Records

Shaheen made headlines in 2003 when he swapped nationalities, from Kenyan to Qatari. This switch prevented him from competing at the 2004Olympics, where he would have started as a red-hot favourite. By way of consolation he set a world record that year, his 7:53.63 slicing more than one-and-a-half seconds from the previous mark (Brahim Boulami’s 7:55.28).

The winner of gold at the World Championships of 2003 and 2005, Shaheen will hope to finally land Olympic gold  this year in Beijing.

Russian Samitova-Galkina, a former 1500m runner, obliterated her own world record - 9:01.59 - when she galloped home in 8:58.81 at the Beijing Games in China.