By Bob Ramsak
MILAN – A solid victory by Deresse Mekonnen in the 1500 and a British sweep in the 800m were the key highlights as Notturna di Milano meeting returned to the international calendar at the 200-year-old Arena Civica tonight.
Mekonnen, the world indoor 1500m champion, began pulling away as he entered the backstraight on the final lap and never looked back en route to his 3:34.02 win, his first victory since taking the indoor crown in Valencia in March.
The pre-race game plan called for a 3:32 pace, but that was too ambitious for all but three in the 15-man field. Only Mekonnen, his Ethiopian compatriot Henok Legesse, and Daham Najm Bashair, a 3:31 Kenyan-born Qatari chose to follow the two pacesetters. But the two faltered over the final circuit and fell well out of contention as Mekkonen closed comfortably with a sub-54 second final lap. Kenyans Vickson Polonet and Moses Barmasai were a distant second and third, clocking 3:36.45 and 3:37.62 respectively.
The men’s 5000m saw several lead changes over the final few laps, with Kenyan-born Qatari James Kwalia taking full advantage. Ethiopian Abebe Dinkessa moved into the lead as he entered the straight for the penultimate lap, with Kwalia behind him waiting patiently. He moved to the front at the bell and held and eventually powered home unthreatened to a 13:11.36 win. Jonathan Komen of Kenya was second (13:12.02) in front of international newcomer Alex Oleitiptip, who clocked 13:12.18, 0.04 seconds ahead of Dinkessa.
In the women’s 800m, Briton Jemma Simpson ran a strong second lap and managed to fight off the kick of Italy’s Elisa Cusma to win in 1:59.17, a career best for the 24-year-old. Cusma clocked 1:59.22, with the Moroccan Ait Hammou sisters, Amina and Seltana, third and fourth respectively (2:00.22 and 2:00.33).
Briton Michael Rimmer made it a British sweep in the two lap contests, taking the lead with 300m to go and hanging on for a 1:46.10, well ahead of runner-up, South African Samson Ngoepe (1:46.70).
Stealing most of the attention on a hot and still evening was the return to competition of Oscar “Blade Runner” Pretorius, the double amputee making his first outing since the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that he could compete against able-bodied athletes. In the end the meet poster boy’s appearance was anti-climactic after his fourth place finish in the B race of the 400m where he clocked 47.78.
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
