Posted: July 11, 2004

Athletics: Meb Keflezighi - Champion of Champions

Records broken in 2004 Olympic Trials 10,000 meter final

By Basil Honikman, Running USA wire

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - (July 9, 2004) - A large, enthusiastic crowd at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials: Track and Field witnessed the all-time best performance in the history of the USA Championships and the Olympic Trials 10,000 meter races.

Meb Keflezighi of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. not only ran away from the best runners in America, he also broke the 25-year-old, USA Championships (Craig Virgin, 27:39.4, 1979) and the 24-year-old Olympic Trials records (also Virgin, 27:45.61, 1980). After a brisk 65 second opening lap in cool and breezy conditions, the pace fell off to 70 seconds for the next lap. Realizing the drop in pace, 2003 USA marathon champion Ryan Shay, Keflezighi's Team Running USA teammate, surged to the front and kept them 'honest' with a 64 second lap.

At 2 kilometers, a lead pack of 2000 Olympian Abdi Abdirahman, Shay, 5000 meter record holder Bob Kennedy, Meb and Dan Browne began to separate themselves from the rest of the field. The pace remained fast with 64 and 65 second laps as the field strung out. At 3000 meters, Shay began to fade and then two laps later Kennedy, who came in to the race with an Achilles injury, was forced to drop out.

At 5000 meters the time was 13:43 and the trio - Meb, Abdirahman and Browne were 11 seconds ahead of Mike Donnelley in 4th, 17 seconds ahead of Shay and 25 seconds ahead of the next group.

A lap later, Browne was 3 seconds behind Meb and Abdi and losing ground. The 64 to 65 second per lap pace was unrelenting. During a 64 second 17th lap, Meb opened a 3 second advantage over Abdi and the race was over. Meb ran the last 3200 meters (about 2 miles) unchallenged. Without any help his pace dropped to 67 - 68 seconds per lap and with an exultant wave of triumph he crossed the finish line in 27:36, 11 seconds ahead of Abdi, with Browne a solid third.

After his victory, Meb commented, "It was a cool night for the race. In 2000, it was good. This year, it was better. My strategy is to get it down to as few people as you can. You're seeing a different Meb now. Four years older and more mature."

Last February, Meb and Browne won spots on the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team. So the question now is: Will they run both events? At the Athens Games next month, the Marathon will take place 9 days after the 10,000.

Meb is coached by 2004 Olympic distance and former UCLA head track and field coach Bob Larsen. After the race, Larsen, who with Joe Vigil now guides the Team Running USA athletes, said, "We'll consider doubling. During the next days we'll try to determine just how fast he could run a 10,000. Tonight he was strong but had to run the last third of the race alone. It would be nice to see how well he could do against the best 10,000 meter runners in the world." It is understood that Dan Browne is also considering running both Olympic distances.

Meb now holds the U.S. 10,000 meter record (27:13.98) and the next fastest time (27:20.15) as well. He won the 2000 Olympic Trial 10,000 meters in 28:03 so the 2004 performance represents an improvement of almost half a minute.

Two of the pre-race favorites, Bob Kennedy and Dathan Ritzenhein started with injuries. Both had achieved previously the Olympic "A" qualifying standard (27:49). They needed to compete in the Trials in order to be added to the team in the event that any of the first three finishers either opted to run only the marathon or failed to achieve the "A" standard. Should Browne and/or Keflezighi choose to run only the Olympic Marathon the next fastest Trials finishers with qualifying times will be added to the team.

Women's 5000 Meter Semi-Final
Marla Runyan won the first women's 5000 heat in 15:36 followed by Shalane Flanagan and Carrie Tollefson (Team USA Minnesota). Team Running USA athletes Jen Rhines and Amy Rudolph finished an easy first and second in the second semi, and qualified for the final on Monday evening.

Men's U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000 Meter Final - Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex, Sacramento, CA, Friday, July 9, 2004

1) Meb Keflezighi, Nike/Team Running USA, 27:36.49, Olympic Trials Record
2) Abdi Abdirahman, Nike/Team Running USA, 27:55.00
3) Dan Browne, Nike, 28:07.47
4) Mike Donnelly, Nike, 28:18.97
5) Chris Graff, Farm Team, 28:27.93
6) James Carney, Team USA Monterey Bay, 28:31.82
7) Matt Downin, New Balance/Team Running USA, 28:33.96
8) Chad Pearson, unattached, 28:38.44
9) Adam Tenforde, Farm Team, 28:46.34
10) Ryan Shay, Nike/Team Running USA, 28:49.95

For complete results and more Trials information, go to: www.usatf.org.