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Faces in Races: Abdi, Rupp, Meb highlight Men’s 10000m
Posted July 4th, 2008 at 4:47 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics
The men’s 10000m final at the 2008 US Olympic Trials should be a wide-open affair, with several men who could potentially take the title. Leading the way will be Abdi Abdirahman, whose 27:16.98 at the Prefontaine Classic a few weeks ago makes him a slight favorite. He will have to battle with 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, 2007 USATF 10k national runner-up Galen Rupp, Colorado alum Jorge Torres, and rising stars Josh Rohatinsky and Scotty Bauhs. Dathan Ritzenhein, a 2008 Olympian in the marathon, is also entered in the race but has been focusing on marathon preparation.
As in the other races, the top three finishers in this race who have achieved the A standard will make the US team in the 10000m. The A standard in this event is 27:47:31, which has been achieved by six athletes (Abdi, Rupp, Meb, Torres, Ed Moran, James Carney) in the qualifying window. These six athletes can afford to focus on place while the other competitors must keep an eye on the clock to see their Olympic dreams fulfilled. Below we profile three of the competitors (Abdi, Meb, Rupp) and offer some thoughts on how we think this race will play out.
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Great Line-Ups for Sunday’s adidas Track Classic
Posted May 15th, 2008 at 9:00 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Organizers have secured great line-ups for Sunday’s adidas Track Classic at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and that includes the middle and long distance events.
The men’s 1500m is shaping up to the the top event, led by double world champion and two-time Olympic medalist, Bernard Lagat. Commonwealth Games medalists Nick Willis of Australia and Nate Brannen of Canada are also in the field, along with perennial Canadia star Kevin Sullivan and former NCAA ace Lopez Lomong. Nick Symmonds will be moving up from his usual specialty, the 800m, while 5000m man Adam Goucher will be moving down for a speed workout.
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Star-Studded Meet At Stanford Tomorrow Night
Posted May 4th, 2008 at 11:30 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Just 18 miles north of this San Jose suburb, one of the most important meets for distance runners held in the United States will take place at Stanford University. Packed with talent, the Peyton Jordan Cardinal Invitational turns the running industry on its head: top stars actually pay entry fees to compete and there are no appearance fees or cash prizes.
So what’s the draw? Perfect weather for achieving all-important Olympic Games qualifying times. When the sun sets at this time of year in Palo Alto, the winds calm down and the temperature drops, becoming comfortably cool. There is already very low humidity.
The key races are the top sections of the men’s and women’s 5000m and 10,000m, led by double world champion Bernard Lagat. Although he won the world titles last summer at both the 1500m and the 5000m, he doesn’t have an Olympic Games “A” standard time in the longer distance: 13:21.50. Working with other coaches, managers and the New York Road Runners, the men’s 5-K will be set-up by pacemaker Christian Hesch for a 13:10 to 13:20 finish time.
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Ritz, Abdi & Torres To Test Webb in Central Park Challenge
Posted February 21st, 2008 at 10:17 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Cross Country, Track & Field, Road Racing
Alan Webb, who hasn’t competed since winning the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile last September, will need to be extra sharp for his season opener on March 15, when he’ll face a legion tough competitors at the Central Park Challenge, the New York Road Runners event which is hosting the U.S. Men’s 8-K Championship.
It will be Webb’s old high school rival, Dathan Ritzenhein (Pictured) of Eugene, Ore., who will be leading the charge. Fresh off of his commanding 12-K victory at the U.S. Cross Country Championships last Saturday, “Ritz” is hoping to improve on his lifetime record of 5-2 over Webb.
The athletes first faced each other at the Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championships in Orlando, Fla., in December, 2001 (Ritzenhein won and Webb was 8th), and their last meeting was at last year’s Prefontaine Classic over two miles (Ritzenhein was 4th in 8:11.74, Webb 9th in 8:23.97).
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Reebok Boston Indoor Games: Start Lists
Posted January 25th, 2008 at 11:07 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Here are the start lists for the middle and long distance events for tomorrow’s Reebok Boston Indoor Games. Also, stay tuned for complete event recaps and analysis following tomorrow night’s event - right here at TheFinalSprint.com.
