Meb Keflezighi closes out a strong American showing in London

Meb Keflezighi streams the flag down the homestretch
(photo: The Oregonian)

Going into the final "Athletics" event Sunday, the United States Track and Field Team had earned 29 medals; only one short of Doug Logan's lofty goal of 30. All eyes were on fan favorite, Ryan Hall, to compete and potentially get that 30th medal. Needless to say, that didn't happen. Hall, along with Abdi Abdirahman, would both drop out just after the 10 mile mark. The man that came in with little fanfare nearly delivered #30 to a man that's no longer in office.

The word on the street, specifically from Meb Keflezighi's longtime coach, Bob Larsen, was that Meb had been injured and that he was under trained. With that knowledge available, no one gave much of a shot to the 2004 Athens Silver Medalist. And sadly, once Hall and Abdi dropped, I feared Meb may too. Luckily, that outcome was not in the cards.

Instead, Keflezighi slowed worked his was way up from 17th at the halfway mark to 14th at 25k to 10th at 30k to 6th at 35k, and finally, to 4th at the finish line. He was never in medal contention and finished 1:29 behind third placer, Kenya's Wilson Kipsang, but his run further validated his return to glory, after a disappointing 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials, one where he would break his leg and finish 8th, off the Beijing Olympic Team.

A job well done for the veteran. One of many inspiring performances from the American distance squad at the 2012 London Olympics.

Here are a few more of my favorite American Distance Moments of the 2012 games:

• Galen Rupp following his teammate, Mo Farah, to the promise land to earn a Silver Medal in the Men's 10,000 meters (story here).
• Leo Manzano kicking furiously over the last 100 meters of the Men's 1500 to take the Silver Medal, while Matt Centrowitz battled to within .04 seconds of the Bronze (story here).
• Duane Solomon (1:42.82) and Nick Symmonds (1:42.95) going 4,5 in the best 800 final of all time; one where David Rudisha would break the World Record (1:40.91).
• Shannon Rowbury's strong rally for 6th in the Women's 1500; the same race where Morgan Uceny's fall made every distance running fan in America feel sick to their stomach. 
• Evan Jager finishing 6th and Donn Cabral 8th in the Men's 3000 meter Steeplechase. Strong runs by both in an event where the US hasn't done anything in a very long time.
• Emma Coburn's continued improvement in the Women's 3000 meter Steeplechase. Her 9th place finish would net her another PR (9:23.54).
• The Men's 5000. It's been a long while since the United States had three men in the final. All three held their own and a trip with 100 meters to go is the only thing that kept Bernard Lagat off the medal stand.
• All three American's setting PR's in the Women's 10,000. Being your best on the biggest stage is what the Olympics are all about!

And if you're enjoying this Track & Field thing, DN Galan aka Diamond League Stockholm is this Friday, August 17th!

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2008 US Olympic Trials - Distance Events Revisited

The 2008 US Olympic Trials were extremely entertaining. The Men's 800 kicked off the excitement (and was the race of the trials for me), with the rocket launcher like finish from Nick Symmonds, followed by the Oregon Duck, Andrew Wheating, barreling up the homestretch for second, upstaged only by the Oregon Track Club's Christian Smith, diving at the line for the final spot and getting the Olympic A-Standard in the process.

The trials closed with the Men's 1500, which was set up for drama with the mystery man, Gabe Jennings, looking incredible in the heats, but needing the A-Standard. Jennings took the lead early, but a windy day killed his hopes at a second Olympic team. Also surprising was American Mile Record Holder, Alan Webb, not having a kick over the final 100 and then getting nipped by Will Leer at the line to finish fifth.

The Women's 10,000 was exciting in the fact that Amy Yoder-Begley raced the clock, after she had locked up third place, to attain the A-Standard (which she did by a few seconds). Then Abdi crushed the last lap in the Men's 10,000, to win, and then dove into the steeple pit. What a character! Glad he'll be making a return trip this year in the marathon.

Below are the Olympic Qualifiers in every distance event from 800 - 10,000. Click on the link in each event for full results.

