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The Wanamaker Mile is the most venerated event of the Millrose Games, with a history going back to 1916. The 11-lap race begins with a two-turn stagger.
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This year’s edition pitted Bernard Lagat, America’s best (and the world’s second-ranked) miler, against the world’s most decorated distance runner, Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.
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The star-packed field also included Olympic and World Championships bronze medalist Rui Silva of Portugal, Richard Kiplagat and Laban Rotich of Kenya, and Briton James Thie.
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The pace was fast right from the start, stretching the competitors into a single-file line behind pacemaker Elkanah Angwenyi of Kenya, who recently won the mile at the Boston Indoor Games (3:55.95).
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Although he owns an astonishing 11 world titles at various distances, this was Bekele’s debut at the mile and just his second race in the United States.
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Kiplagat, a graduate student at New York’s Iona College, enjoyed tremendous crowd support, including chants of “Let’s go Richard!” Kiplagat crushed the field in the mile at the January 13 Gotham Cup at the Armory Track and Field Center with a then-world-leading 3:57.4.
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Rotich is a two-time Wannamaker Mile champion and an exceptionally dangerous competitor on small tracks. He was third at Boston (3:56.83).
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Thie holds the Welsh record for the indoor mile. When in New York, he represents the New York Athletic Club.
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The pace was astonishingly quick—1:53 at the half. Lagat did not want to get into a sit-and-kick affair with Bekele, who has formidable closing speed.
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Angwenyi stepped off the track with four laps to go and immediately collapsed.
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Bekele gave active chase...
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...but the pace was just too fast. By the three-quarters mark it had become a one-man race.
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The only question was whether Lagat would break his own event record (3:52.87) of a year ago.
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Not on this night. Spent from his Herculean first-half effort and with a sizable lead, Lagat coasted home in 3:56.85.
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Bekele came in second (4:01.57), although Silva did make it interesting with a powerful kick that nearly overtook the Ethiopian.
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He had to settle for third (4:01.79). Kiplagat followed in 4:02.01.
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Rotich was fourth (4:06.78) and Thie fifth (4:08.43).
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Bekele enjoyed a home-track reception from the throngs of Ethiopian spectators who came out to see their national hero.
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Lagat playfully reminded the Ethiopian partisans that a native of neighboring Kenya was the faster on this evening.
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Hoisting the Rodman Wanamaker Trophy, Bernard Lagat capped the 99th Millrose Games.
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