The future king?
Wilson Kipketer may have won in Monaco, Patrick Ndururi may have
won in Rome, but it was 19-year old Japheth Kimutai
who was convincingly the best 800 athlete of the 1998 season.
He ran the fastest time of the year in Stuttgart and took the title
at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. He also finished first
at Brussels and Zürich (see picture), where he outsprinted
his main rivals Kipketer and Ndururi. His winning time
of 1.42.87 was also the second fastest of the season and it brought
Kipketer's fabulous winning streak to an end. But then Kipketer had
suffered malaria and was not fully fit. Although Kimutai looked ready
to take over the world crown, in 1999 a revitalized Kipketer would
return to winning ways, and remain unbeaten throughout the entire season.