Track Roundup : Aouita Stretches Win Streak to 17 With Victory in London

Said Aouita and Steve Cram, still avoiding each other before their expected showdown in Seoul, brought the British track season to a close Sunday with a pair of impressive pre-Olympic victories at an international meet in London.

Aouita, with the fastest time in the world this year, won the 1,000 meters in 2 minutes 15.16 seconds, maintaining his unbeaten record this season after 17 races at a variety of distances.

Cram, who will compete against Aouita for the 800- and 1,500-meter titles in Seoul, set a British all-comers record of 4:55.20 in the 2,000 meters.

Aouita, world record-holder at 1,500 and 5,000 meters and the Olympic 5,000 meter champion, left the field far behind.

He declined to speak to reporters afterward.

Cram--the last man to beat Aouita, three years ago in Nice, France--used the opposite strategy in the 2,000 meters, biding his time until the last 50 meters when he swept past Olympic teammate Peter Elliott.

Roger Kingdom, America’s Olympic 110-meter hurdles champion, solidified his position as favorite to retain his title when he beat a high-class field to win in 13.42 seconds and maintain his unbeaten record this season.

“It will be a great honor for me if I can do it because I would be only the second person in history ever to retain the title,” Kingdom said.

Renaldo Nehemiah set the world record of 12.93 in 1981.

World champion Fatima Whitbread won the women’s javelin, beating archrival Tessa Sanderson, the Olympic titlist. Whitbread threw 227 feet 8 inches to defeat Sanderson by 1 foot 1 1/2 inches.

Both have just recovered from injury and illness.

The Olympic champion pulled out of the competition after three throws, saying she was troubled by an Achilles tendon problem. She said it was not serious enough to stop her defending her title in Seoul, however.

Jose-Luis Barbosa ran 1:43.33 to defeat Sebastian Coe in the 800 at Koblenz, West Germany.

Coe finished second in 1:43.93, followed by Sammy Koskei in 1:44.06.

Jim Spivey won the 1,500 in 3:31.01, the second-best time this year, over Jose-Luis Gonzales. Steve Cram holds the year’s best mark of 3:30.95.