EUGENE, OR. - Several hundred fans were on hand
Saturday night as Max King won the men's 3,000-meter
steeplechase at The Road to Eugene '08 at historic
Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore. The Road to Eugene '08 is a cooperative effort between the
Local Organizing Committee for the 2008 U.S. Olympic
Team Trials, USA Track & Field, and the USATF Athletes
Advisory Committee. The meet is a benefit for the
Professional Athletics Association (PAA), a newly formed
union of professional track and field athletes.
A former Cornell standout, Max King held off Brian Olinger to
win the men's 3,000m steeplechase in a personal best 8
minutes 31.26 seconds with Olinger second in 8:31.56, they
are the second and third fastest performances by
Americans so far this year. For their efforts, both King and
Olinger achieved the Olympic Trials "A" standard.
The women's 5,000m was won by three-time Olympian
Adrian Fernandez Miranda of Mexico in 15:36.25. 2007
World Cross Country Team USA member Cack Ferrell was
second in 15:42.92, a personal best by 22 seconds. Amy
Yoder-Begley was third in 16:07.32.
Juan Luis Barrios of Mexico won the men's 5,000m in
13:20.24. The pace was fierce from the beginning, as
Barrios and two-time U.S. 5,000m champion Adam Goucher
went through the halfway point in 6:39, 13:18 pace.
Three-time U.S Indoor 3,000m champion Jonathan Riley
had a strong kick to overtake Goucher and claim second in
13:32.64 and Goucher ended up third in 13:33.05.
2006 U.S. 5,000m champion Lauren Fleshman battled her
way to the win in the women's 1,500m, crossing the line in
4:12.91. Fleshman had hung on training partner Georgie
Clark's shoulder through 1,350m and then took off, leaving
Clark behind. Clark, of Australia, was second in 4:13.19.
Athlete Quotes
Max King - men's 3,000m steeplechase winner
"I was 2 seconds of my p.r., I'm pretty happy with that. It's
definitely nice to get the "A" standard for the trials already.
The goal was just to win the race. Because of the good field
(in today's race), I know it would be a fast time."
Lauren Fleshman - women's 1,500m winner
"I've been training with Georgie, we've been trying to help
each other out. The results are coming, I just had a season
best. It was real fun to win. Today was just to race and have
fun."
Jonathon Riley, men's 5,000m runner-up
"I'm happy with my fitness right now. I didn't think I was ready
to give it a big shot at a fast time and wanted to be smart, so
I'm ecstatic to run the way I did and run 13:22 - it's good
enough to get me into USA's on the right foot. I'm healthy
and looking forward to finishing top three at USA's and
making a World Championships team."
For more information and complete results, visit
www.goducks.com