HOUSTON (14-Feb) -- Meb Keflezighi and Shalane Flanagan won the USA Olympic Trials Marathon here on a chilly, picture-perfect day in southern Texas. All six podium finishers earned spots on the USA Olympic Team for the London Olympics in the world's only binding Olympic marathon trials which pick an entire team on one day.
Off of a fast early pace set by his key rival Ryan Hall, Keflezighi, from Mammoth Lakes, Calif., eventually broke away from Hall and three-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman in the 24th mile. Keflezighi, who also ran the ING New York City Marathon last November, broke the tape in a personal best 2:09:08, making his third Olympic team.
"This race was all about 1-2-3," the 36 year-old father of three daughters told the crowd assembled at the finish area. He added: "I just wanted to make my third Olympics for my girls."
Hall, the defending Trials champion who had the pack on a sub-2:07 pace in the early miles, finished second in 2:09:30. Abdirahman, who dropped off the lead pace in the final miles, struggled to hold his form and take third place in 2:09:47, just 8 seconds ahead of the closing Dathan Ritzenhein. For Abdirahman, his performance today puts him on his fourth Olympic team.
"I made my fourth Olympic team," said Abdirahman who spent most of last year on the sidelines with a stress fracture in his right leg. "It's amazing."
In the women's race, which started much more conservatively than the men's, an early pack of nine dwindled to four in the 15th mile: Flanagan, Amy Hastings, Kara Goucher, and Desiree Davila. Hastings, fell back, rejoined the group then fell back for good and would finish fourth (2:27:17). At the front, Flanagan and Davila worked together to drop the slightly under-trained Goucher, then Flanagan spurted away from Davila at the 40-K mark. Her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, Flangan strided smoothly to the finish in an Olympic Trials record of 2:25:38, which was also a personal best. It was also her first marathon victory.
"These are dreams," Flanagan, who lives in Portland, Ore., told the crowd in her post-race interview. "We fulfilled dreams today."
Davila finished a close second in 2:25:55 making her first Olympic team, and Goucher --who like Flanagan is coached by Jerry Schumacher under the Nike Oregon Track Club program-- was third in 2:26:06. All four of the top finishers smashed the Trials record of 2:28:25 set by Colleen De Reuck in St. Louis in 2004.
Today's separate races for men and women, which began 15 minutes apart, had 114 starters on the men's side and 191 on the women's.
MEN -
1. Meb Keflezighi 36 New York Athletic Club (NYAC) 2:09:08
2. Ryan Hall 29 unattached 2:09:30 +0:22
3. Abdi Abdirahman 33 unattached 2:09:47 +0:39
4. Dathan Ritzenhein 29 unattached 2:09:55 +0:47
5. Brett Gotcher 27 McMillan Elite 2:11:06 +1:58
6. Andrew Carlson 29 Team USA Minnesota 2:11:24 +2:16
7. Fernando Cabada 29 unattached 2:11:53 +2:45
8. Nick Arciniaga 28 McMillan Elite 2:11:56 +2:48
9. James Carney 33 unattached 2:12:23 +3:15
10.. Jimmy Grabow 27 adidas Legacy Run Racing 2:12:29 +3:21
11. Ryan Vail 25 unattached 2:12:43 +3:35
12. Ricky Flynn 24 unattached 2:13:41 +4:33
13. Patrick Rizzo 28 unattached 2:13:42 +4:34
14. Josh Cox 36 unattached 2:13:50 +4:42
15. Ian Burrell 25 Boulder Running Company/adidas 2:14:04 +4:56
16. Sean Quigley 26 unattached 2:14:12 +5:04
17. Mike Morgan 31 Hansons-Brooks Distance Project 2:14:22 +5:14
18. Jason Lehmkuhle 34 Team USA Minnesota 2:14:35 +5:27
19. Max King 31 Central Oregon Running Klub 2:14:36 +5:28
20. Michael Reneau 33 Twin Cities Track Club 2:14:37 +5:29
WOMEN -
1. Shalane Flanagan 30 Oregon TC Elite 2:25:38
2. Desiree Davila 28 Hansons-Brooks Distance Project 2:25:55 +0:17
3. Kara Goucher 33 Oregon TC Elite 2:26:06 +0:28
4. Amy Hastings 27 unattached 2:27:17 +1:39
5. Janet Cherobon-Bawcom 33 Atlanta Track Club 2:29:45 +4:07
6. Deena Kastor 38 unattached 2:30:40 +5:02
7. Clara Grandt 24 RIADHA 2:30:46 +5:08
8. Alissa McKaig 25 ZAP Fitness Reebok 2:31:56 +6:18
9. Dot McMahan 35 Hansons-Brooks Distance Project 2:32:16 +6:38
10. Magdalena Lewy Boulet 38 unattached 2:33:42 +8:04
11. Katie McGregor 34 Team USA Minnesota 2:34:01 +8:23
12. Wendy Thomas 32 Boulder Running Company/adidas 2:34:25 +8:47
13. Melissa White 30 Hansons-Brooks Distance Project 2:34:33 +8:55
14. Alisha Williams 29 Boulder Running Company/adidas 2:35:09 +9:31
15. Heidi Westover 30 unattached 2:35:45 +10:07
16. Clara Peterson 27 unattached 2:35:50 +10:12
17. Rebecca Donaghue 35 New Balance Boston 2:35:57 +10:19
18. Katherine Newberry 33 New York Athletic Club (NYAC) 2:36:21 +10:43
19. Brooke Wells 26 Impala Racing Team 2:36:24 +10:46
20. Loretta Kilmer 28 RIADHA 2:36:41 +11:03
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