Mirror Image: Men's Steeplechase

Men’s steeplechase final takes on a familiar look

Apparently the men’s steeplechasers did not wish to be upstaged by Thursday’s dramatic women’s steeplechase final. The men’s race mirrored the women’s: similar tactics, similar pacing, similar last lap sprints – and similar bumps and falls over the crucial last water jump.

Evan Jager was his usual masterful pacing and tactical self. He took the lead earlier than he had planned and tightened the tourniquet on this accomplished field by running the last 4 laps in 64-62-62-62. That’s world class and no one could stay with him. The American record holder finished in 8:22.48, won his fifth consecutive US title, and made his second Olympic team.

NCAA champ Mason Ferlic led the pack through the first kilometer in a slow 2:58.04 – warmup pace for this deep and talented field. Then Jager took over.

Women's Steeplechase

It Helps to Be an NCAA Champion

Emma Coburn and the deepest field in US history gave Hayward Field fans what they came for: a fast, dramatic, and compelling Olympic Trials race. Halfway through it was no surprise that behind Coburn, nine still had a chance to make the Olympic team. 

“I was just trying to stay relaxed, and in a steeplechase especially there’s so much risk and drama with the barriers, so I was just trying to stay relaxed and confident,” said Coburn, who won in 9:17.48 and is now US steeplechase champion for the fifth time.

Behind her, relaxation was hardly the word to describe what unfolded.

Historic Men's Long Jump

Unexpectedly, Men’s Long Jump is One of Greatest in History

Olympic Champion Greg Rutherford has spent a lot of time since the London Olympics defending the long jump, an event which clearly has been in a slump since he struck gold in 2012.

Indeed, going into Sunday’s US Olympic Trials finals, it seemed as if the entire track and field universe was focused on the day’s other finals, especially the men’s and women’s 100m dashes. If not those, then Ashton Eaton in the decathlon. If not Mr. Eaton, then Allyson Felix and LaShawn Merritt in the 400m. If not the veterans, how about teenage sensation Vashti Cunningham – the World Indoor champion – in the high jump?

While pre-meet anticipation of those events was justly rewarded, no event was more compelling – or deeper – or more riveting - than the overlooked men’s long jump.

“Today's men's long jump competition was the greatest all-conditions (including wind-aided marks) in history with seven men over 27 feet,” said USATF. That ought to knock this event out of its doldrums. Nine men jumped over 8 meters (26’3”) and two over 28 ft.

Jeffery Henderson won the jump-fest at 28’ 2 ¼”, a scant half inch ahead of Olympic teammate Jarrion Lawson. “I put it all out there on the first jump and hit the board,” said Lawson. “I’m really happy to get the 28-foot barrier with a legal wind.”

Henderson was jumping in his sprint spikes as he left his jumping spikes at home. “I left my spikes at home by accident,” he said. “It worked out – I still made the team and I got first. I’m glad that I won and got a good mark out there.”

Will Claye and Marquis Dendy both jumped 27’ 7 ½” to tie for third, with Claye having the tie-breaking longer second jump.

So why does Dendy go to the Olympics but Claye does not?

Most unfortunately for Claye, all of his marks were wind-aided on a blustery day in Eugene, and since he didn’t have a legal qualifying jump in any other competitions coming into the meet, he will not make the trip to Rio in the long jump. He missed Rio by a centimeter, as his legal best of 8.14m just missed the 8.15 (26’9”) Olympic standard.

The triple may well be another matter. “This has made me more hungry,” said Claye. “I went out here and gave it my all but I didn’t have the “A” standard, so this has given me motivation for the triple jump.”

Meanwhile, Dendy, who had a legal qualifying mark in the 3^rd round, becomes the third member of the Olympic Team. However, a re-injuring of his pesky ankle on his subsequent jump puts his status for Rio in considerable jeopardy.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s Ironman award goes not to Ashton Eaton but to Jarrion Lawson, the NCAA triple champion at 100m/200m/long jump. Lawson started his afternoon by sprinting the 100m semi-final in 10.01 and earning a spot in the final. Then he took four jumps until he was satisfied that his fourth-round 28’ 1 ¾” would stand up for landing him on the Olympic team, which it did. (Not incidentally, as it was not wind-aided, this jump is the longest legal jump in the world this year.) No sooner was the long jump over than Lawson found himself in the starting blocks of the 100m final, where he would finish 7^th in 10.07.

