Saif Saeed Shaheen, who left his native Kenya to run for Qatar, gave his new nation its first World Championship gold medal Tuesday when he held off a strong challenge from a former teammate to win the 3,000m steeplechase.
Shaheen finished in a relatively slow 8 minutes 04.39 seconds, regaining the lead from Ezekiel Kemboi of Kenya in the finishing straight. Kemboi was 0.72 seconds behind and Eliseo Martin of Spain crossed in 8:09.09 to take the bronze. Kenya had won the last six world steeplechase titles.
Shaheen's brother Abraham Cherono finished fifth. Shaheen used to be known as Stephen Cherono before he left his homeland. He was promised US$1,000 per month for life by his new country, which also gave him his new name.
PHOTO: EPA
After leading the race and opening a a wide gap, Shaheen slowed down, allowing Kemboi to close in, before outsprinting the Kenyan in the finish. "I wanted to prove to him that I am also good in the last 200m," Shaheen said.
Shaheen said he didn't speak to his brother after the race. "I'm Qatari, he's Kenyan, we are two different people now. I just took the flag, I didn't even know who was second."
Jerome Young upset fellow American Tyree Washington to win the men's 400m in 44.50. Washington had to settle for silver in 44.70, while Marc Raquil of France took the bronze in 44.79.
Olympic champion Maria Mutola of Mozambique retained the 800m title and kept alive her unbeaten streak this year.
Mutola captured her third world title, surging ahead in the last 60m. Britain's Kelly Holmes, Mutola's friend and training partner, took the silver and Natalya Khrushchelyova of Russia was third.
"We train together and it's very important to support each other," Mutola said after clocking 1:59.89. "I just went to the front and controlled the race there. I just went the last 100m and gave everything I had."
Mutola's job was made easier by the absence of two chief rivals, Stephanie Graf of Austria and European champion Jolanda Ceplak of Slovenia.
While Ceplak pulled out before the heats with an ankle injury, Graf dropped a bottle of mineral water on her foot in the morning of the final and needed stitches.
Defending champion Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia won the gold medal in the triple jump by soaring 15.18 meters, the season's best leap.
Cameroon's Francoise Mbango Etone finished runner-up to Lebedeva for the second time in a row, jumping 15.05, an African record. Magdelin Martinez of Italy took bronze.
Olympic gold medalist Virgilius Alekna of Lithuania won the discus title on his first throw, beating European champion Robert Fazekas of Hungary and Vasiliy Kaptyukh of Belarus.
Defending champion Lars Riedel of Germany, seeking a sixth title, finished fourth.
Devers eliminated
Three-time world champion Gail Devers was eliminated in the semifinals of the 100m hurdles.
Devers, who was favored for a fourth title because of her domination this summer, finished third in her semifinal heat -- from which only the top two runners qualified for the final.
The fourth day of the championships produced several other notable withdrawals and upsets.
Kim Collins, the newly crowned 100m champion and 200m bronze medalist two years ago, decided not to go for a sprint double, while US sprinter Jon Drummond pulled out rather than getting kicked out for his lie-down protest over a disqualification.
Defending 200m champion and Olympic gold medalist Kostas Kenteris also dropped out, because of a thigh injury. The Greek sprinter said he did not want to risk serious injury one year ahead of the Athens Olympics.
Drummond, who threw a tantrum after being disqualified from Sunday's 100m quarterfinals for a false start, announced his decision as world track officials were threatening to kick him out of the championships for ``bringing the sport into disrepute.''
He had hoped to run in the 400m relay this weekend.
Tim Montgomery, the 100m world record holder, left for home, further weakening the US relay team, which will be without Maurice Greene, whose six-year reign as 100 champion ended Monday when a leg injury led to his elimination in the semifinals. Montgomery finished fifth in the final and left without giving a reason.
Kelli White moved closer to completing a sprint double after her win in the 100m on Sunday. The American advanced easily into the second round, then won her heat in 22.67 seconds to reach the semifinals.
US teenage sensation Allyson Felix, 17, barely made it past the first round and was knocked out in the quarterfinals, finishing just sixth in her heat.
No Jones
Missing from the field is reigning champion Marion Jones, who is skipping the championships after giving birth to a son on June 28.
The 200m semis are Wednesday and the final Thursday.
Kazak Dmitry Karpov moved into the decathlon lead after five events on the first day with a points total of 4,599. US champion Tom Pappas was second at 4,546, while world-record holder world record-holder Roman Sebrle overcame a slow start to finish the day third at 4,423. Fellow Czech and three-time defending champion Tomas Dvorak lagged sixth. Olympic champion Erki Nool of Estonia dropped out after three events because of a thigh injury. He was third form bottom when he quit.
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