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Kipketer, Szabo finish in blaze of glory

Wilson Kipketer and Gabriela Szabo completed their seventh Golden League victories in the final meeting yesterday to share a one million dollar jackpot.

Dane Kipketer and Romania's Szabo outclassed the opposition again in the men's 800 metres and the women's 5,000 metres respectively. They will pocket 500,000 dollars each for becoming the only two athletes to have won all seven events in the series.

American sprinter Marion Jones, who had been in the hunt after five events, ended her season early through injury while Kenyan Bernard Barmasai was ruled inelligible by the IAAF after saying he had asked compatriot Christopher Koskei to let him win the 3,000m steeplechase in Zurich last month.

Kenya-born Kipketer, the 800 metres World champion and World record holder, let Kenyan Frederick Onyancha set the early pace and made his move with some 300 metres remaining in the two-lap race.

Nobody could follow him when he kicked and he won in one minute 44.03 seconds, resisting a storming finish from Kenyan Japhet Kimutai, who came second in 1:44.18.

South African Hezekiel Sepeng, who pushed Kipketer all the way in the World Championships final in Seville last month, had to be content with third place in 1:44.80.

World champion Szabo claimed her race in similar fashion, using her trademark kick some 300 metres from home to win in 14 minutes 40.59 -- the fastest time in the world this year.

As in the Seville final, her close friend Zahra Ouaziz of Morocco had to settle for second place, in 14:41.34.

Szabo had said before the race that she would go for her own European record of 14:31.48 that she set here last year but she seemed happy enough to have won easily.

The 23-year-old blonde fell into the arms of Ouaziz after crossing the line under loud cheers for the near 50,000 crowd on a warm, still night in the German capital.

''I was a bit nervous before the race because I could not afford not to win this one,'' she said. ''The money is not that important. Having good friends and being in good health is what really matters. The money goes, friends stay.''

She then left the news conference room in haste to watch Kipketer's race. After he won, she hugged him.

Double sprint World champion Maurice Greene had opted for the 200 metres in Berlin and the muscular American won easily in 20.21, beating Brazilian Claudinei Da Silva into second place.

The two men had finished in the same order in the Seville final.

World 100 metres silver medallist Bruny Surin of Canada won the shorter sprint in 10.07 seconds.

Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj smashed the World 2,000 metres record by more than three seconds with a time of four minutes 44.79 seconds.

The world 1,500 metres champion becomes the only athlete to hold three current records, adding the 2,000 to the more prestigious 1,500 metres and one mile marks.

El Guerrouj, 24, erased Noureddine Morceli's name from the record books by crushing the previous best for the rarely-run 2,000 metres of 4:47.88, set by the Algerian in July 1995 in Paris.

El Guerrouj has now taken all three of his records from Morceli. He set his 1,500 mark of 3:26.00 in July 1998 in Rome and his mile best of 3:43.13 a year later, also in the Italian capital.

After letting Kenyans Robert Kibet and William Tanui set the early pace yesterday, El Guerrouj kicked and raced the last 600 metres well ahead of the rest of the field.

Kenyan Paul Bitok was a distant second in 4:54.36 and Portugal's Rui Silva came third in 4:54.66.

UNI