Algerian Barely Misses Mile Mark

Noureddine Morceli of Algeria barely fell short of the world indoor mile record Friday night in the Meadowlands Invitational at East Rutherford, N.J.

Morceli, in only his fifth indoor race, finished in 3:50.81, short of Eamonn Coghlan’s record of 3:49.78 set in this meet in 1983. Morceli’s time of was the third-fastest ever run indoors and made him the No. 2 performer all time. Only Coghlan’s record run and the Irishman’s clocking of 3:50.60 at San Diego in 1981 are better than Morceli’s performance.

Romania’s Doina Melinte, who broke the world indoor record in the women’s mile and collected a $100,000 bonus in last year’s Meadowlands Invitational, failed to better that performance but won easily in 4:28.11. Andre Cason, the 1990 NCAA indoor champion from Texas A&M;, scored his fourth consecutive victory in the 55-meter dash. He was timed in 6.18.