He was the favourite before the race and during a breathtaking 800 final he proved why. To the great disappointment of the München crowd Wilson Kipketer beat both the reigning World Champion André Bucher and Olympic Champion Nils Schumann to become European Champion for the first time in his career.

The final didn't look all that easy to call beforehand though. The eight competitors provided a very interesting mix of four seasoned campaigners with four youngsters, all of whom were in their first major final. The question thus was whether their youth would help them through their third race in three days, or whether the experience of dealing with many races during big tournaments would prove too big an advantage for the four arrived athletes.

The youngsters were Frenchman Nicolas Aissat, German talent René Herms, and two young Dutch runners, Arnoud Okken and Bram Som. None of them had previously been in any big final, and most of them seemed to be happy just to have reached the final. Ominously none of them had broken 1"45 this year, which could either mean they had waited to get into their best shape at these championships or just simply indicated they were not quite at their best. Herms and Okken had qualified convincingly from the semifinals, but Som, fastest of the four on paper, only just went through as the second fastest loser.

On the other hand the four other competitors hardly needed any introduction. Danish World Record holder Wilson Kipketer, at 31 years these days easily the oldest of the lot, had shown good form this year. Nils Schumann, reigning European and Olympic Champion, won a fast race just before this championship. Pawel Czapiewski from Poland, feared for his devastatingly fast sprint finishes, became European Indoor Champion earlier this year, beating favourite Bucher in the process. But at this championships Swiss André Bucher was not a favourite at all - he was just coming back from injury, and seemed to be nowhere near the excellent shape that brought him the World Championship last season.

One of the major questions beforehand was: who will set the pace? In races with Kenyans there is usually someone who will take the front and provide a useful pace. That would be to the liking of Kipketer, and perhaps Bucher. But a slow pace should suit Schumann and Czapiewski much better, for it would give them ample opportunity to strike in the final straight. None of the eight competitors appeared likely to take it up front.

As the race started several runners moved tentatively to the front, but it was soon clear that it was not going to be very fast. Schumann and Kipketer were leading, Aissat and Czapiewski followed, Bucher, Herms, Okken and Som were at the back. Nothing much happened in the first lap, and at the bell the clock showed a pedestrian 54.89.

At 500 meter things were beginning to hot up. Czapiewski realized he couldn't wait all that long and moved a bit closer. Herms went past Aissat on the outside, and Bucher, who was probably delighted the race was going at this relatively slow pace, moved past Aissat as well. Up front Schumann was still leading, with Kipketer at his shoulder.

And then it suddenly happened - Kipketer had learnt the lessons from Sydney, he knew that in a slow race the favourite must act from a long way out. With 240 to go Wilson put in a devastating kick, immediately gaining several meters on Schumann. The German reacted swiftly, but couldn't find much extra and didn't manage to close the gap. Behind them Bucher tried to pass Czapiewski on the inside. Czapiewski accelerated, but suddenly found himself running into the back of Schumann. A firm push in the back prevented a collision, helped Schumann on his way, but slowed the Pole down. To aggravate matters he then in turn received a push from Herms who was trying to avoid bumping into him. As a result of all that Herms was slowed down, but the Pole also badly lost his rhythm and was never able to find his inspired finish.

Up front though Kipketer was away. Into the home straight Schumann, despite fanatical crowd support, was unable to catch him. Bucher, who around the bend had managed to pass the unlucky Czapiewski, was attacking the German. None of the four younger runners appeared to be able to put in anything of a threat to the medal positions.

Kipketer eventually was not to be denied his first European title. Bucher probably never expected to get away with a medal, but he just edged his way past Schumann and looked delighted with the silver. As for Schumann he simply was unable on the day to beat Kipketer, but at least he managed to stay ahead of Czapiewski to salvage the bronze. The Pole will probably feel hard done by after being pushed around and finishing fourth. The other four runners were never in with a chance. But they will have learned a lot from this experience and in four years time any one of them could well be a favourite for the title.