MEN -
BostonNOW 800m:
Said Ahmed, USA
Andrew Ellerton, CAN
Sam Burley, USA
Nick Symmonds, USA
Khadevis Robinson, USA
Mike Pachella, USA
Larry Brooks, USA
Mile:
Boaz Cheboiywo, KEN
Rob Myers, USA
Chris Lukezic, USA
Max Smith, NZL
Galen Rupp, USA [Pictured]
Fumikazu Kobayashi, JPN
James Nolan, IRL
David Freeman, PUR
Jason Jabaut, USA
Pablo Solares, MEX
Moise Joseph, HAI (pace)
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Team USA finishes fourth at International Chiba Ekiden
Posted November 23rd, 2007 at 12:13 PM by Hariz Siddiqui
Section: News & Results
Team USA took fourth place at the 2007 International Chiba Ekiden on Friday in Chiba, Japan, finishing in 2:09:05. The host team from Japan won the event in 2:05:56, defeating defending champion Kenya by 1:10. Russia was third in 2:08:00.
Now in its 19th year, the format of the race was revised to feature mixed teams of men and women running six alternating legs totaling 42.195 km as follows: 1st leg, Men 5 km; 2nd leg, Women 5 km; 3rd leg, Men 10 km; 4th leg, Women 5 km; 5th leg, Men 10 km; 6th leg, Women 7.195 km.
Team USA was led off by Pan American Games 5,000 meter gold medalist Ed Moran (Williamsburg, Va.) who ran the opening 5 km in 13:33 to finish third on his leg. Moran then handed off to Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.) for a 5 km leg where she turned in a personal best of 16:11 to put team USA in fourth-place as she handed off to Scott Bauhs (Danville, Calif.) for a 10 km leg. Bauhs also ran a personal best of 28:31 for his 10 km leg to move Team USA into third.
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World Catching Up To Kenya in 10,000 Meter Run
Posted November 13th, 2007 at 3:13 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
A look at the top 5 nations in terms of the all-time number of world-class performances run by men in the 10,000m run reveals that a handful of countries, including the United States, are beginning catching up to the Kenyans. The other countries that have seen a resurgence of 10,000 meter running are Ethiopia, whose runners are leading the way in catching up to the Kenyans, Morocco and Uganda. Tanzanian and Eritrean 10,000m running is also beginning to make an impact on the world stage, but not enough to crack the top 5 just yet.
Ed Moran Sets New Goals of Top 5 in US 5000m and 10000m
Posted September 21st, 2007 at 4:20 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
Flat Hat, the Student Newspaper of the College of William and Mary since 1911, has posted an article about rising long-distance star and William & Mary alumnus Ed Moran. In the article, Moran discusses the way he adjusts his mindset the night before a race:
“I have the tendency the night before to kind of have a visualization session of the race to kind of work myself through what the sensations are probably going to feel like at different points of the race,” Moran said. “At that point [prior to the men’s 5000m Run at the Pan-American Games in Rio] it was, ‘you’re here, why not just put it out there and see if you can go for the win.’ ”
2004 Olympic Silver Medalists Keflezighi, Ndereba to Race at 35th Falmouth Road Race
Posted August 9th, 2007 at 9:30 AM by Martin Kennedy
Section: News & Results, Marathons
2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalists Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya are set to run at the 35th CIGNA Falmouth Road Race on Sunday morning, August 12.
The scenic waterfront seven-mile course winds from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights. A field of 10,000 is expected, and prize money totaling $90,300 will be paid to the top international and U.S. finishers including $10,000 to each race champion.
Keflezighi will be challenged by the world’s top ranked 10,000 meter runner, Micah Kogo of Kenya, and three-time Falmouth champion John Korir, also of Kenya. Kogo, 21-years-old, ran a 2006 10,000m best of 26:35.63. This year, he also ranks first on the 10K road list (27:07).
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USA Sets Pan Am Games Team
Posted July 2nd, 2007 at 2:30 PM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Track & Field
USA Track & Field released their athlete roster for the Pan Am Games scheduled for Rio de Janeiro later this month. A team of 48 men and 46 women will compete from July 22 - 29. They qualified by virtue of their rank-order of finish at the recent AT&T USA Outdoor Championships.
In the middle and long distance events, the athletes best-positioned to win a medal are the recently crowned U.S. 800m champions, Khadevis Robinson (1:43.68 PB) and Alysia Johnson (1:59.29 PB).
The complete middle & long distance roster is below.
MEN -
800m:
Khadevis Robinson (Dallas, Texas)
Duane Solomon (Lompoc, Calif.)
1500m:
Andrew McClary (Shelton, Wash.)
Said Ahmed (Jamaica Plain, Mass.)
3000m S/C:
Joshua McAdams (Broadview Heights, Ohio)
Thomas Brooks (Glenview, Ill.)
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