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Abdi
Abdirahman attended Jhameyasin Carte High School in Mogadishu, Somalia,
before coming to the United States. As a student at the University
of Arizona, he was named Pac-10 1998 Cross Country Athlete of the
Year following his second place finish at the NCAA Cross Country
Championships in Lawrence, Kansas. Abdi became a US citizen in January,
2000, and has since that time represented the United States in the
2000 IAAF Cross Country Championships (placing 45th), the Sydney
Olympic 10,000m (placing 10th), and the 2001 IAAF Cross Country
Championships (placing 15th and helping the US to the bronze medal.)
He will be taking a crack at Mark Nenow's long-standing 10,000m
American Record on May 4 at Stanford. We caught up with Abdirahman
on his victory lap (literally) at the Drake Relays on April 26.
MensRacing.com:
Abdi, congratulations on your win. You've got a history with the
Drake Relays, running here when you were a student at Arizona. What
made you want to come back to Drake?
Abdi
Abdirahman : I just appreciate the people here, the people
at Drake. They (the fans) take so seriously all the events, but
I just wanted to come back because I appreciated the support when
I was in college. I just wanted to say 'thank you.' Let them see
me run as a professional, they got to see me as a collegian, let
them see me at the next level.
MR.com:
You ran the 5000 meters at Mt.SAC last weekend (4th in 13:40), you
ran the 5000 tonight, and next Friday you're in the group taking
a shot at the American Record at 10,000. Could you please talk a
little bit about that 10,000 race?
AA:
Yeah, next week, that's why I did the two 5000 races back to back,
I wanted to get ready for next week. Today I was planning on running
13:30, but the weather did not allow me, and I did not have much
competition. But next week I am just planning on running fast. So
today was just a warm-up, next week is the big one.
MR.com:
So are there any predictions for next week.
AA:
[smiles] One thing I know is that the rabbits are supposed to go
out in 13:30 [for 5K], and I know that Bob Kennedy wants to go with
them. Wherever Bob goes I'll be going, I'll just be on Bob Kennedy's
heels.
MR.com:
Two 5000s plus the 10,000 next week, what's up the rest of the summer
for you?
AA:
I always set a goal for myself. This summer I want to break the
American Record, I want to go under 27:20. I've been doing a lot
of miles, but I haven't been on the track that much.
MR.com:
So you'll be running the 10,000 at USATF Championships in Eugene?
AA:
Definitely. I'll be running both at USATF.
MR.com:
We've heard rumors that you'll be moving up to the marathon sometime
soon? Any truth to that?
AA:
Definitely, I plan on moving up very soon. I just get better as
the distance goes up, and I will be moving up very soon.
MR.com:
Thanks a lot, Abdi. Congratulations on your win, and good luck next
weekend.
AA:
Thank
you.
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