It won't be the biggest shock of the Olympics (Liu Xiang withdrawing from the 110 hurdles will certainly be bigger news), but it was still a big surprise that last year's double world champion Bernard Lagat finished only 6th in his 1500 semifinal and failed to advance to the final. For Lagat, it was the end of his dream to win the 1500m gold medal after coming within a tenth of a second in Athens.
There was a fine story about Lagat and the 1500m semis by Jere Longman in Sunday's New York Times...
Failure to Qualify for 1,500 Final Knocks the Wind Out of Lagat
"As Lagat walked along a kind of cattle chute Sunday night, moving from one group of reporters to the next, his mood seemed to sag. He seemed puzzled, thwarted, resigned. He tried to shrug off his disappointment, but it began to harden, like concrete."
There's also a blow-by-blow account on Letsrun.com
At least Lagat still has the 5000m, where he'll be privileged to take on the best distance runner on the planet, 10000m gold medalist Keninisa Bekele.
For the other Americans, Lopez Lomong and Leo Manzano, the 1500 was a disappointment, as both runners finished last in their respective semi-final heats. Where are you when we need you, Jim Spivey?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment