Hoping for Better Fortune this Year in New York
2004 Olympic Marathon Silver Medalist Meb Keflezighi is ready for November 3
By Cecil Harris
Among the entries on Meb Keflezighi’s checklist when he heads to New York five days before the Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon will be the following:
- Carry running shoes onto plane
- No ambitious food choices in NYC
Keflezighi, the 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist and one of the favorites to represent Team USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Marathon, is determined to give himself the best chance to succeed on November 3, unlike in his last major race in New York, when lost luggage and a case of food poisoning led to a disappointing 21st-place finish in the ING New York City Marathon 2006.
“Things happen sometimes that are out of my control, unfortunately,” Keflezighi said, allowing himself to laugh about the lost running shoes and the chicken fettuccine dish that doomed his chances on race day.
There will be no repeat of those mishaps this time, he vows. Not when what’s at stake is an opportunity to make his third consecutive U.S. Olympic team. Not when a top-three finish at the Trials would enhance his credentials of one of America’s premier distance runners.
In 2004, Keflezighi (pronounced Keh-FLEZ-ghee) achieved a trio of significant second-places in the marathon: second to Alan Culpepper at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2:11:47; second to Italy’s Stefano Baldini in the Olympic marathon in 2:11:29; and, just 70 days later, second to South Africa’s Hendrick Ramaala in the ING New York City Marathon 2004 in a personal best 2:09:53.
Having the Trials in New York heightens the drama and adds to the stature of the event, Keflezighi said.
“Running in New York is an awesome feeling,” he said. “My first marathon was in New York, the ING New York City Marathon in 2002. There’s nothing like the attention you get in New York. I’ve done other races there, like the USA 8K Championships, the NYC Half-Marathon [Presented by Nike], and the Healthy Kidney 10K. I love running in New York because it’s a great opportunity to showcase your skills. I’m excited because I’ve had so many good performances there.”
Good performances began for Keflezighi on the track, not long after his family left the African country of Eritrea to escape a war with Ethiopia and immigrated to the United States by way of Italy, settling in the San Diego area in 1987. One year later, Keflezighi earned U.S. citizenship. He lives in Mammoth Lakes, California, with his wife, Yordanos, and their daughter, Sara.
Keflezighi became a four-time NCAA champion at UCLA while earning a degree in communications studies and establishing a relationship with Coach Bob Larsen that continues today. He placed 12th in the 10,000 meters at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and he’s the American record-holder in that event at 27:13.98. Although he has yet to win a marathon, he finished in the top three in five consecutive marathons from 2004 to 2006.
At 32, Keflezighi enters the Trials with stellar credentials and the status of an Olympic medalist. And he’s the only competitor to star in his own nationally televised commercial (a MasterCard spot that shows him ducking out of a marathon, Rosie Ruiz–style, to catch a movie and then taking a cab back to the race, where he slips into the lead pack and wins).
But despite his many star turns, Keflezighi, under the American system of Olympic qualifying, has no advantage over any other competitor.
“I’m honored to have won an Olympic medal, but the first step is to make the team,” he said. “I thank God that I’ve competed on two Olympic teams. But unless I make the team, I can’t go back. In this sport, I can’t play defense against somebody who may be in better shape than I am on the day of the race.
“It is kind of a disadvantage if you live in the U.S. because of the way the Olympic team is selected. In other countries, like Kenya and Ethiopia, they don’t have the Olympic Trials. Other people have mentioned to me that with all you have accomplished, including winning the Olympic silver medal, you should be in the Olympics [without going through the Trials]. But in the U.S., it’s not handed to you.”
Keflezighi predicts that the International Olympic Committee may eventually urge national track and field federations to allow past Olympic medalists who are fit enough to achieve the “A” standard in their event to compete in the next Olympic Games.
“I think that would bring a lot of excitement, to be able to defend your medal, whether it’s gold or silver or bronze,” he said. “But it’s not going to happen in 2008. I think it might happen in the next Olympics—to return the past medalists who can still show their fitness. Just like in the World Championships, the champion always comes back to defend his or her title.”
According to Keflezighi, there are “six or seven” top contenders for the three Olympic berths. While declining to name names, he puts himself in that group. Although he withdrew from the San Jose Rock ’N’ Roll Half-Marathon on October 14 because of a strained right calf, he declared himself healthy for the Trials.
“The training’s been going very well,” he said. “Probably after Tuesday [October 23], we’ll start backing off on the mileage. It’s going to be exciting at the Trials with all the elite runners. It’s a challenging course with all the hills. It’s not a perfect, flat course. People who haven’t done enough hill-training or running on different terrains will have trouble. But I feel that because I’m training in Mammoth Lakes, where there are a lot of hills, I should be O.K. I’m ready to go. My goal now is to maintain my fitness.”
And to guard his running shoes and keep his meal orders simple.
