“Black Cactus”, Rupp & Torres Make 10,000m Olympic Team
Posted July 5th, 2008 at 1:40 AM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
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The Men’s 10000m final at the 2008 US Olympic Trials was an intriguing battle of several of America’s finest distance runners. In the end Abdi Abdirahman and Galen Rupp repeated their 1-2 finish in last year’s USATF National Championship meet while Colorado alum Jorge Torres ran a gutsy race to claim the third spot on the US Olympic Team.
Tonight’s race started out at a fairly conservative pace, much to the chagrin of those needing the A standard (27:49) as well as a top three finish to make the team. Abdi Abdirahman led the pack almost from the outset and began to pick up the pace around the 1k mark, stringing out the field in the process. The field would remain mostly intact with some stretching and contracting for the next few laps, with Abdi still in the lead. Near the halfway point Abdi again surged, leading Rupp and Torres clear of the field. The three methodically built a 40m lead and maintained nearly that distance the rest of the way.
Adam Goucher, Josh Rohatinsky, Ed Moran, and James Carney all took turns leading the second pack as they struggled to maintain contact with the leaders. In the end their valiant effort was in vain as the top three were simply too strong. Abdi upped the pace again with a mile to go but both Rupp and Torres covered the move. Rupp took his turn in front with 800m to go and was able to drop Torres but not Abdi. Abdi covered Rupp’s move and then countered with one of his own, pulling away to break the tape in 27:41.89. Rupp and Torres both qualified for their first Olympic team, with Rupp placing second in 27:43.11 and Torres taking third 27:46.33. Moran, Rohatinsky, Carney, and Goucher were rewarded for their efforts in placing fourth through seventh, while US Marathon Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein placed 8th in 28:05.31.
After the race, Abdi celebrated by jumping in the steeple pit while Rupp and Torres basked in the appreciation of another fantastic Hayward crowd. These three will look to continue the renaissance of American distance running at this summer’s Olympic Games.
1 Abdi Abdirahman Nike 27:41.89
2 Galen Rupp unattached 27:43.11
3 Jorge Torres Reebok 27:46.33
4 Edward Moran Nike 27:52.10
5 Josh Rohatinsky Nike 27:54.41
6 James Carney New Balance 27:58.81
7 Adam Goucher Nike 27:59.31
8 Dathan Ritzenhein Nike 28:05.31
9 Sean Quigley Puma 28:21.96
10 Tim Nelson Nike 28:29.95
11 Edwardo Torres Reebok 28:35.91
12 Josh Simpson New York A C 28:37.16
13 Meb Keflezighi Nike 28:39.02
14 Daniel Browne Nike 28:42.78
15 Fasil Bizuneh New Balance 28:43.11
17 Brett Gotcher McMillan Elite 28:54.89
18 Matthew Downin New Balance 28:55.66
19 Seth Pilkington Weber State 29:10.33
20 Michael Kilburg Portland 29:26.76
21 John Moore Portland 29:26.79
22 Steve Sundell New York A C 29:35.86
23 Louis Luchini Oregon TC Elite 29:42.78
24 Stephen Haas Team Indiana Elite 29:57.45
25 Seth Summerside adidas 30:52.33
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Tags: Eugene, hayward field, Olympic Trials, oregon, Team USA, track & field trials, track and field, track trials, Tracktrials08coverage, u.s. olympic track & field trials
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