Each day our exclusive MATCH OF THE DAQ service previews the big match of the day – usually a televised game.
As well as the preview we also bring you the head to head records of the two teams as well as a recommended bet on BETDAQ for the match.
Men’s 1500m Final
Olympic Athletics
K.O 21.15, BBC 1
QUALIFYING TIMES (PERSONAL BESTS)
World Record 3.26.00 Olympic Record 3.32.07
1 Abdalaati Iguider (Morocco) 3:33.99 (3:32.10)
2 Silas Kiplagat (Kenya) 3:34.60 (3:29.27)
3 Nicholas Willis (New Zealand) 3:34.70 (3:30:35)
4 Nixon Kiplimo Chepseba (Kenya) 3:34.89 (3:29.90)
5 Matthew Centrowitz (USA) 3:34.90 (3:34.46)
6 Ilham Tanui Ozbilen (Turkey) 3:35.18 (3:31.37)
7 Belal Mansoor Ali (Bahrain) 3:35.40 (3:31.49)
8 Taoufik Makhloufi (Algeria) 3:42.24 (3:30.80)
9 Asbel Kiprop (Kenya) 3:42.92 (3:28.88)
10 Mekonnen Gebremedhin (Ethiopia) 3:42.93 (3:31.45)
11 Leonel Manzano (USA) 3:42.94 (3:32.37)
12 Henrik Ingebrigtsen (Norway) 3:43.26 (3:36.39)
PREVIEW
The oft-held view that African athletes dominate the long distance running events at the Olympics doesn’t hold up when we look at winners of the men’s 1500m final. Perhaps surprisingly, Great Britain has the best overall record, tied on 5 golds with Kenya, but with more places to its name. It’s therefore a shame no Briton has made it through to tonight’s final.
Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop is bidding to join Seb Coe & James Lightbody as the only dual 1500m Olympic champions, but the African was in the first semi-final which was run at a pedestrian pace. Seven of the 12 finalists came from the second, faster semi-final, with all of those in the later heat recording times at least six seconds faster than the earlier one.
That has made this race a difficult one to analyse as those in the first semi-final are still effectively unexposed in London. Morocco’s Abdalaati Iguider qualified in the fastest time – still nearly eight seconds off the world record – and the 25 year-old is seeking to become the first World Junior Champion to win the Olympics in this discipline.
The market on BETDAQ quite rightly has this as an open race. Kiprop is the favourite but the North African pair of Taoufik Makhloufi and Abdalaati Iguider are not far behind. Algeria’s Makhloufi posted a comfortable victory in the semi-finals but was then thrown out of the Olympics for blatantly not trying in his 800m heat. He was reinstated on medical evidence and looks to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot, Noureddine Morceli, who won gold in 1996.
At 23 years-old Makhloufi still has a lot of improvement in him and, unlike some runners in the field, is unlikely to be fazed if the race turns into a tactical affair. Having won both his heats without exhausting much energy, he appeals at around 4.2 on BETDAQ:
RECOMMENDATION: (1-10 points)
Back Makhloufi at around 4.2 on BETDAQ: 4 points
Monday: +5.44
AUGUST RETURN TO DATE: -7.46 points
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