Morceli: Man in Search of a Rabbit

WASHINGTON —  Noureddine Morceli is so good that his rivals admit only injury or illness can beat him.

It is largely because of the absence of down-the-stretch competition that the smooth-striding Algerian has not yet set a world outdoor record. At the World Championships in Tokyo in September, for example, Morceli won the 1,500 meters by two full seconds over Wilfred Kirochi of Kenya.

Morceli was unbeaten last year, indoors and out. Despite unfamiliarity with banked boards, he twice won mile races at Madison Square Garden and recorded a 3:50.81 time, third-fastest ever, at Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey’s Meadowlands.

Then he went to Seville, Spain, and shattered Peter Elliott’s world indoor 1,500 record with a time of 3:34.16 in a meet preceding the world indoor championships, also in Seville, in which he won the 1,500 without being pressed. Wednesday night, he breezed to victory at the indoor DN Games in Stockholm, running a meet record 3:35.57.

There is reason to believe that when Morceli makes his lone scheduled North American appearance of 1992 Sunday in the Mobil 1 meet at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., he also can erase Eamonn Coghlan’s 9-year-old indoor mile record of 3:49.78. The Mason track is an unbanked 200-meter surface, similar to the oval in Seville and conducive to faster times than the 160-meter banked track at the Meadowlands.

Morceli’s principal competition likely will come from Jim Spivey, who was under 3:50 outdoors last summer and is ranked No. 1 in the United States. But the chances are, if Morceli gets the record, he won’t be hearing footsteps.

Morceli will mark his 22nd birthday Feb. 20. Seldom has a distance runner achieved domination at such an early age. He should be approaching the stage where he can set world records without being pushed -- and in the new era of track and field, records mean money.

Asked by Track and Field News whether he thought about records, Morceli replied: “Yes, but it is also important that an athlete not set just one record and then disappear. It’s important for me to be at the top level for many years. That is the mark of a true champion.”

When Morceli was growing up, his model was older brother Abderrahme, who was good enough to be the No. 7 miler in the world in 1977. But eventually Morceli shifted his attention to the longtime idol of many Arabs, Said Aouita of Morocco.

Aouita, 10 years Morceli’s senior, has been plagued by injuries, but he currently holds the outdoor world records at 1,500, 2,000, 3,000 and 5,000 meters. He also has a high opinion of the Algerian star.

Morceli said: “Aouita told French television, ‘I was the runner for the ‘80s, Morceli will be the runner for the ‘90s.’ It was just great to have someone like him say that about me. Then he told me, ‘You are the only one who can break my world record in the 1,500.’ I was amazed.”

Those words were somewhat out of character for Aouita, who turned off a lot of people by his unrelenting public praise of himself. Morceli, by contrast, is soft-spoken, modest and unassuming.

“I just try to be myself,” Morceli said. “But I also know that people look up to me now. Algeria never had a champion before, so naturally I will be a model, especially for the young. But it isn’t a problem. I just stay who I am.”