Ashton, step aside.

“I’m ecstatic,” said Lawson. “This is what I’ve been working for since 8^th grade.”

In what is surely the understatement of the day, Henderson concluded by saying, “The competition was stacked.”

And as for Rutherford?

“I know he’ll be surprised to see the results. This competition will probably go down in history.”

It already has.

Follow the Leader

US Olympic Trials

Women’s 10,000m

Molly Huddle took the lead on the opening step of the women’s Olympic Trials 10,000m race and never relinquished it - not even an inch.

“You don’t want to risk anything at the Olympic Trials by trying to run a fast time,” said Huddle,  “so I just tried to keep it as relaxed as I could until the last mile and still stay out of trouble.”

Instead, Huddle was trouble for everyone else.

An Olympic Trials schedule which models that of the Olympic Games - today’s race started at 11:04am - gave the contestants challenging conditions in heat which is sure to be worse in Rio.

Huddle ran to burn off the competition and remarkable negative splits of 16:09/15:33 more than accomplished that mission. Her final time was 31:41.62, with Beijing 10k bronze medalist Emily Infeld second in 31:46.09 and Nike’s Marielle Hall third in 31:54.77.

Kellyn Taylor was a distant 4^th in 32:11.30, and with 1200m to go, Olympic team membership was never really in doubt. The only question was the order.

Changing of the Guard - Men's Shot Put

The United States men’s shot put entered a new era today. With only one major meet medalist among today’s Olympic team qualifiers, the podium took on a surprisingly youthful look.

Darrell Hill served notice that he would come into a meet as underdog for the last time when he led after the first round with his 20.93m/68’ 8’. Heretofore, Hill’s highest major meet finish was 2^nd at the 2015 NCAA Championships. Hill crashed the 70’ barrier for the first time with a massive second-round PR of 21.63/70’ 11 ¾”, and demolished his previous best by over one and a half feet.

Not to be outdone, Ryan Crouser - native Oregonian and member of the legendary throwing family - stepped up next and showed that youth would indeed be served. His explosive 22.11m/72’ 6 ½” PR would stand to win the meet.

JUSTICE

Adam Nelson receives the 2004 shot put Olympic gold medal to a thunderous ovation at Hayward Field.

20k Race Walk Festival in Salem

Ticket to Rio

Men’s and Women’s 20k Race Walks

“This is my ticket to Rio!” exclaimed Maria Michta-Coffey while holding her Olympic Trials 20k race walk gold medal. Michta-Coffey won Thursday’s Olympic Trials race in Salem, OR, in 1:33:40.8, under the Olympic qualifying standard of 1:36:00. She is joined on the US team by Miranda Melville who was 2^nd in 1:34:11.1. Bronze medal winner Katie Burnett finished in a non-qualifying 1:41:12.2.

While winner John Nunn (1:25:36.1) finished outside the 1:24:00 standard, he earlier had qualified in the men’s 50k walk, so his ticket to Rio is already stamped. He was followed by the resurgent Trevor Barron (1:27:27.1) and Nick Christie (1:27:43.3). Nunn noted that today’s time qualifies him for next year’s London World Championships, “… so there’s that silver lining.”

Miles and Meters Olympic Trials Podcast with Steve Sievert

Was delighted to be invited by Steve Sievert of the Miles and Meters website to discuss our predictions of the top 10 storylines coming out of the Olympic Trials.

Click here for the link: Miles and Meters Olympic Trials Podcast.

I had a terrific time and am grateful to Steve for the invitation to join him. We both hope you will enjoy the podcast. Let's see how we did with our predictions - the next 10 days will tell!

Running Shoe Collection Noted in Oregonian Story

Many thanks to Andrew Greif of the Portland Oregonian and the OregonLive.com network for highlighting my vintage running shoe collection in his terrific story about Jordan Geller's successful attempt to outbid Nike for the first Nike "moon shoes" worn in competition.

