Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

8-21-89 . . . Said Aouita of Morocco, whom I have long considered to be the best runner in the world, broke another world record yesterday—in the 3000-meter run. The previous record of 7:32.10 was set by Henry Rono of Kenya in 1978; it was one of the oldest running records on the books. Aouita, incredibly, cut nearly three seconds off the mark with a run of 7:29.45. Aouita now holds five world records: in the 1500-meter, 2000-meter, 3000-meter, two-mile, and 5000-meter runs. The only record between 1500 and 5000 meters that he doesn’t hold is for the mile run. Steve Cram of England holds that record, though I believe Aouita has run the second-best mile of all time. In the next couple of years, while he is still in peak form, I would like to see Aouita break records in the 1000-meter run, the mile run, and the 10,000-meter run. That would give him a sweep of the middle-distance records and secure his place as the best runner of all time. [All of Aouita’s records have been broken. The world record at 3,000 meters is now 7:20.67, by Daniel Komen. That’s almost nine seconds in 20 years.]