Wow, That's Fast!

In my last post, I wrote that if the American Record in the 5000m was to fall this past Friday in Oslo, I felt it would be Bernard Lagat who got it. Quite honestly I didn’t think it would go this early in the season, but sure enough, Lagat did it, running 12:54.12. Meanwhile, Chris Solinsky, fresh off his American Record 10k a month earlier, ran 12:56.66 (last 3 digits 666 – hmmmmm), just four tenths slower than the old record held by Dathan Ritzenhein. So, after only one American had broken 13 minutes ever prior to last year, four have now done it in the last nine months. Pretty incredible!

I actually wouldn’t be surprised to see the record go even lower before the year is over. Solinsky has already said he was a little disappointed with his race this past Friday (must be nice to be disappointed in running 12:56 with a last lap of 57 sec - ha) and his new mission is to lower the new record and do it on US soil at the Prefontaine meet in July. I’m also quite sure that Matt Tegenkamp is licking his chops to get back to racing. After all, he is a current and longtime teammate of Solinsky and has always been just a little better, so you know he wants to see (and show) what he can do. I’m guessing Ritz and Galen Rupp just might have something to say about it all too. It’s definitely an exciting time for distance running in the US!

So how do I feel about Lagat being the new American record holder? Well, mixed emotions really. I can’t argue that he’s not an American citizen because he certainly is. He’s also seems to be a really nice guy and appears to genuinely love this country. At the same time, he was born and raised in Kenya and competed for them for the majority of his career. I’ve also seen him commit the ultimate no-no in my opinion, which is to medal in a major national event and then do a victory lap with both the American flag and the Kenyan flag. I know he has his heritage, but if you’re truly committed to this country, leave the Kenyan flag in the stands. In any event, I’ll cheer for Lagat, but I can’t say that I wouldn’t prefer to see someone born and raised here hold that record. There’s actually a pretty good article in today’s Running Times Weekly Recap that sums up how I feel, and from reading it, looks like I’m not alone.