Athletics roundup

Kipketer wants to reduce stress of racing

NAIROBI (Reuters) -- Three-time world 800 meters champion Wilson Kipketer thinks he has achieved all that matters in athletics but now he wants to achieve something else -- winning races easily.

"I have four world titles, three of them outdoors, an Olympic silver medal and I was the world's athlete of the year in 1997," the naturalized Dane said Saturday.

"Now I want to complete my chapter with something new -- winning easily," Kipketer, 29, told Reuters in an interview.

"I have been winning races in different ways and I think I have to do something unique. I am experimenting and I hope to achieve this new ambition soon.

"I want to do big things in an easy way, without using too much energy or stress.

"It will mean concentrating on the mind. It is highly technical stuff but I have to do it," he said.

Kipketer, who moved to Denmark in 1990 and became a Danish citizen in 1997, is in Nairobi to help raise funds for the Stop Flying Toilets campaign in Kibera, one of Nairobi's filthiest slums which lacks basic sanitation.

He is among several top athletics stars mobilized by African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) to raise money by running a half marathon race Sunday.

Kipketer says he is satisfied with all that he has achieved despite failing to win Olympic gold.

"I have helped built the sport to the level where it is. I have made my name. I have got all things I wanted. Now is the time to enjoy it," he said.

Kipketer had a bad season last year due to an injury sustained three weeks before the Sydney Olympics. He says winning a silver medal in Sydney was a pleasant surprise. He did not compete this year due to a toe injury.

He does not want to run much in future, although he sees himself running until the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"Much will depend on the state of my injuries. I will run a few indoor races next year, the European championships in Munich and the Grand Prix circuit."

Bitok wins Palermo marathon

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) -- Julius Bitok of Kenya won a rain-marred Palermo Marathon Saturday, beating Russian runner-up Eduard Tukhbatulin by nearly one minute.

Another Kenyan runner, Joseph Cheromei, placed third in this Sicilian capital.

Bitok completed the 42.195-kilometer distance in two hours, 16 minutes, 34 seconds.

Tukhbatulin, who led the race through the 35th kilometer, was timed in 2:17:20 and Cheromei in 2:22:02.

Hungary's Agnes Jakab won the women's race in 2:47:51.

El Guerrouj eyes world indoor two-mile record

RABAT (Reuters) -- Morocco's Hicham El Guerrouj is planning an assault on the world indoor two-mile record next year.

El Guerrouj, who holds the outdoor world records at 1500m, 2000m and the mile, is intending to run indoors in Belgium and England before the outdoor season, including meetings in the U.S., Zurich, Brussels and Oslo.

"At the age of 27, I feel that I am in a very good shape and I will focus my efforts to peak for the world championships in Paris in 2003 and the Olympics games in Athens in 2004," El Guerrouj told a news conference Friday.

El Guerrouj is also indoor world record holder at 1500 meters and the mile.

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