El Guerrouj in search of satisfaction

In just three and a half minutes, Hicham El Guerrouj managed to depress an entire nation, give us another impression of why he is the best miler who ever lived and offer a rather less convincing impersonation of Keith Richards.

And for his encore? Well, fresh from his fourth straight world 1,500 metres title win in Paris earlier this week, the peerless Moroccan will tonight line up in the 5,000m heats, ready to launch his quest for a golden double which hasn’t been achieved at any global athletics championship since Paavo Nurmi, of Finland, won both events in this city at the Chariots of Fire Olympics 79 years ago.

The Stade de France had rocked like at no other time in this championship as the home hero, European champion Mehdi Baala, vainly pursued the great man down the home straight.

To celebrate his deceptively languid 3min
31.77sec triumph, El Guerrouj then began a display of strumming on an imaginary guitar .

“I love the Rolling Stones,” he explained to general bemusement. Perhaps he felt he needed to win over the 60,000 groaning fans who had been desperate to witness France’s first gold medal of the championships.

On the eve of the race, El Guerrouj had rung his sister back home, explaining: “I haven’t slept for five days. All of France hates me.”

They don’t, of course. After the courageous, masterful way he took the lead with two laps remaining and comfortably repelled Baala’s determined efforts, France is now willing him to make history in a powerful 5,000m field which also includes Ethiopia’s new 10,000m champion Kenenisa Bekele.