An impressive season start in Hengelo!

June 1st 2004 - Simon has opened his 2004 Olympic season with an impressive 3rd place in Hengelo, clocking 8.17.73, his fastest season start ever. After a blistering first kilometer of around 2.40, the pace slowed considerably in the second K. When Slovenian friend Bostjan Buc passed Simon 2 laps to the finish, both accelerated substantially. In the last lap, Simon managed to grab the bronze, passing around 7 Maroccan and Kenian fellow runners.

"I am quite happy with this good of a season start.", Simon reacted. "Obviously, my new training approach with some more fast repetitions on the track has prepared me better for a higher pace in the early season. It is however essential to still improve the way I am used to over the next few races. A good start is nice, but it is more important to be good at the Olympics. I have all confidence that that will be the case!".

With his time of sub 8.20, Simon in fact officially qualified for Athens and now holds the number 3 position in this years world ranking. Asked about his future whereabouts, Simon indicated that he may run the Ostrava Super Grand Prix as his next race, followed by the Superliga Eurpean Cup in Poland.

Race info

 1  KIPRUTO, Brimin      KEN   8:05.52 MR
 2  KOECH, Paul Kipsiele KEN   8:05.92 
 3  VROEMEN, Simon       NED   8:17.73 
 4  BUC, Bostjan         SLO   8:18.43 
 5  EZZINE, Ali          MAR   8:19.93 
 6  NYAMU, Julius        KEN   8:21.02 
 7  PRÖLL, Martin        AUT   8:21.80 
 8  CHEMLAL, Abdelatif   MAR   8:26.15 
 9  SLATTERY, Steve      USA   8:26.33 
10  SVENOY, Jim          NOR   8:28.64 

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