The article is available at: Moon Shoes Acquisition.

You'll need to scroll deep into Greif's definitive article to read his reference to my collection and my coincidental meeting with Nike co-founder Phil Knight at the World Indoor Track and Field Championships in Portland in March. I had just been interviewed by 1996 Olympic decathlon gold medalist Dan O'Brien for USATF's Cool Down program. I had a bag with 5 of the rarest shoes in one hand and the inventory lists in the other!

Prefontaine Classic 2016

I arrive in Eugene on Friday having flown from Seattle. My carefully planned schedule works like a charm in spite of the Memorial Day weekend travel challenges thrown its way. I park at my motel a few blessed blocks from Hayward Field, open my car door, and find myself looking directly at Alberto Salazar, who is standing no more than five feet away.

You’ve gotta love Eugene - they’ve got the welcoming committee bit nailed.

There was some danger in having the wind go out of the sails of this year’s Classic. The star power was diminished considerably with the withdrawals of Genzebe Dibaba, Allyson Felix, Galen Rupp and Matt Centrowitz. Each of their races was memorable nonetheless, but one can only wonder what having someone to run with so deep into the women’s 5,000m would have meant to Dibaba’s final time. And Centrowitz vs Kiprop? Rupp vs Farah? Felix vs Richards-Ross? Seems a little was left on the table in this Olympic year.

This did not in any way diminish the on-the-track performances, where two American records were set and two world records barely survived. Emma Coburn had previously set the steeplechase AR, only to have it invalidated when she was not drug-tested after her performance. Her 9:10.76 will stick this time, however, in a race which featured the #2 and #3 performances of all-time: Ruth Jebet (BRN, 8:59.97) and Hyvin Kiyeng (KEN, 9:00.01).

Similarly, Harrison set the 100m hurdles AR in 12.24, smashing the previous record of Brianna Rollins (12.26) and scaring Yordanka Donkova’s (Bul) world record of 12.21.

The Bowerman Mile was won in 3:51.54; the international mile in 3:52.64. It’s just not the Bowerman Mile anymore if it’s not sub-3:50. Guys, would you get with the program?

It strikes me that the international mile must be the greatest developmental event in the world – for men. Am wondering why there is not an equivalent event for women. Doesn't have to be the mile - how about the 100m hurdles, likely the deepest event for women right now.

Coolest moment every year: announcement at 1:00pm that the international television feed is joining us. Suddenly, millions of like-minded appreciators of the sport have joined the athletics festival unfolding before of us. 

Welcome one and all.

Memorable moment: Kenyan Julius Yego appears in the hotel lobby. We make a connection and I indicate I’ve written about him – on the day he won the World javelin title, becoming the first man from Africa to do so. It’s a short piece and I read it to him. 

He bows in gratitude.

In the local color department, a man near me in a restaurant was devouring rather enthusiastically his root beer float. Then his enormous dinner arrived. 

I could learn from him.

That’s it from Eugene where the trees are green, the grass is greener as well as for sale, and greenest of all are the false start cards.


The Yego article: http://www.trackerati.com/2015/08/watching-history.html

Shot Put Diva Michelle Carter - IAAF

IAAF, the governing body of international track and field, published my article about World Indoor shot put gold medalist Michelle Carter (US) on their website today:

                                      http://www.iaaf.org/news/feature/michelle-carter-shot-diva

Ian Walters/Getty Images for IAAF photo

Michelle Carter in her moment of triumph in Portland.
Note the crowd in the background - going wild!

Soles' Souls: USATF.TV Cool Down Interview with Dan O'Brien

Adam Schmenk photo/USATF

The interview that preceded my meeting Nike's Phil Knight at the World Indoor Championships in Portland is now featured on the USATF.TV Cool Down program.

Arranged by producer Adam Schmenk with interviewer Dan O'Brien, 1996 Olympic decathlon gold medalist - special thanks to both.

