For a period in the early 2000s Saif was virtually unbeatable over the 3000mSC. He put together a sequence of 24 consecutive race victories which included winning the world titles in Paris 2003 and Helsinki 2005 and also setting a World Record time of 7:53.63. Unsurprisingly this also resulted in him being the World No. 1 from 2003 to 2006.  Saif also had incredible range as he was the World No.1 for 5000m in 2003, won a world indoor silver medal in 2006 over 3000m and finished in the top 10 of the World Cross Country Championships on three occasions.