Olympic champ Kiprop to take on Lagat at Millrose

Bernard Lagat will be gunning for his eighth Wanamaker Mile - and a record held by Irish indoor great Eamonn Coghlan - at the 103rd Millrose Games indoor athletics meeting on Friday.

Lagat won his seventh Millrose mile last year, matching the feat of Coghlan - whose indoor prowess earned him the nickname “Chairman of the Boards”.

Lagat’s challengers will include Kenyan Asbel Kiprop, the 2008 Olympic 1,500m champion.

Lagat holds the third-fastest indoor mile mark in history of 3:49.89, and he holds the mile record at the Millrose Games of 3:52.87, set in 2005.

Kiprop, who was confirmed as the 2008 Olympic 1,500m gold medallist after Bahrain’s Rashid Ramzi was stripped of his Beijing title for doping, will have his work cut out taking on Lagat on the tight track at Madison Square Garden.

Ethiopia’s world championships silver medalist Deresse Mekonnen had been expected to run, but was unable to secure a visa in time. Eleven Olympic medallists and 16 outdoor world championships medallists are entered in the meeting, the first stop on USA Track and Field’s Visa Championship Series and the first IAAF Indoor Permit meeting of the year.

NEW YORK, AFP