Click here to watch the interview: http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45365&do=videos&video_id=171423

Be sure to read the next post about what happened as soon as the interview was over! http://www.trackerati.com/2016/03/meeting-nikes-phil-knight-at-world.html

Meeting Nike's Phil Knight at World Indoors

Phil Knight: "Bill Bowerman Put the Soles on These Shoes!"

"Bill Bowerman put the soles on these shoes!"
Karl Eagleman photo

"You won't believe what I have in this bag!"

"Try me!" said Phil Knight

I brought the highlights of my early Nike running shoe and memorabilia collection with me to the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Portland.

At USATFs the week before, I introduced myself to Adam Schmenck, producer of USATF's "The Cool Down," and offered to bring key parts of my collection to Worlds.

Adam arranged for me to be interviewed by Dan O'Brien, 1996 Olympic and three-time World decathlon champion, in the final segment of the World Championships "Cool Down" shows. (see interview here:  http://www.usatf.tv/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=45365&do=videos&video_id=171423)

I had long hoped to meet Phil Knight and to read him the story of what happened between Steve Prefontaine and me on the day Pre won the Olympic Trials 5,000m in 1972. And naturally, I wanted to show Knight my shoe and memorabilia collection.

Giving the inventory lists of my Nike shoes
and memorabilia collection to Phil Knight.
USATF's Karl Eagleman is at left.
Adam Schmenk photo

Shortly after filming the interview with O'Brien, I ran into Knight as he entered the arena. Remarkably, after wanting to meet him for 45 years, when I finally did I was carrying a bag with the 5 rarest shoes in my right hand and a clipboard with inventory lists for the entire collection in my left.

I showed him two pairs, the Bowerman waffle iron shoes (which I'm holding on the right of the first photo), and an unusual pair of Blue Ribbon Sports (Knight's company that morphed into Nike) shoes that has the original BRS soles replaced with waffle material.

"Bill Bowerman put the soles on these shoes!" exclaimed Knight.

I pulled the inventory lists off my clipboard and handed them to Knight, along with my card.

I turned to the Prefontaine story and let Knight know how much I had always hoped for the opportunity to read it to him.

Beaming, he said, "Well, we can make that happen."


Steve: http://www.trackerati.com/2015/05/steve.html

Epic Day in Portland

With gold in the 4x400m men's and women's relays, gold by Matthew Centrowitz in the 1500m, gold by high schooler Vashti Cunningham in the high jump, gold by Marquis Dendy in the long jump, silver by Ryan Hill in the 3,000m, silver by Ajee Wilson in the 800m, and bronze by Shannon Rowbury in the 3,000m, the United States gave a definitive performance at the World Championships in Portland today. This will serve as a springboard into an Olympic year and will alter the perception left from a lackluster team performance at the Bejing World Championships last summer.

Certainly there were non-US highlights today, most especially Genzebe Dibaba's 7+ second win over Ethiopian teammate Meseret Defar in the women's 3,000m. But the story of these championships is of a deep and resurgent US team.

I will continue writing about this meet; there are many stories to tell.

Special note of thanks to Kyle and Carol.

World Indoors Day 3

It's very simple, really, this sport of ours. Boris Berian, Curtis Beach, and Michelle Carter demonstrated just how simple - and challenging - it can be on the third day of the World Indoor Championships in Portland, OR, on Saturday.

Last week Berian seemed to have fulfilled his enormous potential by winning his first US title at 800m. Try topping that with a World title. He sprinted to the lead of this remarkably deep field, never relinquished it, and burned off the kicks of even the world's greatest kickers like World outdoor champion, Mohammed Aman (ETH), with his gutsy, assertive - and brave - wire to wire run to a World title. That he pulled along teammate Chris Solinksky to a bronze topped a first-ever1-3 for the US in this event.

Curtis Beach sat in 6th place with the 1000m run to go in the men's heptathlon. A former US national high school record holder in the decathlon (with both JR and SR implements), Beach needed to leapfrog his way to 3rd to put himself on the world scene once again after 3 years of fighting injury. He negative split the first four of five laps: 29.93, 29.84, 29.41, 29.36, and he came home in 30.50. Germany's Mathias Brugger meanwhile ran the 1000m over four seconds faster than he ever had before and nipped Beach for bronze by only 8 points, 6126-6118.

