THE name of Hicham el Guerrouj may be barely recognised in Britain, yet in five of his last six 1500 metres races, he has run faster than Coe, Cram, or Ovett ever did.
Though the three Brits all held the world record at the mile, and the last two of these also at 1500m, the devout Moroccan is quicker than any of them.
Today, he is one of four athletes chasing the biggest prize in the sport's history, the Ericsson $1m jackpot at the final of the International Amateur Athletic Federation Golden League, in Moscow.
Just one more win, to add to the six each has achieved already, in Oslo, Rome, Monaco, Zurich, Brussels, and Berlin, will guarantee an equal share for el Guerrouj with Marion Jones, Bryan Bronson, and Haile Gebrselassie.
The son of a chef from Berkane, and fourth of eight brothers, el Guerrouj is the world 1500m record holder.
He is unbeaten in 12 races this year, and has lost only once since falling in the Atlanta Olympic final. He is four seconds faster this summer than any of his rivals, with a world 1500m record of 3-26.00 in Rome.
This year he also has run the second fastest mile ever (3-44.60), and the second quickest 2000m (4-48.36). John Mayock, the only Briton in the field today, is unlikely to stop him.
El Guerrouj is favourite for the overall men's award ($200,000) ahead of Bronson, because of bonus points he gets for having set a world best.
Jones could make it the biggest pay day of all, however, for she is in line for $550,000. There is individual event prize money, from $50,000 for a win, down to $5000 for eighth in each of the 18 finals.
Jones, uniquely, has qualified for two - the 100m and long jump. Should she win both, she will collect $50,000 apiece, plus $200,000 as overall grand prix winner, and then at least $250,000 of the $1m - and even more if any of her three other rivals should fail to hold up.
Bronson looks the most likely defaulter, having survived by just one hundredth of a second, ahead of Stephane Diagana, in the 400m hurdles in Berlin earlier this week.
Ethiopian Gebrselassie, who as an endurance runner has had a much tougher ordeal than any of the other three, assured me he has paced himself right. ''I still feel fresh, and besides, how can I fail - this is the track on which my countryman, Miruts Yifter, won two Olympic golds.''
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