Taoufik Makhloufi back in London Olympics as IAAF reverses course
By Dan Loumena
5:11 p.m. CDT, August 6, 2012
Taoufik Makhloufi, Algeria's star middle-distance runner, is back in the London Olympics after originally being expelled for not providing a "bona fide effort" in a preliminary heat of the 800 meters.
Early reports indicated that the Algerian team forgot to pull Makhloufi out of the 800 so that he could save his energy for his specialty, the 1,500 meters.
Makhloufi had qualified for Tuesday's 1,500 final and was considered a possible medal contender. He won his semifinal heat Sunday in 3 minutes 42.24 seconds.
