Some ten minutes after the conclusion of Friday's 3000 meter steeplechase at Rome's Golden Gala, Dan Lincoln was deep beneath the Stadio Olimpico, slowly making his way from the track to collect his things. He appeared content with his fifth place finish, by far his best in a Golden League contest, but apparently word had not yet reached him that he had just taken down a U.S. record that had stood for nearly 21 years.

"U.S. record!" he was told. "Congratulations are definitely in order."

As he walked with manager Andy Stubbs, Lincoln stopped, offered a stunned look, and asked: "Do you know the time?"

"8:08 and change."

Wide-eyed, he replied, "It definitely wasn't 8:09?"

"No, 8:08 high," he was told.

A high five and an embrace from Stubbs followed, just before the manager disappeared to get confirmation on the 8:08.82 performance.

"Wow," said Lincoln, pausing as a smile of both joy and relief emerged. "That's a number I've been chasing a long time. So there it is."

More precisely, that number was 8:09.17, the previous U.S. record set by Henry Marsh on August 28, 1985, when Lincoln had yet to celebrate his fifth birthday. "Track was the farthest thing from my mind back then," he said, smiling.

But track was among the foremost things on his mind during much of the two decades that followed, first during his standout collegiate career at Arkansas and then later as he gradually emerged as the top American in the barrier event. He improved to 8:15.02 to win the 2004 Olympic Trials, and to 8:12.65 in this same competition in Rome a year ago before improving yet again on Friday.

Lincoln said that an assault on the record wasn't at the forefront of his race plan as he waited for the gun to sound, but rather to just remain competitive in what turned out to be the deepest steeplechase field yet assembled this season.

"Whenever you want a time so badly you lock up and get too nervous," Lincoln, now a medical student, said. "I tried to just concentrate on competing. I had a little hiccup in the middle of the race, but I got back on track and back in the race and put in a solid performance."

"I was down on myself for a little while," Lincoln continued, "doubting myself, not really focusing and staying confident. But I calmed myself down and just tried to get myself into a rhythm, and not worrying about how fast I was going or how many guys were in front of me. But it's pretty nerve-wracking when you're going for a record and you've got so much on your mind."

Clearing his head of those self-doubts -"I needed to just stay steady and stay calm," he said-- Lincoln began to position himself to make a move on the main chase pack with a lap and a half to go, before stepping it up a notch at the bell.

"I just tried to run hard the last lap because I needed to run about 60 [seconds] if I was going to get the record. At that point I tried not to concern myself with the record and just run hard and just go hard and try to beat as many people as I could." His fifth place finish came in the fastest race of the year, landing him for now in the No. 7 slot on the world list.

Only mid-July, Lincoln is hardly ready to rest on his laurels.

"My next race is in Heusden," he said, referring to the KBC Night of Athletics meet on Saturday, July 22. "And I'll try to get it again."