Ten-year-old Hicham El Guerrouj was inspired to run when he watched his Moroccan countryman Said Aouita charge to Olympic 5,000metres gold in Los Angeles 16 years ago.

Now, El Guerrouj is driven by the dream of bringing Aouita's Olympic gold and his world records back to the country of the athlete's birth.

In Sydney, he is one of the best bets to realise that dream when he competes in the 1,500metres.

Afterwards, his best days still ahead of him, he intends to move up to Aouita's favourite distance and repeat the feats of his hero.

El Guerrouj celebrates his 26th birthday the day before the opening ceremony, and the odds are he will pick up Olympic gold in the 1,500metres final 15 days later.

Since winning his first world championship in 1997 El Guerrouj has dominated the middle distances like few before him.

But the ultimate gold still eludes him. Four years ago in Atlanta, El Guerrouj was in second place going into the final lap but he clipped the heels of leader Noureddine Morceli and fell to the track. He finished last and Morceli grabbed the glory.

Since that day El Guerrouj has gained some measure of revenge. In the 1998 Golden Gala meeting in Rome, he shattered Morceli's 1,500metres world record by a staggering 1.37 seconds, lowering the mark to 3:26.00.

One year later, back in Rome, he took 1.26 seconds off the mile record, timing 3:43.40.

And in the 1999 season, in which he remained unbeaten, he finally assumed the middle distance throne by landing his first win over Morceli, in the Grand Prix final in Milan.

If, and probably when, El Guerrouj is standing on top of the podium in Sydney, he will shed tears of joy for Morocco and give thanks to the man who set him off on his world-conquering ways.

He will remember how, after watching Aouita's golden march, he took to the track and went on to win a bronze medal at 5,000metres in the 1992 World Junior Championships.

Then, coming back from an injury-ravaged 1993 season, he elected to concentrate on the shorter distance.

The rest, surely, will be history.