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Olympic fright for Kipketer
SYDNEY, Sept 23 (AFP) - World record holder Wilson Kipketer survived the fright of his brief Olympic life when he almost crashed out of his opening 800m race here on Saturday. The 27-year-old Kenyan-born Dane became tangled up in the middle of the pack after the first 150metres and got his leg clipped, throwing him off balance. He managed to stay on his feet as Jamaica's Marvin Watts crashed to the track in front of him. Kipketer, robbed of a certain gold four years ago in Atlanta when the Kenyans refused to approve his switch on nationality, quickly regained his poise and ran out an easy winner with one of the fastest heat times. His 1min 45.57secs was well outside his world record but was enough to show that despite a miserable season to date his dreams of gold were still alive. "I'm getting myself back in shape. I'm not 100 per cent. I need to push myself a bit more," he said. It was his first win in an 800m race this season. In his one outing in the Golden League in Brussels last month he could do no better than third. And Kipketer had no sympathy for Watts. "Today was my lucky day. I can't feel sorry for anyone. It has happened to me. I was aware of the Jamacian falling because I was right behind him. I was spiked," he said. "Life is dangerous as is racing." Watts was upset at his Olympic dreams appearing to be shattered so soon. "The group was bumping a bit and a foot clipped my heel and I fell. I'm not happy about it because it was a quick pace and that suited me," he complained. However, his misery turned to joy later when the track officials decided to give him a second chance and put him through to the second round. Kipketer knows he will have to be on top form if he is to overcome Algeria's Djabir Said Guerni and Switzerland's Andre Bucher. Both qualified easily, Said Guerni clocking 1:47.95 and Bucher, currently the world number one this season, 1:46.51. "I took it pretty easy today," declared the 23-year-old Bucher. "I saw what happened in Kipketer' s heat and I wanted to avoid the fate of Watts. This is the first time that I have a real chance of an Olympic gold and I don't want to take any risks," he added. South Africa's world championship silver medallist Hezekiel Sepeng won his heat but played down his chances. "I'm not feeling like superman like I was last year but hopefully I can get it together in the next round," he said.
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