Algeria’s Morceli Smashes 3,000 Record by 3.85 Seconds

Nourredine Morceli of Algeria set his third world record Tuesday night, running the 3,000 meters in 7 minutes 25.11 seconds.

Morceli, who broke world records for the mile and the 1,500, was nearly four seconds faster than the previous 3,000 record, set in 1992 by Moses Kiptanui of Kenya.

“I’ve hungered for this since last year,” said Morceli, who finished the 3,000 last year at Monaco’s Hercules Grand Prix in 7:29.24. “I had to compensate for that.”

Kiptanui’s time of 7:28.96 was set Aug. 16, 1992 in Cologne, Germany. Morceli beat that by 3.85 seconds.

Behind Morceli were Haile Gebresilasie of Ethiopia (7:37.49), Abdellah Behar of France (7:39.29) and Jim Spivey of Indiana (7:39.65).

Morceli, once a student at Riverside College, was the 1,500 world champion in 1991 and 1993 and has dominated middle distance events. In the 1992 Olympics, Morceli finished seventh in the 1,500 when he was boxed in and was unable to get clear in the final lap.