Posted: July 4, 2004

Athletics: Lunn Just Misses Olympic Games "A" Standard

From David Monti

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

American miler Jason Lunn came achingly close to making the Olympic Games "A" standard tonight in the 1500m event of the Athens Super Grand Prix Opap Tsiklitiria held in Iráklio, GRE.

Lunn, 29, the 2003 U.S. 1500m champion, clocked 3:36.38 to finish 12th, just falling short of the "A" standard by 18/100ths of a second. It was not a personal best for the 6 foot 1 inch (185.5 cm) athlete; he ran 3:36.5 in 2001.

Only two U.S. men have the "A" standard going into the U.S. Olympic Trials which begin on Friday in Sacramento, Calif.: Alan Webb and Grant Robison. In order for a nation to send a team of two, or the maximum of three, athletes in any athletics discipline, all three must have the standard.

The race was won by Paul Korir of Kenya in 3:31.10.

Elsewhere in the Greek meeting Gulnara Samitova ran a startling 9:01.59 world record in the women's 3000m steeplechase.