Men's middle distance running found a new king last night after Hicham El Guerrouj had matched strategy with strength to reduce the opposition in the 1,500 metres final to the nondescript. Even patriarchal names of the stature of Noreddine Morceli and Fermin Cacho were rendered powerless after El Guerrouj had delivered on a promise he made after his controversial defeat in the Olympic final by Morceli 12 months ago.

Then he fought back the tears after stumbling in the final in Atlanta, a mishap of extravagant proportions which meant that he was seeing only the back of his implacable rival down the finishing straight.

Now the tears were those of joy as he climbed the presentation podium and, just as his compatriot, Said Aouita, did after winning the 5,000 metres championship some years ago, dedicated his triumph to the king of Morocco.

"It was a classic example of a sit and kick race," he said. "My surge was devastating, and after that it was just a matter of keeping the lead and controlling the race."

El Guerrouj has never made any secret of his feelings towards Morceli after the Algerian's decision to avoid him on the grand prix circuit, a policy which he claims has cost him a lot in lost revenue.

Now retribution was swift and decisive as he ended Morceli's hopes of winning this title for a fourth consecutive occasion. Forewarned by the Algerian's withering finishing pace, he gambled on going 650 metres out and, for once, Morceli's response was muted.

Midway though the last lap, the gap had closed marginally, but then the new champion kicked again and with the old order disintegrating by the second, the two Spaniards, Cacho and Reyes Estevez, came through to take the minor placings in a last lap which occupied our attention for 52.48 fascinating seconds.

There is no more convivial personality on the athletics circuit than Haile Gebrselassie and another 50,000 crowd rose to the Ethiopian after he had prevailed in a tremendous finish to the 10,000 metres final.

The Olympic champion lead Kenya's Paul Tergat and Salah Hissou of Morocco across the finish line in 27:24.58. But even with only one European, Domingos Castro, in the top six, it was still a race of enduring fascination.

After a number of athletes, including Hissou, Dominic Kirui and Paul Koech had alternated in the lead, the race built to a predictable climax with a group of four getting away from the pack.

At that point, it was already a question of whether the others could go with the Ethiopian when he finally decided to bolt for home and the answer, when it came, was in the negative. The champion made his move some 500 metres out, and over the space of the next 100 metres had put himself out of reach of the pursuit.

To his credit, Tergat never gave up the chase and, rounding the last bend, had succeeded in halving the lead. But try as he would, he couldn't close any further and Gebrselassie's arms were already raised in triumph before he crossed the line.

"This track is better than the one in Atlanta and it showed in my performance. I'm proud to have the title for a third time but I'm not sure if I will compete in the world championships again.

"It was a joy for me to be able to run as I did and please the crowd. Now I hope to produce some more good runs in Europe this summer."