Posted: April 3, 2004

Athletics: Nearly 40, De Reuck Looking To Make Fourth Olympics

From David Monti

(c) 2004 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

ST. LOUIS (02-Apr) -- Of the 124 women who are expected to start tomorrow's U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon, only six have competed in a previous Olympic Games, representing a combined total of just eight appearances.

But one Olympian, Colleen De Reuck of Boulder, Colo., has been to the Olympic Games three times, but never for the United States. De Reuck, who will turn 40 on 13-Apr, competed for her native South Africa in 1992 (9th in the marathon), 1996 (13th in the 10,000m) and 2000 (31st in the marathon) before becoming a U.S. citizen in December, 2000. To make a fourth Olympic team would be a great feat for any athlete, but to represent the United States would be particularly special for De Reuck, a long-time resident of Boulder.

"It would just be so emotional," said De Reuck, who has the second fastest qualifying time for these trials of 2:28:01 set at Chicago last October. She thought after her 2000 appearance that here Olympic career had ended. "That was it," she remembered thinking, and smiled wistfully at the thought of one more trip to the world's most important sporting event. This time daughter Tasmyn, now nine years-old, would go. "It would be a great experience," she said.

But before she can make plans to head to Athens, she needs to finish in the top-3 here tomorrow, and the marathon hasn't been De Reuck's best event. She is well aware of the risks. At the 1995 New York City Marathon she succombed to cold temperatures and strong winds, to finish 14th in 2:46:18. "I don't remember running in Central Park," said De Reuck, the place where the final miles of that marathon are contested.

She ran into similar difficulties here last year where the national championships were held, testing this course and race operations for this year's Trials. With temperatures of 39°F (4°F) at the start, De Reuck stormed away from the field early in the race, crossing the half-way mark in a swift 1:14:42, seemingly in clear in control of the race. But her body temperature began to fall in the second half of the race, and by the 21st mile, she was clearly in trouble. "That's it, I'm done," she said to her husband and coach, Darren, who was watching the race. She was passed by eventual winner Sara Wells in the 25th mile, and although she was able to finish second in a creditable 2:37:41, she had to be rushed to Barnes-Jewish Hospital to be treated for hypothermia. Her body temperature had dropped to 86°F (30°C) during the race. "She said she began seeing black spots and white sparks in her eyes," Darren said before leaving for the hospital last April.

"No, no," said De Reuck today of whether last year's experience weighed on her this year. "It was really cold, and I just made a novice mistake" of pushing too hard early and not dressing warmly enough.

She wouldn't reveal any details of her race plan, but she said that she would just focus on getting her fluids and running smart. "It's a marathon," she said plainly, acknowledging that anything can happen. "I'm just going to run my race."

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