He's been one of the wisest, most noble and best liked athletes in the sport. He's had three seasons in his career when he was unbeaten. He has been world champion three times and on his day even set an 800 metres world record in a heat. Last night Wilson Kipketer screwed up.

He had come looking for his first Olympic gold medal. Few athletes have produced a level of excellence which so richly deserved that reward. Kipketer had. Last night he watched Nils Schumann, a lanky, tattooed German youngster who lives for hip-hop, receive the gold.

"I think most people didn't know who I was before the Olympics and they didn't know how fast I could run," said Schumann. "Over the last six or seven weeks I've been training really hard and I knew I was getting faster and faster. I had a dream I could win a medal of some kind, but to take a gold I can't believe it happened."

He's not alone. When Kipketer looks back on his career he must scarcely be able to make sense of it. Having lived in Denmark since 1990, he won a world championship wearing Danish red in 1995. The following year Kenya blocked his entry to the Atlanta Games. Vebjorn Rodahl, who had come third in Gothenburg, took the gold.

Rodahl. Schumann. Poor Wilson Kipketer has reduced himself to an Olympic asterisk. Last night he allowed himself to be edged out on the line. Schumann won with a time of 1:45.08, almost four seconds outside Kipketer's personal best, two seconds outside Kipketer's season best. One more yard of track and the race would have been Kipketer's.

For an athlete of Kipketer's experience the race was a nightmare. He got boxed in on the back straight of the final lap, then moved wide looking for a way through. Schumann had already found one though and had built momentum first. He held Kipketer off right to the line and probably no further.

So Schumann added an unlikely Olympic title to his European crown (Kipketer had malaria in 1999). He is the first German ever to win the event

After a reasonably leisurely opening lap, the race exploded at the bell and just got better and better all the way to the line. With 200 metres left, Andre Bucher of Switzerland was briefly bumped off the track as the serious argy bargy began. Bucher recovered but never threatened.

Schumann came off the bend in the lead and unimpeded. He stayed in front for the last 50 yards as Kipketer looked for the space from which to launch his run. He found the open ground too late and claimed the silver with Morocco's Aissa Said Gurni, running wide in lane five, finishing third.

"The race was a little crazy," said Kipketer. "That's the game, I was coming here to fight and I now have a silver. I don't think I started too late for the line. I was in a group, I got chipped on the leg. I lost my rhythm, It was not a tactical problem. At 150 metres there was still a group, so I had to run out a bit. Something is better than nothing. I am 90 per cent happy."

We 90 per cent believed him.