DOMINANT VICTORIES FOR FLANAGAN & RUPP AT USA CHAMPIONSHIPS
By David Monti
(c) 2011 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission
EUGENE, Oregon (23-Jun) -- The first full day of competition at the USA Outdoor Championships at the University of Oregon here came to a close with dominant victories for Olympians Shalane Flanagan and Galen Rupp at 10,000m. Using completely different tactics, both athletes earned berths on Team USA for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, Korea, in August.
Flanagan, 29, decided to take full advantage of the cool and dry conditions here to attack her race and run from the front. She took the lead immediately, running 73 seconds for the first lap, and quickly built a five-second margin over her key rivals, Kara Goucher and Jen Rhines, who would run most of the race together.
"I wanted to run aggressively tonight," Flanagan told reporters after the race. "I've been running somewhat conservative maybe for some of my opening track races, and tonight I felt like I just wanted to come out and run hard and see who wanted to play at my pace. I just wanted to run my own race tonight and make sure I just made that ticket to Daegu and take care of business."
Flanagan, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, hit the first kilometer alone in 3:03.9, then settled in at 3:06 pace through halfway (15:33.9). Behind her, Goucher ran on the Rhines's heels, while Flanagan's lead slowly grew. By 6000 meters, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist was ten seconds up on the pair who eventually split up at 7000 meters when Goucher pulled ahead of Rhines. Goucher later said she had been holding back and viewed the veteran Rhines as a reliable pacemaker.
"I just tucked behind Jen and made sure I qualified," Goucher explained while husband Adam held their son, Colt, nearby. "I still needed the (qualifying) time and all that stuff, and to just go out and blow up wasn't a good risk at this point."
Flanagan sailed through 8000 meters in 24:57, then squeezed her pace down to about three minutes for each of the last two kilometers to finish in a championships record 30:59.97, bettering Deena Kastor's mark of 31:09.65 from the 2004 Olympic Trials. Behind her, both Goucher and Rhines held their positions for the final laps, and finished second and third in 31:16.55 and 31:30.37, respectively. Running under the IAAF "A" standard of 31:45.00 Goucher locked in her team spot (Rhines had already achieved the standard earlier this year).
Just behind them, marathoners Desiree Davila and Magdalena Lewy Boulet ran personal best times of 31:37.14 and 31:48.58, respectively. Two-time defending champion Amy Begley, who had been hampered by injuries, finished sixth after getting lapped by Flanagan, her 2008 Olympic teammate.
For Rupp, tonight's contest was a long run, but a short race. After numerous lead changes in the first half, the pack was still jogging around the track, clocking 70 to 72-second circuits. Each of the 22 athletes in the race were within two seconds of the leaders at halfway. Rupp, who ran the first half wearing a special black facemask with an anti-pollen filter to protect him from an allergic reaction, was watching his position.
"I just really didn't want to get boxed in since it was a little slow in the start," Rupp told the press after his victory. "Everybody was there."
When he saw that there were three laps to go, Rupp started to speed up. He ran a 65-second lap, then cut his pace down to 58 seconds for the penultimate circuit. Matt Tegenkamp, who had felt totally comfortable up to that point, began to feel some pain.
"I really didn't notice it, honestly, until about the last 700 meters," said Tegenkamp, who was widely thought to be running tomorrow's 5000m, instead. "He just really ran smart," he said of Rupp. "(I) felt great until about 200 meters to go, then it was just like the bear jumped on my back."
Rupp blasted the final lap in 54.44, to leave the rest of the field in his wake, and notched his third consecutive national 10,000m title. Tegenkamp ran 56.08 for the final lap to hold onto second place, while a surprising Scotty Bauhs found his best form to beat both Bobby Curtis and Tim Nelson and capture third place.
"I just wanted to make sure I was in a good position when it was time to kick," Rupp continued. "I just tried to stay as relaxed as I could. When it was time to go you try to make it definitive and drive all the way to the finish."
Both Rupp and Tegenkamp have the IAAF "A" standard of 27:40.00, and Bauhs has the "B" standard of 28:00.00, so all three locked in their team slots for Daegu. Bauhs was especially thrilled. When asked if his effort tonight was the best race of his life he said: "Absolutely, absolutely."
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In earlier qualifying action, none of the favorites were eliminated in the women's 1500m. The best marks were put up by Christin Wurth Thomas and Morgan Uceny in the second of two heats, running 4:08.32 and 4:08.68, respectively. Jenny Simpson won the first heat in 4:14.20, and Olympians Anna Pierce and Shannon Rowbury all advanced. The University of Oregon's Jordan Hasay was the last of 12 qualifiers, making the cut by just 1/100th of a second.
In the men's 1500m, Andrew Wheating won the first heat easily in 3:39.88, which would turn out to be the fastest time of the day. The former Oregon Duck, who won the NCAA 800m and 1500m titles last year, relished running in front of the Hayward Field crowd.
"This is what track is," said an ebullient Wheating. "We were having so much fun before the race, staying focused but in a fun way." He continued: "When we got out there, I mean, I felt butterflies in the stomach, but when we were going off, I felt back in my element, felt total love for this sport, having a great time."
Wheating's training partner Russell Brown failed to advance when he couldn't hold his speed in the final sprint of the third heat. He finished fourth, and did not run fast enough to advance on time.
Bernard Lagat, Leo Manzano, Lopez Lomong, and David Torrence, all of whom have a good chance to make the team, advanced.
In the first round of the men's steeplechase, defending champion Daniel Huling advanced after leading his heat until the final 20 meters, when he slowed to a jog and finished fourth.
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The USA Outdoor Championships continue here tomorrow; the women's and men's 5000m races will close the program.
