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men's 1500m update (guest)

Peter Kingston, @kingstonpeter85 returns with an update on the men's 1500 before tonight's semis. You can read his earlier, more detailed, preview here.

1500m Semi Finals 8.15pm Sunday 5/8

The main story from the heats was that Kenyan Nixon Chepseba was out and subsequently in after an appeal. He lost his footing after a collision with 250m to go and couldn’t get back in the first 6 automatic qualifying places. It was slowly run, he finished 9th meaning initially he was eliminated. Chepseba didn’t look exactly impressive before nearly coming down but he will be a danger in the final if he qualifies and is a nuisance for his opponents in tonight’s 13 man second Semi Final.

My pick before the heats Makhloufi won the first heat impressively. Too much so. Winning by 10-15m was unnecessary but hopefully he gets through tonight and he can be a player in the final. It’s no harm that he has shown himself to be in rude health. Kiprop was never out of 2nd gear and ran a clever heat, expending the minimum amount of energy while qualifying safely. Gebremedhin did enough but wasn’t spectacular whilst Britain’s Murray (not Andy) ran well to qualify.

The second heat seen big players like Kiplagat and Ozbile qualify comfortably whilst Baddeley done well to join them for Britain. Shaween representing Saudi won and is interesting with a 3.31 under his belt this year.

The 3rd heat headline was Chepseba. This took away from a fine polished performance from Willis. He looks in great shape, has raced himself to fitness this Summer and looks a big player if he gets to the final. Iguider qualified with little difficulty along with Centrowitz from the US.

It’s 5 from each Semi who automatically qualify tonight. Nervy times for all. Along with two fastest losers. Kiprop and co should be ok in the first Semi but I fancy a shock or two in the 2nd. The two Kenyans Kipligat and Chepseba will be under pressure in a heat with Willis, Iguider, Ozbilen and Centrowitz.

Further Bet Recommendation
No Bet, though Willis appeals at 25/1. We’ll stick with Makloufi and Kiprop who have done nothing wrong so far.

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