ATHENS, Greece - Hicham El Guerrouj became the first man in 80 years to sweep the 1,500 and 5,000 meters at an Olympics, holding up two fingers in triumph after winning the 5,000 Saturday night in an all-out sprint down the final straightaway.

The Moroccan passed world-record holder Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia with about 50 meters left and finished in 13 minutes, 14.39 seconds, smiling and extending his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line. Then he kissed his hands and his right knee, before touching his head to the track in prayer.

“I think that this is a historic victory that I dedicate to the Moroccan people, to the Arab world and to the Muslim world,” El Guerrouj said.

The only other man to win the 1,500 and 5,000 in an Olympics was Paavo Nurmi — the “Flying Finn” — who did it in 1924.

Bekele, who was trying to become the first man in 24 years to win the 5,000 and 10,000 at an Olympics, finished second in 13:14.59. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, who led until the final lap, won bronze in 13:15.10. Kipchoge is the reigning world champion.

“I was quite tired because of the 10,000 meters and the semifinals (of the 5,000),” Bekele said. “It was not an easy race. The Ethiopians tried to run together, but today that wasn’t enough for me to win.”

American Tim Broe finished 11th in 13:33.06.

Women's 1,500 meters
After so many years of injuries and despair, Kelly Holmes figured an Olympic gold medal would make up for it all. She wound up with two.

Surging to the front down the final straight, the 34-year-old former British Army sergeant won the 1,500 meters Saturday night to go with her victory in the 800 meters five days earlier.

“The 800 was a total shock, and today has blown me away,” she said. “I was just saying to myself ‘One more, one more.”

Holmes is the third woman to achieve the middle-distance double at the Olympics, after two Russians — Tatyana Kazankina in Montreal in 1976 and Svetlana Masterkova in Atlanta in 1996. The 1,500 was added to the women’s Olympic program in 1972.

“I feel like I’m going to wake up tomorrow and have to run the whole damn thing over again,” Holmes said. “It’s so surreal. I won, but I was so mentally and physically drained.”

Holmes, who had hung near the back of the field for the first three laps, overtook the leaders in the home stretch. She broke into a big smile a few meters from the finish and raised her arms in the air as she crossed the line in 3 minutes, 57.90 seconds, a British record.

Russia’s Tatyana Tomashova took silver in 3:58.12, with Romania’s Maria Cioncan third in 3:58.39. Seven of the 12 runners ran career-best times.

“If you’d have told me I had to run that fast to win the gold or just a medal, I just wouldn’t have turned up,” Holmes said.

She’s the first Briton to complete the 800-1,500 double since Albert Hill in 1920. She did it on the same night Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj achieved another double, winning the 5,000 meters to go with his gold in the 1,500.

Holmes’ victory gave Britain its 29th medal of the games, breaking the national record of 28 medals set four years ago in Sydney. As she was speaking at a post-race news conference, still wrapped in the Union Jack flag, Britain’s 400-meter men’s relay team upset the United States to make it 30 medals.

These Olympics had been expected to confirm long-distance star Paula Radcliffe as Britain’s track heroine. Like Holmes, she ran in two events — the marathon and 10,000 meters. But Radcliffe failed to finish either, winding up in tears.

Now Holmes can lay claim to being Britain’s greatest female track Olympian, even though it never seemed it would work out that way.

Hobbled by a stress fracture, Holmes finished fourth at the 1996 Olympics. At the world championships in Athens seven years ago, she ruptured her Achilles tendon in the 1,500 heats. Despite a virus, she won a bronze in the 800 at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

“This is the first time in seven years I’ve been injury-free,” Holmes said. “I always had the double in my mind, but I thought something would go wrong.”

For once, it didn’t.

She waited until the last moment before deciding to enter the

800. In Monday’s final, she beat her former training partner and reigning champion Maria Mutola for her first major title.

“Every morning since the 800, I looked at my medal and had tears in my eyes,” Holmes said. “The hardest thing in the 1,500 was trying to forget the 800 and start over again.”

After she made her move on the final lap Saturday night, Holmes was bumped by Poland’s Anna Jakubczak. But she recovered and broke for the front with 300 meters to go. She kept glancing over her shoulder, looking for rival Hasna Benhassi, who had finished second in the 800. But the Moroccan had faded, and wound up last.

“Coming down the home straight, I knew if I was in contention I could outsprint them,” Holmes said. “I was driving hard. I had nothing left at the end. I was so pleased no one else had anything left either.”

Women's high jump
Yelena Slesarenko looked more like someone on a beach vacation as she lay on the track on a towel, sunglasses and hat on.

Some vacation.

The Russian set an Olympic record in the women’s high jump Saturday night, winning the gold medal with a jump of 6 feet, 9 inches. That’s a quarter-inch better than the previous mark, set in Atlanta by Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria.

“I didn’t know that I was going to win today,” Slesarenko said. “I came in full of hopes and I achieved my goal.”

Two-time world champion Hestrie Cloete of South Africa won the silver with a jump of 6-7½. Viktoriya Styopina of Ukraine won the bronze with a jump at the same height, but finished below Cloete because she had one more miss.

Slide show   Emotional Moments: Aug. 29 Trouble mars the marathon but the Olympic spirit prevails.

Amy Acuff of the United States was fourth, clearing 6-6¼.

