Bernard Lagat showed that his 41-year-old legs still have some spring. And speed.
The veteran came from behind with a 52.8-second final lap to win the 5,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic trials on Saturday in Eugene, Ore., and he will compete in his fifth Olympics next month in Rio.
Lagat finished in 13 minutes, 35.30 seconds. Hassan Mead (13.35.70) and Paul Chelimo (13.35.92) hung on for second and third in a strange race that started at a pedestrian pace and closed with a rush. Chelimo nudged out a sprawling Eric Jenkins by .06 for the last spot.
Galen Rupp, who led with 500 meters to go, ended up ninth. Rupp already has qualified for the U.S. team in the 10,000 and the marathon, and he has said he expects to run both.
“That’s the way it goes," Rupp said. "Where I’m at, I’m still happy the way things went this week. Obviously it kind of sucks finishing on a down note a little bit, because earlier it went so well. But I think this gave us some real good information moving forward in what we need to do.”
Two other contenders, Ben True and Ryan Hill, could not keep up in the final sprint and ended up fifth (13:36.40) and sixth (13:38.60).
Lagat is a two-time Olympic medalist in the 1,500, both times running for Kenya, with a bronze in 2000 and a silver in 2004. He also is the American recordholder in the 1,500 — he is the second-fastest man in history — and 5,000, but those records were set in 2005 and 2011.
Many thought his time had passed.
“There were people going, ‘You never know how he’s going to perform.’ They were saying I’m done and cannot make the team,” he said. “That didn’t sound right to me.”
That talk picked up last year, when he missed his first worlds or Olympics team since he became an American citizen in 2005 — a failure he said “crushed him” because his kids were pushing hard for him to make the trip. The murmurs came back after he dropped out of the 5,000 earlier this season at the Prefontaine Classic and only got louder when he pulled out of 10K qualifying earlier in trials.
He dropped out of that race three-fourths of the way in when he realized top three was not in the cards. That decision saved some energy in his legs.
The race on Saturday started out agonizingly slow — the field came through the first 1,000 meters in about 3:05 — before Brian Shrader and William Kincaid broke out of the pack and built nearly a 50-meter lead. Neither of the two had run the qualifying standard, and getting it Saturday was not happening after the slow start. The pack decided not to immediately chase and focused on racing each other.
Ultimately, Shrader and Kincaid faded — no doubt because of those 59-second laps they threw in to build the lead — as the pack picked up the pace, before Rupp grabbed the lead.
Then it was Rupp's turn to fade, and the final lap was a wild sprint ... won by a crafty veteran who still has an extra gear when he needs it.
“We know Bernard Lagat will be done,” Chelimo said, “when he’s not running anymore.”
►Oregon Ducks wide receiver Devon Allen scored a massive personal best with a time of 13.03 to win the 110 hurdles, well clear of Ronnie Ash (13.21) and Jeff Porter (13.21).
Reigning Olympic champion and world recordholder Aries Merritt, who had kidney transplant surgery last September, finished fourth, .01 behind. Two other veterans also won't be headed to Rio: David Oliver, who withdrew from the final after tweaking a hamstring in the semifinal, and 2012 silver medalist Jason Richardson, who stumbled out of the blocks and was never a factor.
“I’ve come to grips with it," Merritt told reporters after the race. "Nothing can be worse than being told you’ll never run again, even if you come up a little bit short. I’ve won Olympic games, broken the world record. Someone else can have a turn, I guess."
►Will Claye bested former Florida teammate and reigning Olympic and world champion Christian Taylor in the triple jump, leaping 57 feet, 11 inches on his fifth jump. Claye was the silver medalist, behind Taylor, in London four years ago. Chris Benard finished third and will join Claye and Taylor in Rio.
►In the women's 200 semifinals, Allyson Felix (22.57) advanced to Sunday's final, her quest for the 200-400 double still on track. Tori Bowie was the top qualifier in 22.27. Daejah Stevens (22.45) and Jenna Prandini (22.68) also advanced. The Olympics bid ended for high schoolers Kaylin Whitney, 18, and Candace Hill, 17, who finished fourth and fifth in the first heat and failed to advance.
►In the women's javelin, Maggie Malone of Texas A&M claimed the U.S. title with a throw of 199 feet, 7 inches. Hannah Carson and Kara Winger finished second and third, but Carson does not have the Olympic qualifying standard. Brittany Borman will join Malone and Winger on the Olympic team.
“I’m out of words,” said Malone, who won the NCAA title at Hayward Field in June. “I’m from a town of like 2,000 with one stoplight. This is insane.”
►Barbara Nwaba, with 3,905 points, leads after the first day and first four events (100 hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200) of the heptathlon. Kendell Williams (3,892) and Heather Miller-Koch (3,822) are second and third. The long jump, the javelin and the 800 are the Day 2 events.
Contributing: The Associated Press
