EVEN in a sport which breeds feuds with diquieting regularity, they speak of the private rivalry of the two great African 1,500 metres runners, Noureddine Morceli and Hicham El Guerrouj as something special.

One an Algerian, the other Moroccan, their paths have crossed only infrequently, largely because Morceli, as the acknowledged superstar of metric miling, usually dictates who runs against him on the Grand Prix circuit.

Rather in the manner of professional heavyweight boxers angling for the same patch, their careers have been stage managed to the point where their strength, relative to each other, is not easily established.

Occasionally, however, the necessity for championship fulfilment and the opportunity of enhancing their market value, lures them on to the same patch. And it is against that background that their meeting in today's 1500 metres in the Olympic Stadium assumes added significance.

For Morceli, it offers not only the opportunity of putting down an ambitious pretender to his throne but the chance of removing one of the few blotches on an otherwise immaculate record.

At Barcelona four years ago, he allowed himself, inexplicably, to be caught up in the pack and was unable to cover the break which took the Spaniard, Fermin Cacho to the most popular success of the Games.

Two world championship titles and three world records at 1500 metres, a mile and 3000 metres have neither expunged that disappointment nor totally convinced the sceptics that he is capable of delivering on the day it matters most.

As a time triallist running to specified pace, Morceli is in a different class to all others. Less certain is the diminutive Algerian's ability to cope with the physical aspects of championship running in situations in which bulk, as well as pace, is often a prerequisite of success.

If there are flaws in that side of his makeup, El Guerrouj, another comparatively small man, will surely seek them out now. Unlike Morceli, he is still only reaching towards his prime but the quality of some of his earlier runs this season, gives substance to the point that he represents Morocco's best talent at the distance since the celebrated Said Aouita.

There are, too, the special claims of the titleholder, Cacho, many of whose performances over the last four years have been at odds with his status as an Olympic champion.

Since setting down in Atlanta, however, there have been unmistakable signs of a return to his best form and with his proven record as a man for the big occasion, he may have an influential role to play in the finish.

If Cacho represents a threat to African dominance in the 1,500 metres, it is local runner, Bob Kennedy, who will carry the overwhelming support of the crowd when he seeks to break their stranglehold in the 5,000 metres final.

At times when others are fazed by the mere presence of Kenyan or Moroccan athletes, Kennedy has shown a willingness to mix it with them without ever finding the reserves of strength over the last couple of laps, to finish in front.

Today, he will be borne along on a tidal wave of noise as the American crowd sense history in the making but whether that will be enough to shake proven competitors such as the two Kenyans, Paul Bitok and Shem Kororia, is a moot point.

European support will be for the German, Dieter Baumann, a man who, like Cacho, somehow manages to peak in Olympic year. After a modest build up on the Grand Prix circuit, Baumann looked as menacing as ever in Thursday's semi finals and the point is unlikely to be lost on those now lining up with him.

From an Irish perspective, the final of the women's 1,500 metres championship will revive memories of Sonia O'Sullivan's harrowing week and, inevitably, invite speculation on how she might have fared had not misfortune struck.

O'Sullivan will now watch the race on television and ponder, no doubt, on the inclusion in the final 12 of many of the athletes she has previously beaten.

One of them is Kelly Holmes, the British athlete, who after a surprise win at Gateshead in the opening phase of the 1995 season, has been seeing only the back of her Irish opponent at the finish of their races ever since.

Yet, no less than O'Sullivan, she merits the respect of any opposition after winning a bronze medal in the World 800 metres championship at Gothenburg last summer and later moving up into the silver medal position in the 1,500 final.

Earlier in the week here, she was just run out of the medals in the 800 metres final but, after winning the second semi final of the 1,500 metres in four minutes 05.88 seconds, nobody will discount her chances of going all the way now.

That performance was given added merit by the fact she was running under the shadow of a threatened stress fracture but she made light of the injury yesterday in assessing her chances of success.

With the elimination of Hassiba Boulmerka, the biggest threats, one imagines, will come from Gabriele Szabo (Romania), Theresia Kiesl (Austria) and, not least, the Russian Svetlana Masterkova who is seeking to add this title to the 800 metres championship she won last Monday.