2004 OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS—TRACK AND FIELD
Day Five Report: If Three Were Four

by Sam Grotewold

Sacramento, California, July 15—It is a simple mathematical fact that four cannot fit (neatly) into three. That's something that every schoolchild learns, and yet there it was on Thursday night: four men, considered the best in their event, the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Four men who have won either a U.S. or NCAA title. Four men with a legitimate shot at winning here. Four men battling for three Olympic team slots.

The four favorites—Anthony Famiglietti, Daniel Lincoln, Robert Gary, and Steve Slattery—ran to the top four places in their semifinal heats with relative ease, setting the stage for a seesaw battle in what is, on paper, one of the most closely contested events at these Trials.

Long Island native Famiglietti, who shaved off his thick, black beard before the race, grabbed the immediate lead, with Lincoln, Gary, and Slattery running three abreast behind him. In the second lap, Slattery narrowly avoided a disaster when he went down coming over a barrier. He managed to keep his balance by putting a hand on the ground, but it did cost him a stride or two. At 1,200 meters, Gary overtook Famiglietti for the lead, and the two traded the front position over the next two laps, with Lincoln in third, now 30 feet up on a slowing Slattery.

With two laps to go, the pace quickened considerably, and it became a three-man race between Famigliettti, Gary, and Lincoln. With 600 meters remaining, Lincoln opened up a stride on Famiglietti and managed to hit the next-to-last water jump clear of second place.

"I don't want a race like this to come down to a kick," Lincoln had said before the race, and it was clear that he was now making a move to take the sting out of his rivals who might ordinarily possess more foot speed than he. Lincoln continued to drive throughout the final circuit, increasing his lead from a stride with 500 meters to go to nearly 50 feet at the finish. His winning time of 8:15.02 broke Henry Marsh's 24-year-old Olympic Trials record and ranks as the sixth-fastest U.S. time ever. Famiglietti was second in 8:17.91, with Gary qualifying for his second Olympic team in 8:19.45. Wisconsin Runner's Isaiah Festa had the race of his life, highlighted by a blistering kick, and managed to catch a struggling Slattery for fourth, 8:20.66 to 8:23.60

For Lincoln, who has been accepted into medical school but has chosen to defer his studies to focus on running full time, it was his first U.S. title after winning the NCAA championships from 2001-2003. "I wanted to go with either 2.5 or 1.5 laps left at the water pit. When I saw it was just the three of us with 2.5 laps to go, I decided to wait a lap, and it ended up being the right decision."

Thursday night also saw the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase final. Although the event won't be included in the Olympics until 2008, it was still held at these Trials to determine the national champion for this year. Defending U.S. champ Briana Shook of the University of Toledo jumped to her characteristic early lead, and won by 7-8 seconds. However, in a bizarre twist, Shook apparently forgot to take the first water jump early in the race, and was disqualified. That made Ann Gaffigan of the University of Nebraska the winner in 9:39.35, a new American record and a 19-second personal best. BYU's Kassi Andersen was second (9:45.52) despite spraining her ankle, and Carrie Messner—who just started running the steeplechase this season—finished third (9:50.70). The event is scheduled to be contested for the first time in a major international championships at the 2005 World Championships in London.

The men's 1,500 meters at these Olympic Trials was set up to mirror the schedule at the Olympic Games, with a three-round format. Because of this setup, only five men were eliminated out of 29 starters in the quarterfinals, with 2000 Olympian Michael Stember, America's 21-year-old medal hope Alan Webb, and the Univeristy of Arkansas' Said Ahmed all winning their heats. David Krummenacker, who finished fourth in the 800 meters but would be a virtual lock to make the 1,500-meter team because he holds the Olympic "A" standard, did not start the event and is therefore ineligible for the team.

"Today felt more like a formality and I think we were more worried about trying to get out unscathed," said Jason Lunn, who was briefly on the 2000 Olympic Team before third-place finisher Stember achieved the "A" standard and bumped him off. The 1,500-meter semifinals will be held Friday evening, with the final scheduled for Sunday afternoon. With only two athletes in the field in possession of the "A" standard—Webb and Grant Robison—an athlete will not only need to finish in the top three in Sunday's final but also run under the standard of 3:36.2 or Webb and Robison will be the only two athletes on the 1,500-meter team in Athens, regardless of where they finish in the Trials.

Friday night's schedule is one of the most exciting of the meet for distance running fans, with men's and women's 1,500-meter semifinals as well as the final races in the men's 5,000 and women's 10,000.