“I am actually really happy about the silver,” Cloete said. Slesarenko “was clearly the best today. I was jumping before her so I should have been able to put more pressure on her. But (it) was too much.”

Cloete came in as the heavy favorite, having jumped 6-8¼ at a meet in Zurich, Switzerland, earlier this month. And she looked strong early, clearing the first six heights on the first try.

But Slesarenko matched her with every jump.

“The competition was so hard, but Cloete helped me jump better by jumping so well,” Slesarenko said.

Then on the seventh height — 6-8¼ — Cloete missed. Slesarenko made it on her first try, pumping her fist as she jumped to her feet. Cloete ran under the bar on her second attempt, then took a pass on her third, allowing her to try at 6-9.

But she missed that, too.

Slesarenko cleared 6-9 easily. She waved wildly and smiled broadly as she got to her feet, and the crowd roared when it was announced she’d set an Olympic record.

Slesarenko tried to top the world record of 6-10¼, asking the bar to be set a half-inch higher. She waved her arms at fans before her first jump, urging them to cheer louder, but it didn’t work as the bar clattered down behind her onto the landing pit. She clutched her gold necklace and kissed it before trying again, but that attempt failed, too.

She had one attempt left, but she had to wait several minutes to take it while the women’s 1,600-meter relay finished. Slesarenko put a hat on, grabbed a towel and lay down on the track.

Finally, as the last lap of the relay was being run, Slesarenko crossed herself and tried one more time. She didn’t come close to clearing the bar, but bounced up with a big smile, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd.

Acuff cleared 6-6¼ on her first try. She took a pass on the next height, though, hoping she could clear 6-8¼ and get a medal. But she clipped the bar three straight times, and was forced to settle for fourth place.

Acuff said she was distracted on her third jump after runners in the women’s 1,600-meter relay lay down in her approach path. Her clock was running the whole time, and she had to rush to make her attempt.

“I had 20 seconds left,” Acuff said. “I was yelling at them to give me time, but I don’t think they understood. Or cared.”

Men's javelin
It was a night for the young in the men’s javelin.

Andreas Thorkildsen of Norway won the gold medal with a personal-best throw of 283 feet, 9 inches. Vadims Vasilevskis of Latvia won the silver at 278-8, also a personal best.

Both are just 22 years old and far out-performed the Czech Republic’s Jan Zelezny, who was seeking an unprecedented fifth consecutive medal at age 38. He was ninth at 264-5. Zelezny had won the gold in the last three Olympics and the silver in 1988.

Sergey Makarov of Russia won the bronze at 278-4.

Breaux Greer, who had hoped to become the first American to win the javelin since Cyrus Young in 1952, finished last of the 12th finalists with a best throw of 243 feet, 11 inches — nearly 43 feet off his personal best. Greer was competing despite a torn knee ligament that required him to wear a plastic brace on his right leg.

Men's 800 meters
Yuriy Borzakovskiy of Russia relied on his trademark late kick to sweep by four competitors in the finishing straight and win Olympic gold in the 800 meters on Saturday.

South African Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi won the silver. World record holder Wilson Kipketer of Denmark took the bronze.

In a tactical race, the Russian held back a long time but timed his surge perfectly to finish in 1 minute 44.45 seconds, holding an edge of .16 seconds over Mulaudzi. Kipketer finished in 1:44.65, barely missing silver.

With about 50 meters to go Kipketer still looked poised for gold before he weakened.

Track & field - Men's 5000 meters (medals: Aug. 28th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Hicham El Guerrouj Morocco 13:14.39 Silver Kenenisa Bekele Ethiopia 13:14.59 Bronze Eliud Kipchoge Kenya 13:15.10 NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

Track & field - Women's 1500 Meters (medals: Aug. 28th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Kelly Holmes Britain 3:57.90 Silver Tatyana Tomashova Russia 3:58.12 Bronze Maria Cioncan Romania 3:58.39 NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

Track & field - Women's High Jump (medals: Aug. 28th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Yelena Slesarenko Russia 6 feet, 9 inches OR Silver Hestrie Cloete South Africa 6 feet, 8 3/4 inches (wins tiebreaker) Bronze Viktoriya Styopina Ukraine 6 feet, 8 3/4 inches NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

Track & field - Men's Javelin (medals: Aug. 28th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Andreas Thorkildsen Norway 283 feet, 10 inches Silver Vadims Vasilevskis Latvia 278 feet, 10 inches Bronze Sergey Makarov Russia 278 feet, 4 inches NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

Track & field - Men's 800 meters (medals: Aug. 28th) Medal Athlete Country Result Gold Yuriy Borzakovskiy Russia 1:44.45 Silver Mbulaeni Tongai Mulaudzi South Africa 1:44.61 Bronze Wilson Kipketer Denmark 1:44.65 NBCO: Schedules, preliminary result and complete final results

MORE FROM TRACK AND FIELD

Track and field Section Front

Track great show, but without star Capel gets warning after positive drug test Hungarian Olympians given 2-year bans Williams-Darling's unbeaten streak ends Marion won't race for rest of year Celizic: Two marathon golds only answer Interactive: Rising stars of track & field NBCO: World and Olympic records NBCO: Inside the sport Medal winners Track and field Section Front   Add Track and field headlines to your news reader: