Algerian Makhloufi bounces back to win 1500m

LONDON (AFP) - Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi bounced back from a disqualification fiasco to win the men's Olympic 1500m gold on Tuesday.

Makhloufi, who on Monday was thrown out of the Olympics for not trying hard enough in his 800m heat but later reinstated to race the 1500m, produced a decisive kick on the last lap to win in 3min 34.08sec.

American Leonel Manzano claimed silver in 3:34.79, with Morocco's Abdalaati Iguider taking bronze in 3:35.13.

It was a remarkable result for the 24-year-old Makhloufi, who has shown remarkable progress this year to drop from 1:46.32 to 1:43.88 in the 800m and slice more than two seconds off his best for the 1500m.

Having qualified for the 1500m final, the Algerian ran in heat five of the first round of the 800m on Monday morning but failed to finish.

Athletics' world governing body, the IAAF, released a statement saying "the referee considered that he had not provided a bona fide effort and decided to exclude him from participation in all further events in the competition".

But Olympics organisers later said that the disqualification had been revoked, citing medical evidence, clearing the way for Makhloufi to race in the 1500m.

The Algerian was patient through the first three laps of the race, content to be strung along on the coattails of Nixon Chepseba of Kenya.

With 300 metres to go, however, the Algerian came up with a huge kick to immediately open up a sizeable gap between him and the chasing pack.

As he hit the home stretch, he was so far clear that he even eased up with 15 metres to go before crossing for line for a perfectly judged victory.

Manzano's final sprint nailed a second silver in the middle distance events for the United States at these Games after Galen Rupp's silver in the 10,000m.

He outstripped Chepseba and Ethiopian Mekonnen Gebremehdin in a thrilling finish that saw him hold off a last-gasp surge from Iguider, who claimed bronze in a close finish ahead of the chasing pack.