Reed Canada's Sole Track Medal Hope

Posted by tmg820 on 8/21/2008

With the elimination of Tyler Christopher, Gary Reed is Canada's best bet for a track and field medal at the Beijing Olympics.

But the fact that the focus is now squarely on Reed doesn't sound like a burden for the 800-metre specialist from Kamloops.

"I
don't feel any extra pressure,'' Reed said during a news conference
held at Beijing's Nike Hospitality Centre, hours after a flu-stricken
Christopher did not advance from a 400-metre heat at National Stadium.
"Nobody on the face of the planet wants to win a medal more than I do.
I put a lot of pressure on myself. I expect to go out and perform and
that's all the pressure I need.''

Canadian track and field head coach Les Gramantik echoed those sentiments.

"I
would say that he feels the pressure, but he'll be fine,'' Gramantik
said before Monday night's track and field competition at National
Stadium. "Tyler Christopher's result one way or the other will not
affect him right now."

Reed is to begin competing Wednesday in the men's 800-metre heats. The semifinal is Thursday and the final Saturday.

"I'm
not looking past the first round,'' said Reed, 26. "I'm trying to stay
in the moment and take it one race at a time. Training is going well
and I'm looking forward to competing."

The importance of Reed's
step-by-step approach was underlined Monday morning at the Bird's Nest,
when Christopher finished fifth in a heat and did not proceed.

"I've
been to an Olympics before and I know what happens to a lot of
athletes, not just our guys,'' said Reed, who was 18th at the 2004
Summer Olympic Games in Athens. "I know that you can't look past the
first round. There have been times at the Olympics and the world
championships where guys who are supposed to qualify don't get there,
so you can't look past the moment you're in."

Reed prefers to
look ahead -- but not too far -- instead of flashing back to 2007, when
he barely missed a gold medal at the world championships in Osaka,
Japan. He finished second in one minute 47.10 seconds -- one-100th of a
second behind Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya.

"If you're in track
long enough, you realize that every year is different,'' Reed said.
"Osaka is long behind me. What happened last year was last year. This
is a whole new year. I just have to stay in my game plan and worry
about what I need to do to get there.''

Not that he is worrying.
"I'm pretty calm right now. I'm really in my own world. I like to stay
in my own little world and not let too many outside factors and all the
ups and downs affect me."

Rob Vanstone is in Beijing as part of the Canwest News Service Olympic team.