Bernard Lagat Sprinting for 1500 Meter Gold in Beijing.

Bernard Lagat frequently relives his close call with gold in the 1500 meters at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. He came up second to Hicham El Guerrouj by a mere .12 seconds---so close he still sweats when he watches films of the race, good naturedly hoping that maybe this time it’ll come out in his favor. Lagat and his quest for 1500 meter gold this summer in Beijing is the topic of a great feature in today’s New York Times (story). Weaving details of his defeat in Athens with tales of his life in Kenya, his approach to training (less is more), and his reasons for becoming an American citizen, the feature is a moving portrait of Lagat with something for runners and non-runners alike.

Check out the You Tube post of the 2004 Athen's race, with Lagat in the red singlet of his native Kenya.