2005 USA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Interview with Daniel Lincoln

Reported by Parker Morse

Daniel Lincoln won the steeplechase in 8:17.27, we caught up with him shortly after the race.

Daniel Lincoln: I sort of made up my mind in the beginning, while I felt strong, to make a move and do something out there. I was nervous and I didn't want to get paralyzed during the race and let something slip by.

Q: Did you know you had it once you made the move?
DL: As soon as I made the move, it gave me more confidence. I wasn't quite sure how [Anthony Famiglietti] would react. I came up on his shoulder several times, and I wasn't really sure. When I made the move and got some clearance, I had confidence in my speed from there.

Q: You looked like you had a lot left when you went to the line, even with a quality time.
DL: Yeah, well, you know, I was nervous. The time didn't mean so much, but I was pretty nervous about how I would feel coming in to the last lap and everything. It always feels good to win a big race like this, and I wanted it really bad, so any issues I might have had were probably covered up by excitement.

Q: What kind of issues?
DL: Any kind of fatigue. Like if I was going to the well. When it pays off like that, you still have a smile on your face.

Q: Did you miss some training leading up to this meet?
DL: Yeah, I was injured, pretty much February through April. I guess I started running again in the last week of April. I was pretty nervous coming in to this. When the injury first came, it was a stress fracture in my [left] tibia, and I was thinking, no problem, just a few weeks, and for sure I'll be back by USAs. But the injury took a long time to heal. The best I can tell, I think it was posterior, behind the tibia, so the blood flow was bad, and that's why it took so long. It was like 10 or 11 weeks to heal. It was kind of rough.

Q: What were you doing in the meantime?
DL: I was in the pool, mostly. I did some [biking] for two days. Then, when I could jog again, I was doing swim, bike, and jog every day. So I tried to work pretty hard. I felt like, when I was coming back, aerobically I was fine; it was just a matter of my legs coming back. Then at the Prefontaine meet, it was sorta rough, because I was still going through that process of getting my legs back under me. But I made it.

Q: People probably ask you this every year, but what are your plans for the next few years?
DL: I'm going to continue through Beijing. Coach [John] McDonnell is still my coach. I'm in Fayetteville now, running with Alistair [Cragg] and all.

Q: How about the rest of the summer? Do you have your eyes on the American record?
DL: Yeah, I'm definitely focusing on that. I've also got a full plate in July over in Europe. I'm leaving next Wednesday or Thursday, and I'm going to run five races. I'm looking to have a good season, even though it's a late start. My legs feel real fresh right now.

(Interview conducted June 25, 2005)