the race went out very quickly for the first 200 m, with the two kenyans, boit and ouko, pushing the pace. wottle lagged far behind the rest of the field for the first 300 m, only catching up to the pack around the end of the first lap; the leaders went through the first 400 m in 52.3 seconds. yevgeniy arzhanov, the pre-race favorite, made a strong move on the final backstretch, and with only 18 m remaining seemed to have clinched the victory; wottle's final burst of speed, however, brought him across the line nine inches (23 cm) ahead of arzhanov, who fell in desperation in the final step of the race.