LONDON (AP) — First they told him to leave. Then they invited him back. Next they'll give him the gold.

Kicked out of the London Olympics for presumably not trying hard enough in another event, Algeria's Taoufik Makhloufi got a second chance after a doctor took his side.

Back at the track Tuesday, he cashed in on that opportunity and won the 1,500 meters in 3 minutes, 34.08 seconds, beating Leonel Manzano of the United States by 0.71 seconds. Abdalaati Iguider of Morocco got the bronze in 3:35.13.

On Monday, the race referee in the 800 meters, Makhloufi's other event, kicked him out of the Olympics, judging he was guilty of "failure to compete honestly with bona fide effort."

He may have simply been conserving energy for Tuesday night's 1,500 final, but the Algerian coaches insisted Makhloufi pulled out of the 800 because of a knee injury. When a doctor examined the runner and said the injury was genuine, Olympic officials revoked the DQ and allow him to start in the 1,500.