Team USA’s men’s distance runners/race walkers ready to challenge in Beijing – US Track & Field – NEWS

INDIANAPOLIS – Olympic Trials champions Bernard Lagat, Ryan Hall, Nick Symmonds and Abdi Abdirahman are poised and ready to lead America's men's middle and long distance competitors against the world this month at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

800 Meters

Much to the delight of a partisan crowd at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., the top three finishers in the men's 800m final at the 2008 Olympic Trials all have ties to the Eugene area.

After finding himself boxed in on the backstretch of the last lap in the final in Eugene, two-time USA Outdoor Championships runner-up Nick Symmonds (Springfield, Ore.) found a sliver of daylight and utilized his kick to propel him to the finish line first and on to the Olympic Team roster for the first time in his young career. Symmonds' winning time of 1:44.10 is a new personal best and the fastest time by an American this year.

The Hayward Field crowd was delirious when University of Oregon sophomore Andrew Wheating (Eugene, Ore.) used his long stride and strong finishing kick in finishing as the runner-up to Symmonds in the Trials final in a personal best time of 1:45.03. His performance at the Trials is the fourth-fastest time by an American this outdoor season. Wheating, who was the 2005 USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Young Men's champion and runner-up at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships, only started running track in high school as recently as 2006.

In one of the most dramatic races in U.S. Olympic Trials history, Eugene resident and Oregon Track Club member Christian Smith dove across the finish line to barely beat out defending national champion Khadevis Robinson for the third and final Olympic Team roster spot. Smith's time of 1:45.47 is a personal best and bettered the Olympic "A" qualifying standard time of 1:46.00, which placed him on the Team USA roster for Beijing.

1,500 Meters

A two-time Olympic medalist (2000 – bronze/2004 silver) for his native Kenya, Bernard Lagat (Tucson, Ariz.) qualified for his first U.S. Olympic Team with his 1,500m win at the trials in Eugene in 3:40.37. The reigning World Outdoor champion in this event, Lagat's triumph at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka, Japan, was the first 1,500m win by an American at a World Outdoor Championship or Olympic Games since 1908.

One of the brightest young track and field stars in the U.S., Leonel Manzano (Austin, Texas) captured the NCAA Outdoor 1,500m title as a senior at the University of Texas, and finished as the runner-up in that event at the Olympic Trials (3:40.90) in Eugene to qualify of the Olympic Team. Manzano ended his Longhorn career as a nine-time All-American and 10-time Big 12 Conference champion.

The unlikeliest of all Team USA Olympians, Lopez Lomong (Colorado Springs, Colo.) became a U.S. citizen in July, 2007, and finished third at the Olympic Trials in 3:41.00 to qualify of the U.S. Olympic Team. On August 6 he was chosen to be flagbearer for the entire U.S. Olympic delegation at Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. Born in the Sudan, at the age of six Lomong was separated from his family while avoiding an attack by the militia group, the Janjaweed. Lomong lived in a refugee camp for ten years before becoming one of the 3,800 "Lost Boys of Sudan" that moved to the U.S., where he was raised by a foster family. The 2007 NCAA Outdoor 1,500m champion while at Northern Arizona University, Lomong also won the NCAA Indoor 3,000m title before placing fifth in the 800 meters that summer at the USA Outdoor Championships.

3,000m Steeplechase

A veteran of international competition, Anthony Famiglietti (Knoxville, Tenn.) ran aggressively at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials and won the event in 8 minutes 20.24 seconds to secure a place on the Olympic Team for the second time in his career (2000, Athens). The 2001 World University Game steeplechase champion, Famiglietti won the bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games and competed at the World Outdoor Championships in 2001 and 2005. Famiglietti's winning time at the Olympic Trials currently sits atop the 2008 U.S. list.

A collegiate star at the University of Colorado, where he won the Big 12 Conference steeplechase title in 2007, William Nelson (Longmont, Colo.) qualified for the 2008 Olympic Team by finishing as the runner-up and posting a new personal best time of 8:21.47 seconds in the final at the Olympic Trials in Eugene. The 2003 USA Junior men's 5,000m champion, Nelson competed for the U.S. as a junior at the 2002 World Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Ireland.

Joshua McAdams (Orem, Utah) enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2007 in winning the USA Outdoor title and the gold medal at the Pan American Games. His next stop is the Olympic Games in Beijing following his third place finish (8:21.99) at the Olympic Trials in Eugene. The 2006 NCAA champion as a student-athlete at Brigham Young University, McAdams posted his personal best of 8:21.36 when he finished as the runner-up at the 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic.

5,000 Meters

After becoming the first man ever to win the 1,500m and 5,000m at a World Outdoor Championships in Osaka last summer, Bernard Lagat will attempt the same double at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Lagat won the 5,000 meters at the Trials in Eugene in 13:27.47. With his win in Osaka, Lagat became the first American to win a World Championships medal of any kind at 5,000 meters. A two-time Olympic 1,500m medalist for his native Kenya, Lagat will attempt to win his first Olympic 5,000m medal in Beijing.

A two-time USA Indoor 3,000m champion (2007 & 2008) and the American two-mile record holder, Matt Tegenkamp (Madison, Wis.) was the men's 5,000m runner-up at the Olympic Trials, which is a position he's grown accustomed to. Tegenkamp finished second at USA Outdoors the last two years prior to shocking the track and field world with his surprising fourth-place finish at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships in Osaka. An accomplished cross country runner, Tegenkamp won the 2005 USATF Club Cross Country title and placed fifth in the junior race at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships in Ostend, Belgium.

A 5,000m participant at the 2005 World Outdoor Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Ian Dobson (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) qualified for his first Olympic Team with his third-place finish at the trials in Eugene in 13:29.76. The 2001 USA Junior men's 5,000m champion, Dobson was the 2005 runner-up in that event at the USA Outdoor Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships.

10,000 Meters

With his win at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) qualified for his third Olympic Team and will look to improve upon his 10,000m finish at the 2004 Athens Olympics where he placed 15th, and 2000 Games in Sydney where he finished 10th. Abdirahman now owns four U.S. 10,000m titles ('01, '05, '07, '08) and he finished as the runner-up in that event in both 2002 and 2004. Abdirahman showed his fitness when he fell just short of the American 10,000m record (27:13.98, 2001) when he ran 27:16.99 at the 2008 Nike Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, which is the fastest time by an American this year.

Galen Rupp (Portland, Ore.) took a red-shirt year from the University of Oregon to prepare for a shot at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team, and the effort paid off when he finished second in the 10,000 meters a the Olympic Trials on his home track in Eugene. Rupp finished 11th in the 10,000 meters at the 2007 World Outdoor Championships and in just two years as a collegian he has become a seven-time NCAA All-American (outdoors – 2; indoors – 4; cross country – 1). The 2007 USA Outdoor 10,000m runner-up, Rupp was the 2005 USA Junior Cross Country champion and holds U.S. Junior records at 3,000m, 5,000m & 10,000m.

Jorge Torres (Boulder, Colo.) looked strong throughout the 10,000m final at the Olympic Trials and managed to hold on to third place and a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for Beijing. The 2006 USA Outdoor 10,000m champion, Torres has also been successful in cross country, winning the 2002 NCAA title while at Colorado and finishing as the 2005 and 2008 USA Cross Country 12 km runner-up.

Marathon

It hasn't taken Ryan Hall (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) very long to become one of the world's premier marathoners. At his marathon debut in 2007, Hall finished seventh at the Flora London Marathon in 2:08:04, which is the fastest first-time marathon by an American. Earlier this year he finished fifth at the London Marathon in a personal best time of 2:06:17 (7th best in the world this year), which makes him the second-fastest American marathoner all-time. On November 3, 2007 in New York, Hall dominated the field at the U.S. Olympic Trials – Men's Marathon when he finished first over a very challenging and hilly course in the Olympic Trials record time of 2:09:02. He finished a little more than two minutes ahead of his nearest pursuer.

Dathan Ritzenhein was runner-up at the U.S. Olympic Trials – Men's Marathon with a new personal best time of 2:11:07, a sizeable improvement over his previous career best of 2:14:01 from 2006. A 2004 Olympian at 10,000 meters, Ritzenhein was the 2001 World Cross Country Championships Junior bronze medalist, the 2005 and 2008 USA 12 km Cross Country champion and the 2003 NCAA Cross Country champion while at the University of Colorado.

At the 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials, Brian Sell (Rochester Hills, Mich.) took it out strong and grabbed the lead but was unable to hang on for a spot on the Olympic Team. At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Sell played it a little more close to the vest and it paid off with a third place finish in 2:11:40 and a trip to Beijing for the Olympic Games. Also in 2007, Sell captured the USA 25 km men's championship and in 2006 he won the USA Half-Marathon Championship with a personal best time of 1:02:39.

20 km Race Walk

Kevin Eastler (Aurora, Colo.) qualified for his second Olympic Games with his 20 km race walk win at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials – Track & Field in Eugene, Ore. Eastler finished third at the 20 km Olympic Trials in 2004 and went on to place 21st at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. With his victories at the 2007 USA 20 km and 50 km race walk championships, Eastler not only demonstrated his versatility, but also served notice that he has become one of America's preeminent men's race walkers. In 2006, he set an American Record in the 30 km race walk and earned his second 20 km National Championship title. He also posted the three fastest 20 km times by an American that year. Eastler competed for Team USA at World Outdoor Championships in 2003 and 2007.

50 km Race Walk

Philip Dunn (San Diego, Calif.) captured his third U.S. 50 km Championships with his win at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials – 50 km Race Walk, dominating the field by a margin of nearly 2 1/2 minutes in finishing in 4 hours 12 minutes 55 seconds. The 50 km bronze medalist at the 1999 Pan Am Games, Dunn officially qualified for the 2008 Olympic Team with his 'B' standard performance of 4:04:10 at the May 11 IAAF World Race Walk Cup in Cheboksary, Russia. It was the fastest 50 km time by an American since 2004. In a similar circumstance, Dunn won the 50 km Trials in 2004 and officially became a member of the U.S. Olympic team when he bettered the Olympic "A" qualifying standard with his time of 3:59:12 in Tijuana, Mexico on March 23, 2004.

For more information on Team USA at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, visit: www.usatf.org.

Tom Surber
Media Information Manager
Tom.Surber@usatf.org