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BEIJING -- Galen Rupp made his Olympic debut Sunday night at
91,000-seat National Stadium, and he enjoyed it so much he wants do it
again.
The 22-year-old from Portland ran in the lead pack with the world's
top distance runners for the first half of the men's 10,000 meters
before finishing 13th in a field of 35.
"I think top 10 was a great goal coming in," Rupp
said. "But, looking beforehand, there were about 15 guys who were
faster than me. So I improved on where I was seeded. It would have been
real hard for me get top 10."
This year, anyway. But Rupp is just getting started.
"He got lapped last year in Osaka," said Alberto Salazar, Rupp's
coach, referring to the 2007 world track and field championships in
Japan. "This year he was a half-lap behind. He's closing the gap."
World record-holder Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia won the race in
27minutes, 1.17seconds. Rupp finished in 27:36.99. The top finisher
from the United States -- and the top among those not born in Africa --
looked like he belonged.
A distance runner tends to reach his physical prime closer to 30.
So, in four years -- assuming he stays healthy -- who knows where Rupp
might be?
After tangling with the likes of Bekele, silver medalist Sileshi
Shine, bronze medalist Micah Kogo and Haile Gebrselassie, the world
record-holder in the marathon who finished sixth in Sunday's 10,000,
Rupp knows where he wants to go.
"These guys are the best in the world for a reason," he said. "This
shows you what you have to do, being in a big environment with big
crowds. I know where I need to be in four years."
With any luck, in London in the 2012 Summer Games, challenging for a
spot on the medal podium. He is developing an understanding of what it
will take to get there.
"Every time you come to a meet like this, you're excited to run,"
Rupp said. "Afterwards you're even more excited, because you see the
possibilities. It's doable."
His race strategy this time was conservative. The idea was to stay
in the race as long as possible, keep Bekele and Gebrselassie as close
as possible, take advantage of any opportunity that presented itself
and finish as strong as possible. He was within 3 1/2 seconds of his
personal record.
"If they started running ridiculously fast, I was going to let them
go, knowing that a lot of guys would go after them, and then come back
to me," Rupp said. "All of my best races have always been closing hard
off a little bit of a slow pace, taking it out gradually and finishing
strong."
He followed the plan, and it worked.
Salazar said he is particularly pleased to see Rupp's confidence in his ability to compete against the world's best.
"Galen has always believed me when I told him he can run with them
to the last lap of the race," Salazar said. "Somebody can tell you
that, but until you do it yourself, you don't know."
He did it Sunday, and it's why Salazar said this Olympic experience
were so important in Rupp's development. It has been quite an
experience.
He walked in with the U.S. athletes in the opening ceremony. He
roomed with suitemates Tyson Gay, the U.S. record-holder in the 100,
and Bryan Clay, the top U.S. decathlete.
Then he walked out in front of 91,000 people and a worldwide television audience, and held his own.
"It was pretty cool," Rupp said. "I was just in awe when I walked
out of the last-call room, through the tunnel, seeing everybody. This
is the biggest stadium I've ever run in. Eugene is cool, but coming out
here is a whole new level."
Courtesy of OregonLive.com
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