Meanwhile, Michelle Carter (US), a multiple US champion in the shot put who had been a steady presence on the international scene until her bronze at the World Championships in Beijing last summer, pulled out a classic last-throw win with a new US record of 66' 3 3/4". This breaks the previous record by 1' 1/2", a truly massive improvement.

Run faster, yes; throw farther, yes. It usually works, but not when 6 other events come into play, as they did for Beach in the heptathlon. A stumble in the hurdles likely cost him bronze. "I'd rather get 4th with that effort than anything higher with a mediocre effort," said Beach.

"I'm just happy to be in my mid-20s and compete in track and field. A lot of my friends have awesome jobs, but if they had the chance they would probably be doing track! I'm just happy to wake up every day and go out and train and that's the truth. I'm already ahead of the game and I'm loving it."

Gold at First, Gold at Last

Arriving at the Oregon Convention Center for the 2016 World Indoor T+F Championships was a little like coming home to my Dutch relatives - I was greeted by waves of orange, the Dutch national color. Here was a sea of volunteers in bright orange shirts. Even my souvenir backpack is visible from Mars.

Gold at Last
The first full day of competition saw three-time World silver medalist Brianne Thiesen-Eaton join her husband, Ashton, as a World Champion. The Canadian pentathlete - a University of Oregon graduate - ran a thrilling 800m in front of a raucous crowd to win her first World title. In 3rd place with the 800m run to go - and more importantly, 150 points behind - Thiesen-Eaton rallied to an indoor personal best 2:09.99 to win by 34 points and send the partisan crowd into a frenzy.

The golden couple, indeed.

Gold at First
In a recent interview, Trayvon Bromell (US), spoke bravely about his decision to, well, take the money and run. He turned professional after medaling in the 100m at the outdoor World Championships in Beijing last August. Clearly, he missed his college coaches, missed his trainer, missed his teammates and missed being part of a team.

Perhaps not quite so much today. He now stands as the newly crowned World Champion of the 60m dash. Bromell won against a loaded field that included Jamaica's Asafa Powell, who in spite of a stellar 6.44 in the semi-finals, just missed his long-sought World title by 3/100th of a second. 9/100 separated 1st from 8th.

Bromell is 20.

Gold Forever?
That's what Thomas Walsh's (NZ) shot put competitors may well be asking, and with good reason. Walsh unleashed the greatest series of throws in indoor shot put history to win going away in 21.78m/71' 5.5". So dominant was he that 5 of his 6 throws would have won the competition. His 21.78 is his personal record, indoors or out.

Notable in his achievement is that there is no indoor track and field in New Zealand. In the past two years he has thrown indoors 4 times (including practice), and his total number of times in the wooden ring in his career he counts as "maybe 10."

His only disappointment? Walsh's coach had promised to grow a handlebar mustache if he threw 21.80.

After such a dominating performance, it's important to still have goals.

Up tonight is New Zealand's multiple World and Olympic gold medalist Valerie Adams in the shot put, with the distinct possibility of the island nation claiming both golds. She is coming back from serious injury... is she all the way back?

High School Star Vashti Cunningham Soars to World High Jump Lead

Vashti Cunningham - already a high school high jump prodigy - set the US national high school record of 6'5" and then improved it to 6' 6.25" at the US Senior Indoor Nationals in Portland this evening. The latter is the highest jump in the world this year. A breakout star, the high school senior was poised and confident in her post-competition interviews. When asked what she expects to do at Worlds next week, she replied, "6'7", 6'8" - whatever it takes to win."

Other highlights:

A remarkably deep women's pole vault saw 5 over 15' 3". Sandi Morris set two personal bests on her way to upsetting Olympic gold medalist Jenn Suhr with her 16' 2.75" clearance. Suhr was over 16' as well, while Demi Payne took 3rd in 15' 11".

John Nunn seems to be recovering from his 50k Olympic qualifying race better than Galen Rupp is recovering from his marathon. He won the men's 3,000m race walk today. He grabbed the lead on the first lap, and while he had company from Nick Christie early in the 3rd kilometer, Nunn sped away and was never really headed.

