Symmonds ready for USA Outdoor Championships

18 June 2009

At the 2008 Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, Nick Symmonds, Andrew Wheating, Christian Smith and Khadevis Robinson staged a race for the ages during the 800m final that created a roar whose echoes can still be heard in Eugene.

Recognized as one of the favorites to win the race, Symmonds, a Eugene-area resident, assumed command down the final straightaway of the last lap to win the race convincingly, with University of Oregon star Andrew Wheating finishing as the runner-up. Shortly thereafter they were joined on the Team USA roster for Beijing by fellow Eugene fan favorite and then Oregon Track Club member Christian Smith, who dove across the finish line just ahead of 2004 Olympian Khadevis Robinson for the third and final spot on the Team USA Olympic roster, which sent the sold-out partisan crowd into hysterics. Smith's time of 1:45.47 bettered the Olympic A qualifying standard, which officially punched his ticket to Beijing.

Symmonds, Wheating, Smith and Robinson are all expected to meet again on the fabled Hayward Field track, with Robinson posting the fastest time by an American this outdoor season of 1 minute, 45.67 seconds in Kingston, Jamaica on May 2. Expected challengers include Duane Solomon, who finished sixth at the 2008 Olympic Trials, 2004 Olympian and NCAA champion Jonathan Johnson and Olympic Trials seventh-place finisher Jebreh Harris.

View complete article at http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?duid=USATF_2009_06_17_15_36_09

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