"Hey Abdi," someone yelped, "the steeplechase is tomorrow."
Abdi Abdirahman just waved, smiled and, like
a dog, shook and shimmied to dry himself. Moments earlier he had won the men's 10,000 meter run, holding off a challenge from Eugene favorite Galen Rupp on a Fourth of July Friday night at Eugene's Hayward Field. Hardy pausing after crossing the finish line, Abdi kept running, continuing to pass other still with a lap or two to go.
Most victory laps are done in slo-mo, but Abdi, a three-time USA national champion 10K champion, was too excited. At the far turn, by the steeplechase water jump, he paused, spun an about-face and stepped into the water, sitting and rolling and briefly soaking himself before continuing back to the finish line area, where Rupp, who finished second, and third-place finisher Jorge Torres were celebrating qualifying for Beijing and others were staggering from exhaustion.
Abdi's exhaustion would come later, but he was still feeling the adrenalin-high from his nearly start-to-finish win. As he had planned, Abdi took the lead immediately, pushing each lap in 66 to 67 second splits to gradually thin the strong field of possible contenders. Two who refused to fade away were Rupp and Torres. With two laps to go, Rupp pushed into the lead, but only momentarily as Abdi reasserted himself and accelerated all the way to a 27:41:89 finish. Rupp was clocked in 27:43:11 and Torres in 27:46:33.
With fireworks exploding over the stadium, it was a fitting climax to an explosive evening that included a thrilling women's 5K final, sterling performances in the women's high jump finals and a crowd-pleasing performance by 16-year-old high school junior-to-be Jordan Hasay in the women's 1500 semifinals. With her long ponytail flying and the crowd of 20,000-plus whooping, Hasay, who could pass for a pre-teen, finished her heat in 4:14:50, a national high school record.
Chante Howard provided the loftiest moments in the high jump, clearing 6-5.5 to defeat 32-year-old Amy Acuff, who became the first four-time woman to make the U.S. Olympic team in the event. On the victory stand, Howard hammed it up, striking some of ritualistic pre-jump poses.
Poised in the women's 5K was Kara Goucher, who moved from third to first, running the final lap in 65.5 to pass Shalene Flanagan and Jen Rhimes in another thriller. Goucher was timed in 15:01.01 while Rhimes, who ran the 10K in the 2000 Olympics and marathon in 2004, was second in 15:02.02 and Flanagan, who took the 10K earlier this week, was third in 15:02.81. Should Goucher, who also qualified in the 10K, or Flanagan decide to run only the longer distance in Beijing, the open spot would go to Lauren Fleshman, who was fifth but has an A qualifying time. She'll have to wait to see about a victory lap, without the swim.
* * *
Attendance at the free Olympic Trials Festival outside Hayward Field is a huge success, with ever-larger crowds watching the action on a pair of large-screen televisions. Viewers were packed tightly Friday night, many to watch local favorite Galen Rupp in the men's 10,000 meter finals and to stick around for the fireworks display that followed. It's been a popular way for people to see the action.
No comments:
Post a Comment