EL GUERROUJ OF MOROCCO WINS THE MEN'S 1500 METRES DURING THE 9TH WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS, 2003-08-27...

Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco wins the men's 1500 metres ahead of France's Mehdi Baala during the 9th World Athletics Championships at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, near Paris, August 27, 2003. As he crossed the line to a deafening roar Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj confirmed himself as arguably the greatest middle-distance runner of all time. His fourth consecutive world 1,500 metres title, which came at the expense of Baala, surpassed the achievement of Algeria's Noureddine Morceli, who won three golds from 1991 to 1995. El Guerrouj, who unlike Morceli has yet to win Olympic gold at the distance, will now attempt the 800-1,500 double that has not been achieved at a major event since Finland's Paavo Nurmi in the 1924 Paris Olympics. REUTERS/Pool/Stuart Hannagan KM