Cram Wins Mile Over Abdi Bile

The phrase of the day in Oslo Saturday was “Long Live the King” as Norwegians lined two deep on both sides of the capital city’s main street, Karl Johans Gate, for a parade in honor of King Olaf’s 85th birthday.

But after sundown, which means sometime around 11 p.m. at this time of the year here, the occasion called strictly for “God Save the Queen.”

Following victories by two other British runners in the men’s and women’s 10,000 meters, Englishman Steve Cram took advantage of a tactical error by Somalia’s Abdi Bile, the 1987 world 1,500-meter champion, and reclaimed his distinction as the world’s best miler in the Mobil Grand Prix Bislett Games.

Cram did not approach the world record of 3 minutes 46.32 seconds he set here three years ago in the Dream Mile, but his time of 3:48.85 was fast enough to beat a strong field that produced four times under 3:50 for only the second time in history.

Meet officials had to study a photograph to determine that Great Britain’s Peter Elliott (3:49.20) beat East Germany’s Jens-Peter Herold (3:49.22) for second place, while Bile, a two-time National Collegiate Athletic Assn. champion from George Mason University in Washington, finished fourth in 3:49.40.

Americans Steve Scott (3:50.09) and Jim Spivey (3:50.57) were never factors, finishing fifth and sixth.

Entering the final lap, it appeared that any one of six runners was in position to win. Bile was the first to make a move, taking the lead with 250 yards to go. Cram was in sixth place at the time, but he managed to elbow his way past two other runners on the inside lane into fourth place.

But Cram was still trapped next to the curb behind Bile, Herold and Elliott as they entered the stretch. Cram admitted that his situation appeared desperate.

“When Bile was out front (in the inside lane), there was no way I could go outside,” Cram said. “It would have taken too much energy.”

Fortunately for Cram, Bile was not paying attention to him. When the Somalian spotted Herold and Elliott trying to pass him on the outside, Bile, obviously tiring, moved a step in that direction in an attempt to head them off. That was all Cram needed to surge past all three runners on the inside.

“Once there was a gap, I had to go through it,” he said.

While Cram needed a bit of luck to win, Liz Lynch McColgan’s victory in the 10,000 meters was the residue of design. Only two other women have ever run faster than the Scot’s 31:06.99, which was the sixth-fastest time ever.

As if the crowd of 20,000 at Bislett Stadium had not had its enthusiasm dampened enough by untimely rain showers, McColgan’s victory came at the expense of local favorite Ingrid Kristiansen, who never had lost before in a 10,000-meter race on the track.

In last year’s World Championships at Rome, the rest of the field allowed Kristiansen to build a huge early lead and then regretted it as the world record-holder never came back to them. McColgan, who finished fifth in that race, did not make the same mistake this time, running stride-for-stride with Kristiansen as if they were joined at the hip.

“I wanted to let her know I was there and not tired,” said McColgan, who attended the University of Alabama for three years.

About 1,500 meters from the finish, Lynch took the lead. One lap later, Kristiansen suddenly stopped, clutching her right leg. As Lynch ran away with the race, Kristiansen began running again, slowly at first, before picking up speed and finishing second in 31:31.37.

Kristiansen said she thought the pain in her leg was a byproduct of the stress she felt in having to run against McColgan, who had beaten Kristiansen at 3,000 meters a week earlier in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“I thought about quitting at 6,000 meters,” Kristiansen said. “I might have done it somewhere else. But I didn’t want to go home having dropped out. That’s worse than finishing second.”

McColgan said Kristiansen is still the favorite for the Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea.

“But at least I reminded her that I’m around,” she said.

Hardly anyone knew that still another British distance runner, Eamonn Martin, was around until Saturday night. He won the 10,000 meters in 27:23.06, faster than all but four men in history and faster than anyone else has ever run the distance in his first try.

It might also be his last try for a while. The 29-year-old engineer for the Ford Motor Co. in Baseldon-Essex, England, plans to run the 5,000 in Seoul, even though his time here in the 10,000 broke a 10-year-old British record.

He had to run that fast to win, as the first five finishers all had times better than the previous best this year.

While the British were celebrating, it was not a sterling performance for the Americans. Their best finishes both belonged to Dannette Young, formerly of Alabama A & M, whose time of 22.51 seconds was second to Jamaican Grace Jackson’s 22.37 in the 200 and whose 11.26 in the 100 was second to Heike Drechsler’s 10.91 in the 100.

Drechsler’s time, the second-best in the world this year behind American Florence Griffith Joyner’s 10.89, was outstanding considering it came on a wet track.

“I’m not surprised about the time, but I am surprised about the time under these conditions,” she said.

Drechsler, East Germany’s best all-around track and field athlete, revealed that she will not enter either the 400-meter relay or the 1,600-meter relay in Seoul, but she would not say whether she will run the 100, the 200 or both. She said earlier she definitely will compete in the long jump.

It seems as if everyone already is talking about Seoul.

Cram said during a news conference Friday that it would be nice to win the prestigious Dream Mile in the Bislett Games but added that no one would remember who won in Oslo when the Olympics begin.

“I’m under no illusions,” he said. “The Bislett Games in July don’t bear any relation to Seoul.”

But he said he did gain valuable experience in running against Bile, who surprised Cram with his kick in the World Championships last year. After Bile passed him on the final lap, the deflated Cram finished eighth.