El Guerrouj targets Beijing
Posted Tuesday, 27 September, 2005
Double Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco, who missed this year's World Championships in Helsinki, has said he might extend his career to compete in the Beijing Games in 2008.
The 31-year-old Moroccan said he would take stock at the end of 2006 to possibly extend his career until 2008 to take in the Games. "And if I do that it will, of course, be over 5 000 metres with quality preparation over the 1 500 metres.
"I resumed training two weeks ago and I'm still motivated. I will base my summer on the 1 500 metres, that's my race, that's the one I master perfectly."
"Indoors, it's forecast that I make my comeback at the end of January over 1 500 metres, but I don't know where.
"I've planned to compete in the (March 10-12, 2006) world indoor championships in Moscow at 3 000 metres," said El Guerrouj.
El Guerrouj pulled off a sensational 1 500 metre-5 000 metre double at last year's Athens Olympics when he became the first man since Paavo Nurmi in 1924 to win both events at one Games.
El Guerrouj had failed in two previous heartbreaking Olympic bids for the 1 500 metres, winning silver in Sydney in 2000, and had previously said that he would be hanging up his spikes in 2006.
El Guerrouij won the 1 500 metres world title in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003. He was silver medallist in 1995 and also won the 5 000 metres silver medal in 2003. His 3:26.00 run in 1998 still stands as the world 1 500 metres record.
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