Most spectators expected Mohammed Aman and Nijel Amos to finish 1-2 in the men’s 1,500-meter race Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic.
However, nobody really knew who would come out on top.
Aman, the reigning world indoor champ and three time IAAF World Champion in the 800 meters, held off his nemesis in the last 50 meters to win a closely-contended race in 1 minute, 44.92 seconds. Botswana’s Amos finished second in 1:45.06.
After placing ninth in his season debut at Doha, Aman’s first-place finish in front of a home crowd is something to be proud of. The Ethiopian moved to Eugene three months ago.
“Doha is the beginning of the season — it’s really hot and the first race always tends to be so hard,” he said. “This time I wanted to go hard to see where I’m at. My focus is to run hard here. It’s my hometown, so I really am happy. If you’re near to everybody, it’s easy to relax.”
Aman made some major changes in his training this year. In February, he announced he would make a coaching change by moving to the U.S. to join the Nike Oregon Track Club Elite, which enables him to compete more often. So far, the transition has been fluid and easy.
“I want to come here — it’s TrackTown,” said Aman. “It made me strong. It’s also made my teammates strong. I’m very happy to have come here.”
Aman is now looking ahead to the next Diamond League meet in Rome on June 4.
Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi, the 1,500-meter champion at the 2012 London Olympics, finished third in 1:45.17.
“It’s a good race for me — it’s not too fast,” said Makhloufi. “This is my first race of my season, and it’s a good start, but hopefully we can do better next race.”
Makhloufi, gold medalist at 1,500 meters at the 2012 London Olympics, will also be headed to Rome for another race at 800 meters. For now, he said he is not ready for the 1,500-meter distance, but he hopes a few more performances in the 800 will be enough preparation.