An exciting women's long jump saw veteran Britney Reese win in 22' 7 1/4", with Janay DeLoach 2nd in 21' 9 1/2". Ajee Wilson dominated the women's 800m and won by over a second and a half in 2:00.87. Local favorite Matt Centrowitz ran from the front and controlled the men's 1500m until the last lap when Robby Andrews made it interesting by passing Centrowitz - who passed him back! Centrowitz won by .07 in 3:44.33.

Kurt Roberts won a thrilling men's shot put over veteran Reese Hoffa. Only one centimeter - 1/4 of an inch - separated the two. Roberts' winning mark was 65' 10.5".

Brenda Martinez stepped up to the 1500m and became national champion with a 1.6 second victory over Corey McGee in 4:08.37.

Boris Berian fulfilled his potential with his first national championship at 800m.

USATF Indoors

A brief note to let you know that I'll be reporting from the USATF Indoor National Championships on Saturday, March 12, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR.

Meanwhile, here's is a link to Jesse Squires' brilliant NCAA/USATF Fri/Sat schedule:
http://dailyrelay.com/the-weekends-best-matchups-how-to-watch/

Penelope Puskedra - 7 Months Old - Needs Your Help

Penelope Puskedra, the seven-month-old daughter of Luke and Trudie Puskedra, was diagnosed with cancer just days after Luke finished fourth in the US Olympic Marathon Trials. Please consider assisting the Puskedra family by supporting the Go Fund Me campaign started by their friend and babysitter, Dana Tucker Reber.

The response from the international running and track and field communities has been remarkable. In the United States, the prominent runners who have contributed reads like a Who's Who of US distance running.

You may find more information, and may contribute, at:

https://www.gofundme.com/luketrudiepenelope

Thank You

US Marathon Olympic Trials Previews

It’s the night before the US Olympic Marathon Trials and quiet has descended – ever so briefly – on US track and field. On the west coast tomorrow, we’ll know the three place winners in each race by lunchtime, on the east coast before dinner. Then we’ll have 45 qualifying events to go before we know our entire 2016 Olympic team.

There are numerous prediction articles and threads widely available on the Track and Field News, Let’sRun.com and Runners World websites. I’ll add my voice to the mayhem…

Women’s Marathon

It’s high time for Desi Linden to win a major race. The Los Angeles heat will be the great equalizer and there will be no breakaway runner – unless it’s Linden. It’s a mystery why she hasn’t won a significant marathon yet – her focus is unrelenting and she is tough as nails. Her numerous credentials, including a PR of 2:22:38, put her in a league which includes only Shalane Flanagan (2:21:14).

Flanagan is coming back from injury and her situation creates a wild card of its own: is she all the way back? It is not uncommon for injured runners to have had deeper rest than they expected – and so be ready to fly. Flanagan herself, in an interview with LetsRun.com, noted that she has never failed to qualify for an Olympic spot in any race in which she’s attempted to qualify.

Her new training partner Amy Cragg (Hastings) needs to do only one thing and do it well: stick like glue with Flanagan until the last of four loops on Saturday and then let the racing begin. The advantage Cragg and Flanagan have as training mates should not be underestimated.

The rousing performance of the day could come from the resurgent 37-year-old Kara Goucher. She announced a return to fitness with two half marathons late last fall in 1:11:13 and 1:11:10. Do that twice in a row… immensely popular, twitter will explode if Goucher makes the team.

Can’t get them out of my head: 

Serena Burla finished 10^th in Beijing at Worlds last summer in 2:31:06 in sweltering conditions. Could that time make the Olympic team on a near 80-degree day in LA? Absolutely. 

Sara Hall ran a PR 1:10:07 half marathon in Houston in January; that makes her the Luke Puskedra of this race - enormous talent and potential on the verge of being realized?

Kellyn Taylor’s spectacular 2:28:40 marathon debut in the 2015 Houston race puts her in the thick of the qualifiers. The Northern Arizona Elite athlete, coached by the inestimable Ben Rosario, has come down from Flagstaff’s altitude and has been training in California for several weeks before the Trials. 