Race of the trials (all photos: TrackandFieldphoto)

800 meters
Men
1. Nick Symmonds
2. Andrew Wheating
3. Christian Smith

Women
1. Hazel Clark
2. Alice Schmidt
3. Kameisha Bennett (no standard)
4. Nicole Teter

Erin Donhue

1500 meters
Men
1. Bernard Lagat
2. Leo Manzano
3. Lopez Lomong

Women
1. Shannon Rowbury
2. Erin Donohue
3. Christin Wurth-Thomas

Anna Pierce

3000 meter Steeplechase
Men
1. Anthony Famliglietti
2. Billy Nelson
3. Josh McAdams

Women
1. Anna Pierce
2. Lindsey Anderson
3. Jenny Simpson

Bernard Lagat

5000 meters
Men
1. Bernard Lagat
2. Matt Tegenkamp
3. Ian Dobson

Women
1. Kara Goucher
2. Jen Rhines
3. Shalane Flanagan

Shalane Flanagan

10,000 meters
Men
1. Abdi Abdirahman
2. Galen Rupp
3. Jorge Torres

Women
1. Shalane Flanagan
2. Kara Goucher
3. Amy Yoder-Begley

Just think, we're only 3 months away from the 2012 Olympic Trials!

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Road to Houston: Meb and Shalane triumph, while Abdi surprises in Olympic Trials Marathon

I had to fly to Houston to watch the live stream

It was an exciting morning in Houston. The weather was excellent and the runners rolled. The Men took off at a furious pace and the early pack consisted of Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, Mo Trafeh and former steepler, Brian Olinger. Bit by bit, the Men began to fade off the back, eventually leaving Meb, Hall, Ritz and Abdi to fight for the three spots. Ritz was the first to drop, and was down 35 seconds to Abdi with about a 5k to go. This is when Abdi began to fade and Ritz began to pick it up. As Ritz rounded the last turn, it looked as though he just may catch him. In the end, Meb triumphed (in 2:09:08), with Ryan Hall finishing a strong second (in 9:09:30), Abdi rounding out the podium (in 2:09:47) and Ritz being the first alternate (in 2:09:55). Brett Gotcher ran a strong fifth in 2:11:06. Click here for full Men's results.

On the Women's side, they took it out very, very easy (6:13 first mile) and slowly paired it down. Like the Men's race, in the late stages, it was a pack of four. This pack consisted of Flanagan, Davila, Goucher and Amy Hastings. Hastings was the first to drop, and just as you thought she was done, she put the hammer down and took the lead just before going into the last lap (18.2 miles in). Eventually, the move wore her out and Davila showed her strength. Flanagan hung with her and Goucher stayed a few steps back. Flanagan pulled away over the last 5k and won in 2:25:37, with Davila just a bit back (in 2:25:55) and Goucher just behind her (in 2:26:06). Hastings finished fourth (in 2:27:17) with Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (in 2:29:45) rounding out the top five (Women's full results are here).

More to come later...

Click here for my "fan video" of Meb rounding the last turn with Hall just behind.

Click here for my "fan video" of Shalane rounding the last turn, with Desi and Kara following thereafter.

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Road Rage: The Black Cactus is back! Abdi Abdirahman wins USATF 20k Championship

Abdi after winning 2008 Olympic Trials 10,000
(TrackAndFieldPhoto)

Abdi Abdirahman aka "The Black Cactus" won his first National Championship in over two years today (last was 2009 10k at Peachtree) in breaking away from a strong field, with a 4:36 fifth mile at the Stratton Faxon New Haven Road Race in New Haven, CT. For his USATF 20k National Championship, Abdirahman will take home the $8000 first place prize. His winning time was 1:00:13.

Finishing second, in 1:00:34 was Team USA Minnesota's Jason Lehmkuhle. Finalizing the podium was Boulder, CO's Fernando Cabada in 1:00:58.

On the Women's side, new American citizen (via Kenya), Janet Cherobon-Bawcom, took the title in 1:08:30 over Clara Grandt, who finished in a near personal best of 1:09:06. USA Running Circuit veteran, Katie McGregor, was third in 1:09:56.

Here are the results, courtesy of Runnerspace. Kevin Ullman and Chris Nickinson did an excellent job covering the race this morning with no finish line mishaps!

Next up will be the 5k National Championships in Providence, RI on September 18th.

For more on the USA Running Circuit, check out: http://USARunningCircuit.com

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