The Electronic Telegraph Friday 29 June 2001 Tom Knight THE PROMOTERS of next month's British Grand Prix face a battle with the Kenyan athletics federation over plans to stage a prestigious head-to-head over a mile between Noah Ngeny and Hicham El Guerrouj. The Kenyan pipped El Guerrouj for the gold in the 1500 metres final in one of the biggest upsets of last year's Sydney Games and their meeting at Crystal Palace on July 22 would be a coup for promoters Fast Track because it would be the only time the pair would race each other before the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada. But within hours of Fast Track announcing their line-up for the Emsley Carr Mile, the Kenyan federation put the race in doubt. David Okeyo, the secretary-general of the Kenyan Amateur Athletic Association, said all the country's athletes bound for Edmonton had been instructed to return home by July 10 to prepare. Okeyo said: "We have released them to run on the Grand Prix circuit but mainly as part of training for the World Championships. They must not chase world records and must return home by July 10." He was adamant that the order included Ngeny, who is represented by the London-based agent Kim McDonald. "Ngeny's agent has our directive and he must obey it to the letter. Paul Tergat's defeat by Haile Gebrselassie in the Olympic 10,000m final was attributed to his pursuit of a world record on the Grand Prix circuit shortly before the Olympics," Okeyo said. "We are not going to allow our athletes to make this mistake again." Jon Ridgeon, the director of athletics at Fast Track, admitted that they may have to fight for Ngeny's participation at Crystal Palace. He said: "This race has taken a long time to put together and hasn't come cheap. Both athletes took a lot of persuading. "I hope the Kenyan federation will understand how important this race is. The deal has been agreed and we are confident this race will take place." El Guerrouj, meanwhile, runs the mile in the first of the International Amateur Athletic Federation's Golden League meetings tonight in Rome's Olympic Stadium. It will be on the track where the two-times world champion has twice broken world records, the 1500 metres in 1998 and the mile a year later. There is a chance that he will improve his world record of 3min 43.13sec tonight. Rome is the first of the Golden League series of seven meetings which continue in Paris, Oslo, Monaco, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin. The season reaches a climax with the Grand Prix final in Melbourne on Sept 9. The series, which began with a jackpot of $1 million for the athletes who remained unbeaten in their event, now carries a lesser, though still worthy prize of 50kg of gold. The biggest winners so far have been Gabriela Szabo and Wilson Kipketer, who collected $500,000 each for their triumphant 1999 campaigns. Last year the gold bullion was shared between five athletes who managed victories in five of the seven Golden League meetings. The IAAF announced yesterday that the series would be simplified from 2003, reduced to five or six meetings and the jackpot awarded only to athletes who complete a clean sweep. Tonight's first major meeting of the summer features eight Olympic champions, including Maurice Greene and Marion Jones in the 100m and Gabriela Szabo in the 3,000m. Britain's Kathy Butler and Paula Radcliffe will also be in action. Eamonn Condon www.RunnersGoal.com
