2 | Friday, July 6, 2012 | www.lsjournal.com
LOCAL NEWS Tegenkamp qualifies for Olympics
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TEGENKAMP’S TOP TIMES
OLYMPICS Continued from 1
“It’s been quite a ride for Matt,” Denny said. “I took the cross country job in the mid-90s and this little freshman comes along and he just keeps getting better and better “It hasn’t always been easy. He keeps fighting back every time.” Tegenkamp’s Lee’s Summit roots run through Denny, former running-mates and his brother, Marcus, and wife Ashley. His parents still live in the area, too, in Raymore. But now, in the next 30 days, his world will move beyond American soil as the long and sometimes tedious process of preparing for an Olympic Games appearance starts to unfold. “After the (trials) race, there’s a big process of the awards ceremony, you have to go through the media tent, press conferences, you have to submit to drug testing – which I have no worries about whatsoever – and then after that, it was kind of a shuffle,” Tegenkamp said. “By the time I got back to the hotel, that was about a three hour period.” Then, he says, he finally got to relax with family, friends and few beers. “The next morning, I got up and did a short run (35 minutes). I was pretty sore from the racing,” Tegenkamp said. Beyond the processing, travel preparations, passports and paperwork, it is not all work for those heading to London. “Then you get to go through the greatest shopping spree you’ve ever had,” Tegenkamp said, noting that Nike and Ralph Lauren are the apparel sponsors. But more than material things, he says, are the intangibles. “You just really realize what you’ve accomplished
1,500 Meters
“You just really realize what you’ve accomplished during that time. You, well, you just have to remember what’s gotten you to this point and you don’t have to change anything in your routine. You have to remember how to carry yourself and that you are representing the U.S.A. There is something like 10,000 media at the Olympic Games, and in this day and age, it’s not just your traditional media, but anyone with a smart phone.” -– MATT TEGENKAMP LEE’S SUMMIT GRADUATE WHO QUALIFIED FOR THE 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES
during that time,” Tegenkamp says, pausing to reflect. “You, well, you just have to remember what’s gotten you to this point and you don’t have to change anything in your routine. You have to remember how to carry yourself and that you are representing the U.S.A. There is something like 10,000 media at the Olympic Games, and in this day and age, it’s not just your traditional media, but anyone with a smart phone.” Tegenkamp is no stranger to the Olympic routine. In 2008, he finished 13th overall in the 5,000-meters. “I’ve been running for a very long time, professionally since the summer of 2005, so I am a veteran of the sport and have learned a lot of things in my career,” he said. “One of the biggest things is taking in the moment and remembering what has gotten you there. At this point, making an Olympic team is almost harder than performing at the Olympics. The pressure is off a little bit. Now you’ve done it. Now you go out and capitalize on opportunities.” Running the 10,000 this time around will require a
different mindset, he said. “(The) 10,000 is a very, very patient in the race,” Tegenkamp explained. “The race doesn’t really start until about eight laps to go.” There are 25 laps total in that race. “With eight to go, the people that are on the lead path are there for the duration of the race,” surmised. Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele won the gold in Beijing in 2008. Tegenkamp said he and Britain Mo Farah – the 2011 World Championships gold medal winner, have set the standard for the 10,000. “I’ve competed with them multiple, multiple times,” he said. “As competitors these are guys I focus on and want to beat.” American distance training has grown up along with the times, Tegenkamp said, fostering a brighter outlook for the red, white and blue in front of the world stage. “In Portland, we have created a very high-level group that really pushes each other on a day in, day out basis,” he said. “The U.S. for a long time was focused just on individuals and training alone.
now open
3 minutes, 34.25 seconds
Mile
Two Mile
(May 6, 2006, the first sub-4-minute mile on Minnesota soil)
(June 10, 2007, current American two-mile record)
3:56.38
(July 3, 2007)
3,000 Meters
8:07.07
7:34.98
(Aug. 19, 2006)
5,000 Meters
10,000 Meters
(Sept. 4, 2009, No. 5 all-time in America)
(April 31, 2011, 2012 Olympic qualifying time)
12:58.56
27:28.22
ACHIEVEMENTS AND TITLES World Finals 2007, 5,000m, 4th 2009, 5,000m, 8th 2011, 10,000m, 10th Olympic finals 2008, 5,000m, 13th Highest world ranking-2007, ranked 10th in the 5,000 meters by Track and Field News LEE’S SUMMIT HS ACCOMPLISHMENTS State title as a senior in 1999 in Cross Country Two state titles at 2000 Track and Field Championships in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs; 3,200 time of 8:57.23 still stands as state record; state title as a junior in the 3,200.
DAVID J. PHILLIP/Associated Press
Matt Tegenkamp, left and Bernard Lagat pose after the men’s 5,000 meter final at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., June 30, 2008. Tegenkamp again qualified for the Olympics in Eugene, this time on June 22, to finish in the top three in the 10,000-meters and landing on the Team U.S.A. squad headed to London in late July.
Over the last 10 years, that’s where our distance running has taken great strides. “On race day, certainly we can help each other, but with eight laps to go, it’s every man for himself.” Race day is officially Aug. 4. Opening ceremonies are July 27. “That’s my first Olympic memory, the 1992 Olympics and how they lit the torch, and it was an archer. That was just the coolest thing ever. I thought, ‘It would be so awesome to be a part of this.’” Years later, Tegenkamp would find himself preparing
for a second Olympic Games and still giving thanks to a coach that believed in him. “Very early on in my career, he opened my eyes and made it very clear what I could accomplish as an athlete,” Tegenkamp said. “I am very fortunate to get a scholarship and have five years of education paid for me in Wisconsin. It was probably not until half way through my freshman year in college that I realized that this was something I could do professionally. Once you realize it, you become much more motivated and driven,
dedicated to the bigger picture.” The bigger picture now, of course, being across the pond. “July 26 will be a long day, but the best, most awesome day ever,” Tegenkamp said. As his family did in 2008, they are putting together another T-shirt fundraiser, through Facebook, to help fund family and supporters for the trip. T-shirts are $15. Between now and then, Tegenkamp said there is nothing special he has to do at this point. “Just go run,” he said. “It’s putting one foot in front of the other, some people just do a little quicker than others.”
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