Willis, Sullivan Unable to Qualify for Olympic 1,500 Final
8/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Olympics
ATHENS, Greece -- University of Michigan junior-to-be Nick Willis (Lower Hutt, New Zealand/Hutt Valley HS) and former Wolverine Kevin Sullivan (1994-98) missed qualifying for the 12-man final of the 1,500-meter run at the 2004 Olympic Games after recording sixth- and ninth-place finishes, respectively, in the second heat of the semifinal round Sunday (Aug. 22).
As the top-five placers in each heat earned automatic qualification to the final round, Willis, a first-year member of the New Zealand Olympic team, just barely missed the cut, crossing the finish line in sixth place with a time of 3:41.46, just 0.19 seconds out of the final automatic spot. Beyond the 10 automatic qualifiers, the next two fastest times also gained entry to the final, but with the second heat running more than five seconds slower than the first, both of the additional spots went to first-heat participants.
As the slow start gave way to a blazing finish at the midway point of the race, the Wolverine registered a 1:48 split through the final 800 meters as he stayed on pace near the front of the pack. Willis had held the fifth position heading into the final 100-meter sprint but was passed by Algeria's Kamal Boulahfane with just 40 meters to go and narrowly nipped at the finish line. The Wolverine was only 0.59 seconds behind heat winner Hicham El-Guerrouj of Morroco as the top six placers of the second heat crossed the line in a blanket finish.
Sullivan, who placed fifth in the 1,500-meter run at the 2000 Olympics, also suffered from the slow pace of the second heat, clocking 3:42.86 in a ninth-place performance.
U-M volunteer coach Tim Broe will make his Olympic debut in the first round of the 5,000-meter run on Wednesay (Aug. 25). The first heat is scheduled to start at 8:33 p.m. local time (1:33 p.m. EDT).
Results
1,500-meter Run (Semifinals) Heat 1 1. Adil Kaouch, Morocco 3:35.69Q 2. Bernard Lagat, Kenya 3:35.84Q 3. Gert-Jan Liefers, Netherlands 3:36.00Q 4. Reyes Estevez, Spain 3:36.05Q 5. Ivan Ukrheshko, Ukraine 3:36.20Q 6. Michael East, Great Britain 3:36.46q 7. Isaac Songok, Kenya 3:37.10q 8. Manuel Amiao, Portugal 3:37.16 9. Hudson Santos De Souza, Brazil 3:38.83 10. James Nolan, Ireland 3:42.61 11. Rashid Ramzi, Bahrain 3:44.60 12. Grant Robison, USA 3:47.03 -- Tarek Boukensa, Algeria DNF Heat 2 1. Hicham El Guerrouj, Morroco 3:40.87Q 2. Rui Silva, Portugal 3:40.99Q 3. Timothy Kiptanui, Kenyua 3:41.04Q 4. Mulugeta Wendimu, Ethopia 3:41.14Q 5. Kamal Boulahfane, Algeria 3:41.27Q 6. NICK WILLIS, New Zealand 3:41.46 7. Alvaro Fernandez, Spain 3:42.01 8. Juan Carlos Higuero, Spain 3:42.13 9. KEVIN SULLIVAN, Canada 3:42.86 10. Youssef Baba, Morroco 3:42.96 11. Johan Cronje, Russia 3:44.41 12. Michal Sneberger, Czech Republic 3:47.03 Overall 1. Adil Kaouch, Morroco 3:35.69Q 2. Bernard Lagat, Kenya 3:35.84Q 3. Gert-Jan Liefers, Netherland 3:36.00Q 4. Reyes Estevez, Spain 3:36.05Q 5. Ivan Heshko, Ukraine 3:36.20Q 6. Michael East, Great Britain 3:36.46q 7. Isaac Kiprono Songok, Kenya 3:37.10q 8. Manuel Damiao, Portugal 3:37.16 9. Hudson Santos De Souza, Brazil 3:38.83 10. Hicham El Guerrouj, Morocco 3:40.87Q 11. Rui Silva, Portugal 3:40.99Q 12. Timothy Kiptanui, Kenya 3:41.04Q 13. Mulugeta Wendimu, Ethopia 3:41.14Q 14. Kamal Boulahfane, Algeria 3:41.27Q 15. NICK WILLIS, New Zealand 3:41.46 16. Alvaro Fernandez, Spain 3:42.01 17. Juan Carlos Higuero, Spain 3:42.13 18. James Nolan, Ireland 3:42.61 19. KEVIN SULLIVAN, Canada 3:42.86 20. Youssef Baba, Morocco 3:42.96 21. Johan Cronje, Russia 3:44.41 22. Rashid Ramzi, Bahrain 3:44.60 23. Grant Robison, USA 3:47.03 23. Michal Sneberger, Czech Republic 3:47.03 -- Tarek Boukensa, Algeria DNF
Q Qualified for semifinals as one of top 5 in heat
q Qualified as one of next 9 fastest times
QUOTES
Junior-to-be Nick Willis
On his Olympic experience ... I was obviously disappointed not to have made the final, but at the same time, I know that I gave it my best and I am proud with my showing and the season as a whole. The Olympic experience has been great, and I am most pleased with the fact I was able to feed off of the experience and use the atmosphere to give me energy, rather than let my nerves get the best of me."
Players Mentioned
