Khannouchi Sets Marathon Record

Khalid Khannouchi’s bid for U.S. citizenship may be stalled, but his performance was far from that at Sunday’s Chicago Marathon.

The Morrocan-born Khannouchi won the LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon in 2 hours 5 minutes 42 seconds, shattering the previous world record by 23 seconds.

Khannouchi trailed two-time Boston Marathon winner Moses Tanui of Kenya by 33 seconds at the 21-mile mark, but he caught Tanui by the 25th mile and easily outdistanced him, winning by 34 seconds. As he crossed the finish line, Khannouchi burst into tears and was wrapped in a bear hug by his wife, Sandra, who also is his coach and agent.

Khannouchi won a Volkswagen Beetle and $165,000, including a $100,000 bonus for breaking Ronaldo da Costa’s world record of 2:06:05 set in 1998 at Berlin.

Defending champion Joyce Chepchumba of Kenya fell just before the halfway point, but managed to finish in 2:25:59, edging countrywoman Margaret Okayo by a second in the closest women’s finish at Chicago.

The biggest disappointments were Da Costa, who dropped out at the 15th mile because of lower back pain, and Catherina McKiernan, the world’s No. 1 distance runner last year. McKiernan, who had won the previous three marathons she entered, had stomach cramps throughout the race and finished 12th in 2:35:30.

The only disappointment for Khannouchi was that he didn’t set the record as an American. Khannouchi moved to the United States in 1993 when he didn’t get the support he felt he deserved from the Moroccan running federation.

Embraced by Americans, he applied for citizenship so he could run for the United States in the Sydney Olympics next year.

Khannouchi asked for expedited citizenship, but his request was denied in June.

“I’m always positive we have chances,” he said. “We’re working hard and we’re not going to give up. But if I don’t have a chance to run in the Olympics as an American, I won’t run. I’d prefer to wait another four years or maybe for the world championships. I want to give something back to the sport in the United States.

“I’m still Moroccan, I still have Moroccan blood. But the federation, I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They put me down [at] the time that I needed them, and it’s not worth it to go back to them.”

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Kenya’s Julius Bitok defeated countryman Mark Saina by 10 seconds to win the water-logged Venice Marathon. Bitok finished in 2:10:34.

Italy’s Sonia Maccioni won the women’s race with an event-record time of 2:28:54, more than a minute ahead of Gadissa Pedato of Ethiopia.

Tennis

Top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France defeated Kim Clijsters of Belgium, 6-3, 6-3, to win the Eurotel Slovak Indoor at Bratislava for her first WTA tournament triumph. . . . Nathalie Tauziat of France upset Barbara Schett of Austria, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, at the $1.05-million Kremlin Cup at Moscow for her first victory since 1997. Tauziat earned $150,000 and 260 points, returning to her career-high world ranking of seventh. . . . Sixth-seeded Nicolas Lapentti defeated Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, 6-3, 6-2, in the final of the $725,000 Lyon Grand Prix in France, moving the Ecuadoran closer to the top eight in men’s tennis, which would qualify him for the World Championships in Hanover, Germany.

Miscellany

One of the most harrowing years in U.S. Olympic history is ending with USOC president Bill Hybl’s decision to follow executive director Dick Schultz in stepping down. Hybl told U.S. Olympic Committee board members that he will not seek reelection and will leave office after completing his four-year term at the end of 2000.

In a year when a bribery scandal in Salt Lake City stained the Olympic image, three of the most powerful men in the USOC have announced their resignations--former marketing boss John Krimsky, Schultz, and now Hybl.

Germany’s Jens Fiedler defended his title in the Keirin in a photo finish over Marty Nothstein of the United States and Anthony Peden of New Zealand to win the World Track Cycling Championship at Berlin. Nothstein, a two-time champion, was dropped to sixth for racing out of his line. Marion Clignet won the women’s points race, giving France its seventh gold in 12 events, bettering its performance of six titles last year at Bourdeaux, France. . . . Darko Ljubojevic, a star Bosnian soccer player who plays for the third-division club Cadiz and is trying to become a Spanish citizen, is accused of being a war criminal. His club says he is a victim of mistaken identity. He needed a document from Interpol to show he was not on any wanted list, a requirement made of most Balkan players in Europe, the newspaper El Mundo reported Sunday. But the international police organization’s records showed a Bosnian of the same name was wanted for war crimes. The team’s attorneys are addressing the matter.