Posted: August 2, 2004

Athletics: Broe Relieved, Confident After Personal Best In London

From David Monti

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

by Bob Ramsak

LONDON -- Less than six months ago, a scenario finding Tim Broe on the starting line at the Olympic Games was an unlikely one. Now, after a victory at the U.S. Olympic Trials and a breakthrough performance Friday at the Norwich Union London Super Grand Prix, Broe sees himself as a likely finalist in the 5000 meters.

Running near the front of the chase pack for the first three kilometers, Broe essentially paced himself to a 13:18.61 seventh place finish, knocking nearly six seconds from his three-year-old personal best, and most importantly for the 27-year-old, an Olympic 'A' standard.

"I was really conservative at first," Broe said of the initial part of his race. "I just wanted to be comfortable through 3-k. And when I saw the [intermediate] time," roughly 8:02, "I felt really good, and I wished I was up there. But the time right now is all that matters. Now I have a chance for the final --that was my goal all season."

Hobbled by injury for much of the past two seasons, Broe returned to the track on April 30 at the Jesse Owens Classic in Columbus, Ohio, running a modest 14:00.16 in his first race since June 2003. Now, he says, the injuries are behind him.

"I'm finally just starting to come around," he said. "I think I've got eight or ten seconds in me for sure. I was really comfortable, and I ran by myself the last five laps. Once I knew I had it, I really wished I was up with those guys."

Broe readily admits that the 5000 is not his favorite event. "This is, I think, my fifth 5-k of the year; I'm not used to running this many 5k's. I still do not like the 5-k," he said, laughing. "No matter how fit you are, it always hurts like hell."

Broe said he'd like to race at least one 1500 before leaving for Athens, and said his confidence has now increased dramatically.

"It's good to know that you've run a PR and got 10 [seconds] left in you."