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The men's 10,000m final could have been an old show: Mebrahtom
"Meb" Keflezighi and Abdihakim "Abdi" Abdirahman
dueling through the final miles, with nobody else in sight. The
difference this year was that in the end, it was Abdirahman who
had the better speed; he fought off Keflezighi's kick right to the
finish line in 28:10.38. (Keflezighi's finish time was 28:10.57.)
It was Abdirahman's second time winning the 10,000m; his first,
in 2001, also came in a post-Olympic year.
The
ever-changing leaders of the pack behind Abdirahman and Keflezighi
included Patrick Gildea, Jason Hubbard, Matt Lane, Ed Torres, Ryan
Kirkpatrick, and Chris Graff, but it was Matt Downin who was in
position to dominate the furious charge to the finish, taking third
in 28:34.65.
Abdirahman
and Keflezighi were the only two entrants with the "A"
standard for the World Championships, so Downin or any other finalist
hoping to be the third team member for Helsinki will need to run
under 27:49.00.
Meb
Keflezighi
Q:
How did you feel?
Mebrahtom Keflezighi:
I felt fine. It's just, you know, this is my first race on the track
since [last year's Olympic] Trials. I thought I could take Abdi,
but at the end of the day, he won it. We're good friends, we warmed
up together, we talked about the race and my marathon. They told
me Matt Downin got third, and I'm very delighted to hear that. I
felt fine, I thought I could win.
It
was a sprint like that race in Sydney with Haile [Gebrselassie]
and [Paul] Tergat, but at a different level. I am glad to be on
the team, and that's about it.
Q:
Do you feel like your training is in the right direction now?
MK:
I'm in good shape. It's just not race shape. As of March, I was
lifting my leg with my hands to put it in the car. I didn't have
enough power. I was limping. So I definitely think I'm going in
the right direction. It's been a rough year for me. I could barely
lift my leg into the car, because of the achilles [and the problems
it caused]. Now I think I'm going in the right direction, there
are a lot of good things happening in my life, and I'm excited about
that.
Q:
Did you think it could come down to the last 100?
MK:
Yes. And then I thought it would come down to the last 15 meters
or so. I was just telling myself to stay relaxed, stay relaxed,
because I run hardest if I can stay relaxed. He had another notch,
and I didn't.
Q:
It was a great finish.
MK:
We've got to put on a show for the people that stayed. It was a
late night, but the people who stayed saw a great race.
Q:
Have you been setting up to peak for Helsinki, not nationals?
MK:
I'm at the minimum, I'll put it that way. I already have the 'A'
standard. I could have finished seventh and gone to Helsinki.
Q:
So you still have a lot of training cycle to go before Helsinki.
MK:
These next five or six weeks, I'll be training aggressively. I need
to sharpen up. I've only done three or four interval workouts and
five or six tempos. I need to stay healthy, but Helsinki might be
the right time for me.
Q:
Will you race before the World Championships?
MK:
We're working on that. But it might be more beneficial for me in
the 10K to just train and sharpen up a bit.
Matt
Downin
Q:
How did you find a race like that?
Matt Downin:
I stayed in the pack, I followed everyone, that made it feel easy.
I didn't do any work.
Q:
And you closed well.
MD:
I didn't know I had that in me. It was exciting, and a long time
coming for me. It was one of those nights where everything played
in to my hands. I'm not ready to run 28:10, but that felt easy.
Q:
And now you've got another job to do, getting the standard.
MD:
I've got to find a mark. I'm not going to worry about that right
now. I think probably four or five guys in this race will chase
it, because it's there. I think Graff and [Mike] Donnelly might
try it.
(Interviews
conducted June 23, 2005)
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