulled out of the 1 500 metres final at the inaugural World Athletics meeting due to fatigue.
"I spoke to him on Saturday and he said he had a temperature," the IAAF media officer, Sean Wallace-Jones said. "But he's just as much tired as anything. He's just been overdoing it."
El-Guerrouj won the 1 500 at the world championships in Paris last month and currently leads the IAAF world rankings, meaning he's in line to collect prize money of US$100 000 and the title of World Athlete of the Year.
Despite pulling out, El-Guerrouj is a near certainty to win the year-end award and money. He has accumulated 1 450 points, with Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele in second on 1 441 and American 110-meter star Allen Johnson in third place with 1 440.
- AP