Annie Bersagel just keeps clicking off the 2:28 marathons.
Maegan Krifchin has an impressive 1:09:51 half to her recent credit; she'll need to take down her 2:33 PR by 3-4 minutes to be in the mix for a trip to Rio. 

New US citizens Misiker Demisse (2:25:45) and Belainesh Gebre (2:26:17) could make moot all the pre-race enthusiasm for US Olympic veterans Flanagan, Linden, Cragg and Goucher. They immigrated from Ethiopia, a country lately on the rise in international running circles.

Linden and Flanagan are head and shoulders above this field in terms of quality, depth, and consistency of performances. Linden is a strong choice to make the team while Flanagan seems a bit vulnerable; she faded to 9^th in the 2015 Boston. While Cragg and Goucher seem to have the stars aligning for them, I think it’s likely that the heat will favor someone who has performed well in heat before. Burla’s magnificent 10^th in sweltering conditions in Beijing makes her a favorite in my book. There will be some changing of the guard, and Kellyn Taylor might well be famous by Valentine's Day.

1. Desi Linden
2. Shalane Flanagan
3. Serena Burla
4. Kellyn Taylor
5. Kara Goucher
6. Amy Cragg
7. Sara Hall
8. Annie Bersagel
9. Meagan Krifchin
10. Misiker Demisse

Men's Marathon
It seems wild to pick two runners as Olympians who haven’t yet competed at the distance. But Galen Rupp and Sam Chelanga bring credentials at all the other distances that should put all but Dathan Ritzenheim in their rear view mirrors. Rupp is the 2012 Olympic 10,000m silver medalist and qualified for the Trials by strolling through a 1:01:20 half-marathon qualifier in January. With PRs of 12:58/26:44, he is the class of this field.

Sam Chelanga will run his first US Olympic Trials race at age 30 as he became a US citizen last August. Born and raised in Kenya, Chelanga had a stellar NCAA career at Liberty University and remains the NCAA 10,000m record holder at 27:08.39, with a 13:04 5k PR to back that up. Like Meb at USC, he won 4 NCAA titles.

Three-time Olympian Dathan Ritzenheim has tremendous range and experience - and an even faster 5k PR (12:56.27) than Galen Rupp’s. His marathon best of 2:07:47 is the fastest in the field.

Meb Keflegizi is ready to beat the pundits again, even at age 40. No one saw his shocking and memorable 2014 Boston win coming, and he has been underestimated many times before. All those who picked him for Olympic marathon silver in 2004, step to the front. Hi, Grandma! His 2009 New York win? Well, hello Grandma once again. I’d love to see him crown his career with one more Olympic team, but his results since his Boston win, while solid, are just not as competitive as needed to make him a podium favorite. The heat-induced slower pace will favor him well.

Elkanah Kibet is training with Chelanga in Tucson and, like Amy Cragg, needs to stick like glue to his more accomplished training partner until the last loop and then let loose. His record is unusual: a 2:11:31 marathon debut in Chicago last fall backed up by… a 13:53.05 5k from 2009!

Luke Puskedra and Nick Arciniaga have, at various times, been the flavor of the month when it comes to marathon team favorites. Arciniaga has shown spotty brilliance, and Puskedra is the youngest among the favorites. It’s not only his 2:10:24 PR that gets attention, it’s his controlled 1:01:29 half marathon a month ago. 

Diego Estrada’s 1:00:51 qualifier demands attention and he, like Puskedra, is 26 years old. Jeff Eggleston has made three World Championships marathon teams and knows the ropes of major meet racing.

There’s an emotional wild card in this race: Chelanga is a new US citizen. He will want to mark his first Olympic team with gold. He, more than anyone else, has the motivation to win even more than qualify. And he’s the only one with anything remotely resembling Rupp’s finishing speed.

1. Sam Chelanga
2. Galen Rupp
3. Dathan Ritzenheim
4. Elkanah Kibet
5. Luke Puskedra
6. Meb Keflezighi
7. Jeff Eggleston
8. Diego Estrada
9. Jared Ward
10. Nick Arciniaga

(