Posted: June 26, 2006

Athletics: Lagat Caps Distance Double With U.S. 1500M Title

From David Monti

© 2006 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

INDIANAPOLIS (25-Jun) -- Bernard Lagat overcame both a four hour rain delay and an unexpected challenge by Gabe Jennings to win the 1500m on the final day of the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships at the Michael A. Carroll Stadium at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Lagat, the 31 year-old two-time Olympic medalist from Tucson, Ariz., who won the U.S. 5000m title on Friday night, became the first American man to win both the 1500m and 5000m titles at the same championships.

"I didn't know that," said Lagat when asked if he knew before the meet if the 1500/5000 double win had ever been done before. "It's my first national championship and I'm proud to be here."

With a 60.6 second opening 400m, Lagat set the pace from the front making sure it was fast enough to keep the field spread out, but not too fast to tire him.

"Sometimes when it is too slow you can get tripped," Lagat explained, saying that he wanted to avoid any early-race trouble.

He ratcheted up the pace in the second lap (58.9 seconds), but was closely followed by Chris Lukezic, Adam Perkins, and Jason Lunn. Jennings was not amongst the leaders.

"I was conservative," said Jennings who was confident of his closing speed.

At the bell, Lagat was still on the front with Lukezic in hot pursuit, but entering turn-2, Jennings surged hard, moving around half of the field on the outside. Coming down the backstretch, Jennings was up on Lagat's shoulder. Did the former Kenyan expect to see the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials 1500m champion challenging him for the win?

"Not really," said Lagat, "but everything is possible."

Lagat moved into high gear in the homestretch, but Jennings, running with his trademark upright style, would not relent. At the same time, the 2005 NCAA 1500m champion, Leonel Manzano of the University of Texas, was mounting his own charge. The three came barreling to the finish line, with Lagat getting there in 3:39.29, just 13/100ths up on Jennings. Manzano was another 7/100ths back.

"He gave me a good scare for sure," said Lagat of Jennings. Lagat's coach, James Li, put it a different way: "It wasn't pretty but he got it done."

Jennings, 27, had not been a factor in U.S. middle distance running for several years, and had been absent from the sport for several periods, including an epic bicycle trip to Brazil. He said he was in search of something to get the fire back in his belly.

"For four years I was missing the essential ingredient (to compete successfully): competitive instincts," explained Jennings, who ran 3:39.89 in the preliminary round on Friday, his best time since 2001. "This is just the beginning," he proclaimed.

Robinson And Clark Win 800M Titles

Khadevis Robinson and Hazel Clark won the national 800m titles, the former with an overwhelming performance and the latter by the skin of her teeth.

Robinson motored through the 600m mark in 1:17.6, on his way to a world leading 1:44.13, adding the national outdoor title to the indoor title he earned last March in Boston. It was his seventh 800m victory in a row, including heats.

"My coach wanted me to come through faster," said the fast-talking athlete who also works as a substitute teacher in Santa Monica, Calif. "I didn't panic. I kept pushing."

Behind Robinson little known Nick Symmonds, the 2006 NCAA Division III 800m champion out of Willamette University, flew to a 1:45.83 personal best to nab second place. The unsponsored athlete, wearing the singlet of his high school, Bishop Kelly in Boise, Id., said he had lowered his 800m time by some three seconds this year.

"I knew I deserved to be in the final," said Symmonds rocking back and forth with excitement as he spoke. "I knew it was going to go out quick."

Clark won her third outdoor U.S. 800m crown in 1:59.94, defending her title, and just holding off the late race charge of Alice Schmidt who ran a 2:00.00 career best. Clark had to throw herself over the finish line, hit the track hard, and was carried off of the track. Did those final meters hurt?

"When I hit the ground it did," she quipped, adding that winning a national title never gets old.

The Doctor Is In: Lincoln Wins Third Straight Steeplechase Title

Daniel Lincoln, who is finishing his first year of medical school, won his third straight U.S. steeplechase title in 8:22.78, completely dominating the race. Ignoring the early lead of Tom Chorny, who later dropped out, Lincoln made a strong move with three laps to go, and quickly had a three second lead on the field.

"He gapped me so fast," said second place Steve Slattery (8:25.54), "that I couldn't catch up."

"It never gets old, never gets old," said Lincoln of being the national champion. "It's fun. That's why I stay in the sport."

Weather Plays A Role Again

At 12:45 p.m. event officials asked everyone to leave the stadium as a cell of potentially dangerous thunderstorms were predicted to pass through the area. The heavy rains came soon after, and the meet did not resume until about 4:50 p.m. It was the second day of the five day meet where inclement weather interfered with the meet. Last Thursday, after a one hour and 50 minute delay, the meet was shut down, with events rescheduled for the next day.

The 2007 USA Outdoor Championships will also be held in Indianapolis at the same venue, and the top-3 athletes in each event will be provisionally selected for the USA team for the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan, from August 25 through September 2, 2007.

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