AFTER THE gold rush of an Olympic year, comes the great paper chase of 1997. Tomorrow it's the Bailey Johnson showdown for $2 million; today either Haile Gebrselassie or Noureddine Morceli will win $1 million if one of them breaks eight minutes for two miles in Hengelo, Holland.

The race has caused controversy as Kenya's Daniel Komen, the current world record holder for the distance at eight minutes 03.54 seconds, has not been invited because he is sponsored by Nike and the event is being bankrolled by Adidas, who back Gebrselassie and Morceli.

Gebrselassie, who has already set world records for 5,000 and 10,000 metres in this tiny Dutch town, is the favourite to claim the money for back to back sub four minute miles. "This is what I am concentrating on for 1997," said the Ethiopian.