25/08/00 - Even three weeks before Sydney a lot of stars choose to compete in Brussels. In every event for women the future Olympic champion did participate. Marion Jones (100m), Cathy Freeman (400m), Maria Mutola (800m) and Trine Hattestad (javelin) won their event; Heike Drechsler (long jump), Nouria Mérah-Benida (1500m) and Olga Shishigina (100m hurdles) needed some adjustment. In the men’s events Maurice Greene (100m), Michael Johnson (400m) and Virgilius Alekna (discus) showed their ambition for gold with a victory, Angelo Taylor (400m hurdles), Sergey Klyugin (high jump) and Nick Hysong (pole vault) kept a lower profile.


But as the year before, it was again Mohammed Mourhit who set the stadion on fire with a tremendous European record of 12.49.71 in the 5.000m, finishing just behind the Moroccan Brahim Lahlafi, who bettered his national record to 12.49.28. They became the n° 3 and 4 on the all time list and the best performers of 2000. On 10.000m Paul Tergat run the fastest time of the season with 27.03.87, finishing ahead of his surprising compatriot Felix Limo (27.04.54).

In the shot put Adam Nelson set a new meeting record with 21,58m and Maurice Greene did nearly the same in the 100m, but his 9.88 came with a tailwind of 2,1m/s. And Michael Johnson failed to break his own meeting record of 44.06 by just 1/100s in his first race since the American trials.

Concerning the Golden League five athletes advanced tot the final in Berlin: Maurice Greene, Hicham El Guerrouj, Gail Devers, Tatyana Kotova and Trine Hattestad.