US Nationals Day 1

Back to my happy place!

As that Subaru of mine is now 14 yrs old and it’s shuttling me around a full time job in Boulder, it was time to get a new car for Bend. 

Love me some brown saddle leather!

But what does this have to do with track? 

Well, I have to name the boy! Some considerations: Bernard (Lagat, ancient Olympian), Abdi (similar)…..i finally settled on….

Cyrus!

The ‘why’ is in this exerpt from the 2016 Olympic Trials…

Men's javelin: UO grad Cyrus Hostetler absolutely uncorks one, and the stick was flying for what seemed like hours. While it reached its apex well above the track, someone yelled out, "OH JESUS!!" It was that enormous a throw.

(that was me who yelled...sorry).

With one lap left in both semi-finals of the men's 5000, we had a condition known in the cycling world as 'gruppo compacto,' a tightly bunched pack. I smiled, because a pack at the bell means hellacious racing in the last lap. And that's what we had…

Maybe the most awesome thing out there: when the pack tore past the steeple pit with a lap to go, they were paced through the final turn by a flying Cyrus taking his victory lap while carrying the American flag up high, and yes, it was the Fourth of July! That was an incredible sight; a tall, bulky guy at full speed in lane 8 while the pack roared along on the inside. Cyrus rabbited the field for a good 100 yards before the marshals waved him off. 

(Months later, i actually sent Cyrus an email, and he sent me a few videos of the celebration: here and here and here….too funny!)

So, yes: my car is now named Cyrus. 

Bomb-ass UO runner Claudette from back in the day (and still a school record holder) asked me why i looked so serious….i tell her it’s because i can’t find any ice…..inside joke; last year at the World Championships, she was in charge of making sure all the support areas had plenty of frozen water). 

Walking to the track for the briefing, I’m behind heptathlete Anna Hall and her entourage. Within the next 5 years, she’ll have an Olympic medal in her kitchen drawer, and it’s going to be one of the more valuable ones. 

Dinner out in town; I send Zoë pix, and she asks if that’s campus dining hall food….not even close!

Man, this track is purdy at night…and at other times, too. 

Meet and greet, where we get our marching orders….

Boss umpire (and all around good dude) Dougie-Dub

Not sure I’ll be confused as to which color shirt we’re wearing…

A pair of free kicks is always nice…

Lynn and Fred laying down the law

So good to see fashion mogul Doreen on the squad again! During a break in the competition last year, we had a dance party at the finish line.

For the first time since I’ve been in the biz, we’re dining in one of the new dorms. The food is a TREMENDOUS improvement over two weeks of dry lemon herb chicken!

This is the aforementioned new dining hall and dorm, very impressive. I had to look up Mr Unthank so i could thank him. 

I much prefer his layout and amenities to tired old Carson Hall…Unthank is air-conditioned, insulated, and relatively roomy….Carson (below) is none of the above. 

Decathlete Joe Delgado coached at my alma mater for a few years. Now he’s pushing loans in Florida, and probably breaking legs like former collector Rocky Balboa. Guy’s gotta fund his Olympic dream somehow, right? 

Long day on the track; a bunch of semi-final heats. Two finals, the men’s and women’s 10,000m. Both races were won with insane sprints….Elise Cranny absolutely explodes with 250m remaining and leaves the American record holder in her wake. Her family is right behind me in the stands losing their minds. 

In the men’s race, Grant Fisher is shot out of a rocket with 3 laps to go, running back to back 60’s (kids, don’t try that at home….well, i guess you can TRY, but it won’t go well). He’s about to take the yellow jersey, but Woody and his insane sprint have other ideas. He sees those 60’s and raises with a final 54, spanking Grant so hard that he falls off the podium completely. Ice cold…and fun to watch. 

More tomorrow.